February 6th is Waitangi Day, a national holiday in New Zealand which commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the nation’s founding document, in 1840. Signed by representatives of the British Crown and various Maori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand, the treaty established a British governor for New Zealand while recognizing Maori ownership of their lands and properties and gave Maori the rights of British subjects.
Waitangi Day was first officially commemorated in 1934, and it has been a public holiday since 1974.