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In this series, respected Pākehā/Tauiwi voices speak about te Tiriti from their own experience and research
Click the links below for information about each session and to book your place
Sir Chris Farrelly: From Debate to Relationship – The Experience of Manaakitanga & its Shattering of Ignorance
Sir Chris Farrelly: From Debate to Relationship – The Experience of Manaakitanga & its Shattering of Ignorance
As past events have filled the venue, bookings are recommended to secure your spot - and will also help us with catering and planning. Click the links below to book:
Thurs 20 August 12-2pm, May Bain Room, Whangārei Library. Chris Farrelly will appear in person. Tea, coffee & soup/snacks will be provided. BOOK YOUR SPOT
Thurs 20 August 7-9pm, OneOneSix, Bank St, Whangārei. Chris Farrelly will appear in person. Tea, coffee & soup/snacks will be provided. BOOK YOUR SPOT
** As numbers are limitedto the venue capacity, bookings are recommended to secure your place.
More about this talk
One of the striking themes of Aotearoa New Zealand history is that Māori generosity continued despite significant loss and hardship. After land confiscations, warfare, epidemics, political & social marginalisation and economic disadvantage, many hapū, Māori leaders and whānau continued to welcome visitors, support communities and contribute to the wider building of the nation. Māori values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga have been woven into the very fabric of Aotearoa New Zealand culture.
Sir Chris Farrelly, the great grandson of a young British soldier who in 1865 participated in the Taranaki Wars “scorched earth” campaign, has experienced personally and structurally these values over the past 35 years in Te Tai Tokerau and Tāmaki Makaurau.
Many Māori scholars, historians and leaders have argued that Te Tiriti o Waitangi can be understood as an extraordinary act of generosity and trust. Sir Chris speaks of his experience of manaakitanga encompassing hospitality, care, respect, and generosity towards others, and the subsequent embracing of reciprocity. Can this be both a catalyst and a bridge for shifting a polarised society?
Sir Chris Farrelly is a 5th generation Pākehā New Zealander initially forged in and by this land which he loves. He has also been touched and shaped by other cultures – including that of Korea, where he lived for some years; and now by the peoples of the Solomon Islands, where he is involved in some projects. Justice and equity have been strong personal drivers throughout his life, leading to his mahi in health, community development and dispute resolution.
He had the privilege of being the founding CEO of Manaia PHO, where he served for thirteen years. In 2016, he was called to the role of Auckland City Missioner, which brought him into relationship with many people suffering poverty and marginalisation, and these relationships further forged his consciousness and direction. Under his leadership, the Mission built a major facility called “HomeGround”, which continues to stand as a powerful beacon of generosity and hope.
These days, Sir Chris enjoys living in Whangārei Heads with his wife Sue. Through his support for the work of Habitat for Humanity, he continues to assist in a small way to house the unhoused. As “Tangata Tiriti”, he treasures the gift of his relationships with Tangata Māori, which continues to give him nourishment and direction.
“Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves, are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others.”
– Okakura Kakuzo
Dr Alex Barnes in conversation with Tayyaba Khan & Mikesh Patel: Aroha Across Communities – A Conversation with Pākehā & Tauiwi Tiriti Workers
Dr Alex Barnes in conversation with Tayyaba Khan & Mikesh Patel: Aroha Across Communities – A Conversation with Pākehā & Tauiwi Tiriti Workers
Thurs 27 August 7-9pm, Webinar. As this is an online event, advance booking is required - you will be sent the link and password to join 1-2 days in advance. BOOK YOUR SPOT
Thurs 3 September 12-2pm, May Bain Room, Whangārei Library. This is an in-person event, with the panelists appearing via Zoom. Tea, coffee & soup/snacks will be provided. BOOK YOUR SPOT
** As numbers are limited both online and in-person, bookings are recommended to secure your place.
More about this talk
“When Pākehā and Tauiwi work in concert to honour te Tiriti, we can generate a powerful and complex vision for living together with divergence.”
Conversely, when ’Tauiwi of colour’ “get sidelined from Tiriti relationships, we prop up a Pākehā monopoly. This shrinks the chances of building a Tiriti-honouring movement that spans ethnicities, cultures, and economies.”
In his 2026 ‘State of the Pākehā Nation’ essay commissioned by Network Waitangi Whangārei, Dr Alex Barnes invited Tauiwi Tiriti workers Mikesh Patel, Tayyaba Khan and Lincoln Dan to discuss how we can “interrupt the spell of Pākehā-Māori-only Tiriti dynamics” to ensure all New Zealanders are positively connected with and able to honour their responsibilities under te Tiriti.
In this conversation, Alex, Mikesh and Tayyaba continue that discussion; and explore practical actions for building coalitions between Pākehā and migrant/refugee communities around te Tiriti education, thereby solidifying our collective position as ‘Tangata Tiriti.’
Alex Barnes
Dr Alex Barnes is a Pākehā pāpā shaped by the kaupapa Māori education movement — raised through kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa, and still deeply rooted in those values today. Based in Tāmaki Makaurau, he holds connections to Mātaatua, Tainui, and Te Tai Tokerau through his ongoing involvement in kaupapa Māori movements and through his daughter Hautonga Mary Hotere-Barnes (Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Wai, Europe).
Te Tiriti o Waitangi sits at the heart of everything Alex does personally and professionally. Over more than 25 years, Alex has worked across education, public health, and adult education with a focus on cultural, social, economic, and environmental justice. His PhD explored Tiriti-based co-governance education in Aotearoa
Tayyaba Khan
Raised between Japan and New Zealand, and shaped by experiences of migration, faith and marginalisation, Tayyaba describes herself as a global citizen. Her Muslim faith and whakapapa are central to informing her values and decision-making.
Her deep involvement in community work and her visible commitment to belonging, equity and social impact have earned her roles as Chair of Belong Aotearoa, Chair of the Advisory Board for Professional Development Council New Zealand and member of the Advisory Board for the Pearl of the Islands Foundation.
Tayyaba is CEO of the Counselling Services Centre, Founder and Managing Director of the Khadija Leadership Network, and serves as the New Zealand Peace Ambassador for the European Muslim League. She is also a member of Global Women NZ.
Mikesh Patel
Mikesh is a 2nd and 5th generation Gujarati Aotearoan born in Whangārei and raised in the Netherlands. He is Co-convenor and has been a Tiriti educator with Tangata Tiriti - Treaty People for nearly a decade. He has worked as a Montessori secondary school teacher and as a union organiser.
He is currently working with friends to develop a landback, Matike Mai based rural intentional community and is involved in a number of co-operative ventures in Tāmaki Makaurau. He is based at Dhamma Medinī, the Vipassana centre an hour north of Tāmaki.
Prof. Richard Shaw: We are Not One People – From Parihaka to a Pākehā Myth
Prof. Richard Shaw: We are Not One People – From Parihaka to a Pākehā Myth
Thurs 10 September 7-9pm, Webinar. As this is an online event, advance booking is required - you will be sent the link and password to join 1-2 days in advance. BOOK YOUR SPOT
Thurs 17 September 12-2pm, May Bain Room, Whangārei Library. This is an in-person event, with the speaker appearing via Zoom. Tea, coffee & soup/snacks will be provided. BOOK YOUR SPOT
** As numbers are limited both online and in-person, bookings are recommended to secure your place.
More about this talk
On the morning of the 5th November 1881 an Irishman called Andrew Gilhooly formed up alongside other members of the Armed Constabulary at the entrance to Parihaka pā: he was there for the invasion, the occupation and – much later – for the farming of land taken from Taranaki iwi. But those events dropped out of the family stories handed down to Gilhooly’s ancestors; neither do they feature in national narratives of fairness, egalitarianism and equal treatment. In this presentation Richard Shaw, one of Gilhooly's descendants, will explore the relationship between historical amnesia amongst (some) descendants of settler families and the stories we tell each other of the nation we live in.
Richard Shaw is a professor of politics at Massey University / Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, where he teaches New Zealand politics and researches the role of political advisers in government ministers’ offices. His academic publications include The Edward Elgar Handbook on Ministerial and Political Advisers (2023) and Core Executives in a Comparative Context (2022). His work has been published in leading international journals such as Governance, Public Administration, Parliamentary Affairs, and Public Management Review. He is also the author of three books - The Forgotten Coast (2021),The Unsettled (2024, short-listed for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards in 2025) and The Good Settler (2026) - which address matters of memory and forgetting amongst settler families in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Brie Elliot: From Awareness to Action – Supporting Te Tiriti as a Pākehā
Brie Elliot: From Awareness to Action – Supporting Te Tiriti as a Pākehā
Thurs 24 September 7-9pm, Webinar. As this is an online event, advance booking is required - you will be sent the link and password to join 1-2 days in advance. BOOK YOUR SPOT
Thurs 1 October 12-2pm, May Bain Room, Whangārei Library. This is an in-person event, with the speaker appearing via Zoom. Tea, coffee & soup/snacks will be provided. BOOK YOUR SPOT
** As numbers are limited both online and in-person, bookings are recommended to secure your place.
More about this talk
This talk is a personal reflection on what it means to be Pākehā and to proudly honour te Tiriti. Brie will share how growing up around te reo Māori and te ao Māori worldviews at school shaped her sense of identity, responsibility, and belonging in Aotearoa. She will explore how Pākehā can move beyond defensiveness or guilt; and instead create spaces where we can stand confidently as tangata Tiriti. At a time when racism and backlash against te ao Māori are becoming louder, this kōrero asks what it means for Pākehā to show up with courage, humility, and solidarity.
Brie Elliott is a Pākehā musician, political commentator, student, and organizer from Wainuiomata. Her work sits at the intersection of art, education, and political accountability.
Initially drawn to political commentary through satirical music, Brie quickly realized that to critique the system effectively, she needed to understand it intimately. This drove her to pursue a double major in Political Science and Public Policy at Victoria University of Wellington / Te Herenga Waka - a journey that was deeply sharpened by the national debates surrounding the Treaty Principles Bill.
Coming from a family of public servants and foster carers, Brie’s politics are rooted in care, service, and the belief that systems must be judged by who they protect and who they leave behind. As tangata Tiriti, her work focuses on interrogating what meaningful Pākehā accountability actually looks like - unpacking how racism is repackaged through political language, and centering the Treaty as a living foundation for honest governance, rather than a box to be ticked.
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