Hundreds of Nelson College schoolboys will be performing a large haka to mark the significance of the first New Zealand rugby game, which was played in Nelson in 1870.
Some 1500 schoolboys will perform the powerful haka led by Nelson College's Deputy Maori Head Boy Te Wera Mihaere, whose brother guided the haka at the official opening for the Rugby World Cup.
Principal Gary O'Shea says to be able to celebrate the two teams who played the first game of rugby in New Zealand with a haka is a great honour for his school.
After the haka, the mayor and his wife will be taken to the Botanics Reserve on board a horse-driven carriage to watch a re-enactment of the first game of rugby in New Zealand - celebrating Nelson's position as the birthplace of the sport in New Zealand.
