The centennial celebrations of 1940 marked a century of European effort and progress. Maori history and the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi took a back seat.
From the 1940s the Treaty and Waitangi began to find a place in the national consciousness. For most New Zealanders, they were of historical interest only.
The New Zealand Centennial Exhibition ran from 8 November 1939 to 4 May 1940. During this time 2,641,043 people went through the main gates with a daily average attendance of 17,149
Over the 1939/40 summer 2,870,995 people - 200,000 more than the total number who visited the centennial exhibition - spent their pounds and shillings in Playland
The New Zealand Centennial Exhibition in Wellington attracted more than 2.6 million visitors, including tens of thousands of rail travellers from all over the country, during its six-month run from 1939 to 1940.
Apirana Ngata leading members of the Maori Battalion in a haka in front of the whare runanga on the Waitangi treaty house ground at the 1940 centennial celebrations.
