Tribunal exhibition opens in Blenheim

On the morning of Saturday 13 June 2026, the Tribunal, in partnership with Te Kahu o Waipuna Marlborough Art Gallery and Rangitāne o Wairau, was honoured to open He Kura Toi Tangata: 50 Years of the Waitangi Tribunal alongside Rangitāne’s photographic exhibition, The Right of Deciding, at Te Kahu o Waipuna Marlborough Art Gallery.

Waitangi Tribunal Chairperson Chief Judge Dr Caren Fox, Deputy Chairperson Judge Sarah Reeves, Deputy Chief Judge Craig Coxhead, Tribunal member Ron Crosby and Tribunal Pae Matua Director Steve Gunson, travelled to Blenheim for the event. The opening was attended by members of Rangitāne and the wider Blenheim community, including Mayor Nadine Taylor.

Corey Hebberd, Kaiwhakahaere Matua General Manager of Te Rūnanga o Rangitāne o Wairau Trust, gave the opening remarks. Rangitāne representatives Dr Peter Meihana and Judith MacDonald acknowledged the significance of the two exhibitions and of this week, which marks the anniversary of Rangitāne’s signing of te Tiriti/ the Treaty on 17 June 1840. They also acknowledged the Te Tau Ihu (Northern South Island) Tribunal panel, presided over by Judge Wilson Isaac, who had inquired into their treaty claims almost a generation ago in the early 2000s. Special tribute was made to three panel members, the late Rangitihi (John) Tahuparae, the late Pamela Ringwood, and the late Professor Keith Sorrenson.

Deputy Chief Judge Coxhead spoke on behalf of the Tribunal at the whakatau, noting that He Kura Toi Tangata “did not belong to the Tribunal but belonged to the motu, and it is appropriate that the exhibition moves around Aotearoa, having been to Waitangi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara and now Blenheim.” Chief Judge Fox also spoke at the event.

He Kura Toi Tangata features 50 photographs commemorating 50 years of work by the Tribunal. It was originally developed by the Tribunal and Waitangi Treaty Grounds and launched in February 2025 at Te Kōngahu Museum in Waitangi. The exhibition then opened in the capital at Te Waka Huia o Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho Wellington Museum. The exhibition was made possible with support from the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation and the Waitangi National Trust.

The exhibitions are on display at Te Kahu o Waipuna Marlborough Art Gallery until 9 August 2026.

Images reproduced with the permission of Rangitāne o Wairau.