Waitangi may well be a singularly apt name. It means, roughly, Weeping waters, sometimes tears. There are plenty of those shed on NZ's day of national introspection. I don't think there are many who would argue that the Maori did not get seriously shafted by The Treaty signed at Waitangi, Feb. 6 brings endless debates about how to move forward, addressing the wrongs of the past without becoming mired in them and balancing the rights of the indigenous people with the need to create a truly multi-cultural, not just bi-cultural, society. I don't know how many other countries in the world have a Race Relations conciliator, and I'm not sure why anyone here applies for the job, as the office and its holder are treated with varying degrees of scorn and contempt by opponents from all points on the political compass.
As an aside on Waitangi, the location of the lahar tragedy CapK mentioned contains the same Maori elements in the opposite order - Tangiwai - and has simiar meaning - very appropriate.
