Thousands of people gathered just before midday on Wednesday to take part in the official launch of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, which this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Māori Language Petition.
The petition was led by the late Hana Jackson, a member of Māori activist group Ngā Tamatoa, which gathered in Taranaki to honour her.
A remarkable scene on Parliament grounds on Wednesday - a sea of thousands including government officials speaking, singing and championing Te Reo Māori.
A moment of pride for many as Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson officially launched the 50th anniversary of Māori Language Day and this year's Māori Language Week
Wednesday's gathering is a stark contrast from this day 50 years ago when around 100 people took the Māori Language Petition to Parliament.
The movement was led by the late Hana Te Hemara, aged 22 at the time, with the backing of her group, Ngā Tamatoa.
In a special pōwhiri at Muru Raupatu Marae in Taranaki, surviving Ngā Tamatoa members, now in their late 60s, have gathered to honour the woman they say is the reason te reo is where it is today.
"She was a courageous woman, she was staunch to her heritage," Māori cultural academic Ngahuia Te Awekotuku said.
"Hana's fearlessness, her passion kind of created an envelope cocoon of safety for people like me who were not very articulate about the struggle. But I became that, I became a fearless activist really under her umbrella," former ACT MP and activist Donna Awetere Huata said.
Despite being far away from Parliament, they were still a part of the celebrations. The moment being live streamed into the wharenui.
Inspiring discussions about the state of the language in the 1970s to now.
"You get the sense of feeling 50 years later that because we're not fluent speakers but were the fighters of te reo, there's still that sense of negativity towards non-speakers," Ngā Tamatoa activist and founder of Raukura Hauora O Tainui Taitimu Maipi said.
It is because of the likes of Hana Jackson and members of Ngā Tamatoa that there are now generations of graduates of total immersion Māori education.
A testament to the fact that their efforts 50 years ago were not in vain.
But while much progress has been made, the initial call for Māori language and culture to be taught in all schools still hasn't been achieved.
"Every teacher needs to speak te reo and teach in te reo, and I mean not just for our children, but for all children because that's also their heritage. That's the only thing that makes them different from Canada or any other country," Huata said.
More memories and stories will be shared by Ngā Tamatoa members at a public event tonight, held at New Plymouth's TSB Centre.
It comes ahead of the unveiling of a mural of Hana Jackson, created by world-renowned artist Mr G, at dawn on Thursday.
