I learned a lot more about the Treaty later when I worked with the Maatua Whaangai programme. I was the social worker from the Department of Social Welfare, as it was called then, and I worked closely with the community worker from the Maori Affairs (=Te Puni Kokiri) Department.
We did a lot of work ensuring that Kohanga Reo centres were up and running effectively. Both Kohanga and Maatua Whaangai movements had been supported, encouraged, even spearheaded by an old acquaintance, Sir James Henare.
Sir James had been a member of the Bay of Islands County Council when I was attending its meetings as Chair of the Paihia Community Council; he was the Chair of the county Planning Committee. I had had the chance to get to know him a little over lunches on the council meeting days.
He had an illustrious record as a leader of the Maori Battalion during the Second World War, and continued to be one of the national leaders of maoridom.
In the eighties when I was working with the Maatua Whaangai programme, James's son, Erima, was Director for Maori Affairs in Taranaki, and his twin sons were pupils at the Kohanga Reo in New Plymouth.
Margaret and I decided to enrol our two pre-schoolers in the Kohanga, and so we got to know the next generation of Henares a little.
I continued to learn when I was Equal Employment Opportunities officer for the Health Board, running Treaty workshops for our staff, and taking part in management training sessions on Treaty issues with such experts as Moana Jackson and Erihapeti Ramsden.
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