It comes as The Star revealed last week the city council and Ngāi Tahu rūnanga will not support any large-scale celebrations to mark the first four European ships arriving in 1850 like what took place in 2000 for the 150th.
Of the 5396 online respondents, 64% want the city council to support an anniversary event even without iwi support.
Alternatively, 13% want an event but only if it receives iwi support, while 19% did not think the city council should support the anniversary at all.
Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga elder Dr Te Maire Tau acknowledged the significance of the anniversary when contacted by The Star.
“The 175th anniversary of the arrival of the Canterbury pilgrims is an event that shaped our lives. It is a historical event that we need to acknowledge and reflect upon,” he said.
“We have come too far in our history to engage in anti-colonial rhetoric. There were benefits and costs to Ngāi Tahu, but our elders anchored a settlement with the Crown under the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998,” said Tau.
He said the 175th anniversary is “vital to our collective history and identity”.
Tau declined to comment on why the Christchurch-based Ngāi Tahu rūnanga has not been interested in participating in an anniversary event, claiming there was “nothing further to add”.
The milestone was a reminder of other significant anniversaries for the South Island in the coming decades, he said.
These include the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 2040 and the centenary this year of Ngāi Tahu formalising its whakapapa (genealogy) and collective identity.
Deputy mayor Pauline Cotter said she was “not informed enough” to give a definitive view yet of the city council decision.
“I guess there’s the question of whether 175th is a super significant anniversary anyway? I think council may have not seen the necessity in funding this one. Maybe the 200th will be a different story.”
Cotter’s opponent for the Innes Ward seat, Ali Jones, said she was “really disappointed” there will not be a council-funded event.
“I think we should acknowledge the landings of the settlers and at the same time link the issues that colonisation has caused and continues to cause.”
Jones was unsure whether the city council should proceed with an anniversary event without the Ngāi Tahu rūnanga onboard.
A majority poll result in favour of an event shows “people are interested,” said Jones.
“There’s many groups which need to be engaged with. I think there should be more public conversation about it.”
Riccarton Ward councillor Tyla Harrison-Hunt backed the decision by council staff to not support an anniversary event.
“If Ngāi Tahu were interested in it, I’d be supportive. If council don’t want to support it then I support them too,” he said.
Despite the poll, Harrison-Hunt said the city council and Ngāi Tahu being treaty partners meant the anniversary should require rūnanga support to proceed rather than just general public opinion.
The other candidate for the Riccarton Ward, Tony Simons, said the 175th anniversary did not seem as important to celebrate as the 150th or 200th.
“I’m not necessarily in favour of it or opposed to it, but it is understandable that Ngāi Tahu doesn’t really want to be involved and that should probably be taken into account.”
