Thousands have marched through the capital five decades on from the first Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, a milestone some say has been spoiled by policies they feel are taking the language backwards.
Mokena Hokianga Tumaurirere said he was marching to “tautoko our tamariki” and “our rangatahi”, and te reo Māori.
“We shouldn't have to be fighting for it all the time, it should just be something that [tamariki] feel comfortable to do, and I'm really proud of this generation because it's something that they just do naturally now," he said.
“As Māori, it's something we've been fighting for for mai rā anō, so it's just another challenge, I think, for us to overcome and show our resilience as a people and as a language.”
Principal Rawiri Wright said the Government needed to wake up – “e oho!”
"We are here to say, kei te ora tonu, we are alive and kicking, and the language will not die."
Over 200,000 New Zealanders can now converse in Māori.
Meanwhile, Brenda Sherman said she has been a lifelong learner.
“Kua roa au e tautoko ana i te reo Māori – I've been learning te reo for a long time. Tēnei kaupapa i timata ai i tōku pēpitanga – it started when I was a baby.”
Over 9000 tamariki across the country are enrolled at kōhanga reo – many were marching today.
All Black Tyrel Lomax walked with his daughter, Winnie, who has been enrolled at Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Kāhui. He said that he wasn’t raised in te reo, but te reo and te ao Māori have always been a “big part” of how he wanted to raise his kids.
“I've always been proud to be Māori, but I haven't always been comfortable. I didn't know my reo, also I just wanted to give her that opportunity.”
The 50-year anniversary comes as the Government faced criticism over its policies relating to te reo. David Zwartz described the coalition's approach as “disgusting.”
“They're doing their best to diminish it, like changing the passports, changing the names of government departments.”
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka defended the Government's record, its policies and dismissed the idea that they were regressive towards reo.
“What I would say is that there are coalition agreements and we continue to support te reo Māori — nearly a billion dollars a year into te reo Māori initiatives.”
A NZ First policy that was negotiated as part of the coalition agreement requires government departments to communicate primarily in English.
Another would ensure all public service departments have their primary name in English.
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