Tens of thousands of people have marched on New Zealand’s capital against a Bill to redefine Maori rights – in one of the largest protests in the country’s history.

Haka chants rang out across the 42,000-strong crowd as it moved through Wellington on Tuesday in the final stage of a nine-day 100km walk from the north, a Maori stronghold.

Bare-chested men draped in traditional feather cloaks were joined by horse riders waving the red, white and black Maori flag.

Children also marched alongside adults bearing distinctive full-face Maori “moko” tattoos and clutching ceremonial wooden weapons.

The swelling protests up and down the country have come in response to a minor party in New Zealand’s conservative coalition government drafting a Bill to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi.