A lone Maori flag on the Bow St roundabout greeted visitors to Raglan for Waitangi Day. Apart from that there was no sign of Waitangi Day and the most activity was at the Community House market in Bow St, where collectibles, crafts and fresh food were on offer.
And this was a weekend for travelling journeyman in Raglan from Germany. While a few were glimpsed occasionally in Bow St, most were at a gathering In Government Road. With Raglan as the home for sveral German born tradesmen, the journeyman are often seen in Raglan but not in such large numbers as this weekend. Modern Germany boasts six societies fielding some 900 travelling journeymen and women from dozens of different trades in a single year. The tradition has only survived in parts of Europe such as Germany and France. Young tradesmen and, increasingly, tradeswomen, are reviving the custom of journeying to far-flung masters of their trade to build on their skills. For newly qualified workers, a formalised apprenticeship system that integrates travel and learning is a mind-broadening experience. The practice is thought to have originated during the construction of the great medieval cathedrals, when skilled workers covered vast distances between sites.