Matariki is the Maori name for the Pleiades star cluster whose first rising in late May or early June marks the beginning of the Maori new year. Since 2001, various New Zealand institutions have celebrated Matariki over a week or month from June to August to recognize Maori culture. A former Maori Party MP proposed making Matariki an official public holiday to replace Queen's Birthday, but the bill was voted down at its first reading.

1. Matariki

2. • The 7 names of the Matariki stars
• 1. Waiti 2. Waita 3. Waipuna arangi 4.
Tipuanuku 5. Tipuarangi 6. Ururangi 7. Matariki

3. In the Maori language Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades star
cluster and also of the season of its first rising in late May or early June –
taken as the beginning of the new year. Similar words occur in most
Polynesian languages, deriving from Proto-Polynesian Mataliki,
meaning minute, small, and the use of the term for the Pleiades
constellation is also ancient and has been reconstructed to Eastern
Oceanic.

4. • Since The Maori Language Commission began a move in 2001 to "reclaim Matariki,
or Aotearoa Pacific New Year, as an important focus for Māori language
regeneration" it has increasingly become common practice for various private and
public institutions to celebrate Matariki in a range of ways[ and over the period of a
week or month anywhere from early June to late August

6. • With the wider recognition there has been proposal to make Matariki an
official holiday in New Zealand – in particular former Māori PartyMP Rahui
Katene's private member's bill Te Ra o Matariki Bill/Matariki Day Bill, drawn
from the ballot in June 2009.
The Bill would have fixed the date of a public holiday using the New Moon in
June however this was later changed to the new moon of the helical rising of Matariki
when the bill was drawn a month later and set down for introduction into
Parliament. Mayor of Waitakere City Bob Harvey supported the call to make Matariki a
public holiday to replace Queen's Birthday, along with the Republican Movement of
Aotearoa New Zealand, which found none of New Zealand's local authorities held
celebrations for Queen's Birthday, but many held celebrations for Matariki. However, the
Bill itself did not propose abolishing Queen's Birthday, and was voted down at its first
reading.