evidence: On February 6th 1840, over 500 Māori chiefs along with representatives of the British Crown signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The agreement set out certain rights for the Māori people, but handed over governance to England – making New Zealand a British colony. As a result, ‘God Save the Queen’ became the country’s national anthem. But, years later, a second anthem penned by Irish-born poet Thomas Bracken was officially recognised. [...] Then, as part of New Zealand’s centennial celebrations in 1940, the government purchased the song’s copyright and officially made it the country’s national hymn. [...] This incident kicked off a campaign to have the song adopted as New Zealand’s national anthem. In 1976, Garth Henry Latta – a resident of Dunedin – presented parliament with a petition requesting that they do just that. And the following year, with the permission of Queen Elizabeth II, it officially became the country’s second national anthem.