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It was a wild day at Waitangi on Tuesday, but not because of the bad blood that has often marred commemorations of our national day.
There was little sign of protest during the day's events, but the same could not be said for strong winds and heavy rain.
For most of the morning Waitangi bore the brunt of a subtropical depression moving in from the northeast, directly from Fiji.
Nature brewed up more gusto than the waka paddlers could handle with the the freshly launched Hinemoana having to be brought back in from the breakers.
But the bad weather didn't dampen the spirits of the people that braved conditions to attend the early dawn karakia and service. It was standing room only for the dawn event, with about 200 packed into the whare.
Two individual protesters waited for pauses in the service before standing up to say their piece. Both were removed from the whare by security staff.
The prayers and speeches continued, with the final message directed at Nga Puhi, telling them it was not the day for debate over Treaty issues.
Later in the day, shortly after the naval salute from the HMNZS Te Kaha, two groups of marchers headed to the Treaty grounds, singing songs and chanting - urging people to honour the Treaty of Waitangi.
But there was a relative calm over Waitangi that wasn't missed by politicians.
Prime Minister Clark addressed the media prior to the 10:30am church service saying the peaceful day could be put down to the pace of Maori economic and social development.
National leader John Key also said he felt positive about his initial reception at Waitangi.
The day ended with a flag-lowering ceremony.
Waitangi's bad weather will now move on to the rest of the country.
Weather forecasters say the depression will reach East Cape and much of Hawke's Bay on Wednesday and there will be strong winds in Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf.
