Waitangi Grounds. Photo courtesy of Karsten Grillitsch.

Treaty of Waitangi: 170 Years - Te Tiriti o Waitangi, E 170 nga tau

Historical Background

Interior of the Whare Runanga or meeting house at Waitangi, built in 1940 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Treaty's signing. Photo courtesy of Klaudio Dadich.

Whatever peoples' opinions as to its meaning or value, the Treaty's signing was certainly a major event in New Zealand's history.

The Treaty of Waitangi however, must be seen in the context of events that happened over a number of years before 1840 to best understand Maori/ Pakeha relations at this time and to comprehend why an agreement such as this would be made between Maori chiefs and the British crown.

1831 Aotearoa: Maori Chiefs were becoming increasingly concerned at lawlessness by sailors, escaped convicts and adventurers from New South Wales. The fear of amoral sailors had augmented following the Elizabeth affair.

The Church and Missionary Society were anxious to find solutions to these growing problems. They felt the behaviour of some of the Pakeha sent the wrong messages to Maori about the 'civilizing' influence of European contact.

At the suggestion of New South Wales Governor Darling, missionary William Yate assisted 13 northern chiefs to prepare a letter to King William IV, asking for his protection. They signed with their moko. The British Crown acknowledged the petition and promised protection.

1833. James Busby was appointed British Resident and settled with his family at Waitangi. His main duties, outlined in instructions from Governor Richard Bourke,  were to protect 'well disposed settlers and traders', to prevent outrages by Europeans against Maori and to apprehend escaped convicts. Bourke also urged Busby to utilise chiefly authority, to direct Maori towards a 'settled form of government', so that their leaders might eventually accept collective responsibility for enforcing regulations on Maori and Pakeha alike.

A year later in 1834 the selection of a National Flag was cast by vote of Northern chiefs. When officially gazetted a year later in New South Wales, some details were altered.

The original version is widely used today by Maori groups, in particularly the descendents of those chiefs who voted. In July 2009 it was proposed as one of four possible designs for an official Maori flag at a series of hui around New Zealand.

In 1835 a particularly significant event took place at Waitangi. The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand was signed by 34 Northland Chiefs on October 28th. Further signatures were to be collected by Busby, totalling 52 and including the Waikato Chief Potatau Te Wherowhero, who would later become the first Maori King.

In the years following the signing of the Declaration interest in New Zealand by other nations such as France and America grew. Baron Charles de Thierry was a notable threat because if New Zealand was annexed by any other nation, Britain's capital investments would not be protected.

In 1837 an illegal company, the New Zealand Association, was formed in England with the object of purchasing land from Maori, with the aim of selling it on at a profit to colonists as well as having a strong political agenda.

Following the report of the Select Committee on Aborigines and the House of Lords inquiry into the present state of the islands of New Zealand (1838) many humanitarians became concerned about the harmful effects on Maori of exposure to the various types of Europeans that arrived here.

Missionaries and others from New Zealand, Australia and England pressured the British Government to prevent the spread of immoral behaviour as well as the introduced diseases that were causing the population to markedly decline. Given Busby's inability to act, the preference was eventually for annexation and direct government.

Captain William Hobson was sent to act for the British Crown in the negotiation of a treaty between the Crown and Maori and in 1840 The Treaty of Waitangi was drafted in English by himself, his secretary James Freeman and James Busby.

Missionaries Henry Williams and his son Edward were given the job of translating the text into Maori. This translation would later prove to be controversial due to the terminology used and the differences between the Maori version and the English version.

Hone Heke was the first Maori chief to sign at Waitangi. James Busby's property in Waitangi provided the setting for the meeting. The tent made for the signing (from ships' sails) stood in front of his house, now known as Treaty House.

After 6th February the Treaty travelled the country collecting signatures. Over 500 Maori signed although some chiefs chose not to, others did not have the opportunity as it did not reach their tribal areas. 13 of the signatories were Maori women; almost all signed the Maori version. Only 39 chiefs were to sign the English version.

In May 1840 Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over New Zealand. Today Maori continued to struggle to assert their Tino Rangatiratanga or Maori sovereignty.

In 1841 the Treaty documents were nearly destroyed in a fire and later they were damaged due to poor storage. Today they are on permanent display in the Constitution Room at Archives New Zealand in Wellington.

Māori Resources

Waitangi House (James Busby's House). Photo courtesy of Steve Whitehead.

Visit the Auckland Libraries' Māori resources page for information about the resources available across the wider Auckland region.

Learn more about researching your whakapapa, how to access resources like the Maori Land Court Minute Books, the Raupatu Document Bank, the Legal Maori Archive plus many other useful resources.

Treaty of Waitangi Material at Waitakere Libraries

Search our catalogue using a subject or kaupapa search for Treaty of Waitangi.

Selection of Books

Much has been written about the Treaty in recent decades. Below is just a small selection of material held at Waitakere Libraries. Click on the titles to see more about each book.

Brief Guides to the Treaty

The Treaty : every New Zealander's guide to the Treaty of Waitangi

Treaty of Waitangi : questions and answers

All about the Treaty

The story of the Treaty. Part 1

The story of the Treaty. Part 2

The journey of the Treaty

Timeline of the Treaty

The Treaty & its History

Waitangi revisited : perspectives on the Treaty of Waitangi. Edited by Michael Belgrave.

An illustrated history of the Treaty of Waitangi by Claudia Orange.

The Treaty of Waitangi by Claudia Orange.

Healing our history : the challenge of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Treaty and its times : the illustrated history by Paul Moon & Peter Biggs.

Te ara ki te Tiriti = The path to the Treaty of Waitangi by Paul Moon.

Histories, power and loss : uses of the past : a New Zealand commentary. Edited by Andrew Sharp and Paul McHugh.

Agents of autonomy : Maori committees in the nineteenth century.

The 150 year debate : a selection of quotations on the Treaty of Waitangi.

Constitutional aspects of the Treaty

Waitangi and indigenous rights: revolution, law and legitimation by F.M. Brookfield.

The Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand's law and constitution by Matthew S.R. Palmer.

Sovereignty & indigenous rights : the Treaty of Waitangi in international contexts. Edited by William Renwick.

Waitangi Tribunal & Claims

The Waitangi Tribunal and New Zealand history by Giselle Byrnes.

The Waitangi Tribunal = Te Roopu Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi.

An unsettled history : Treaty claims in New Zealand today by Alan Ward.

Historical frictions : Maori claims and reinvented histories by Michael Belgrave.

Treaty negotiations : a guide to Crown policy and practice : an explanation of the Crown's policy and practice in relation to Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, in a question and answer format. (Library use only).

Te Whanau o Waipareira report (Wai 414). Waitangi Tribunal Report. (Library use only).

The Treaty & Biculturalism

Waitangi : Maori and Pakeha perspectives of the Treaty of Waitangi. Edited by I.H. Kawharu.

Partnership and peace : essays on biculturalism in Aotearoa - New Zealand. (Library use only).

Bullshit, backlash and bleeding hearts : a confused person's guide to the great race row.

Beyond biculturalism : the politics of an indigenous minority by Dominic O'Sullivan.

Maori sovereignty : the Maori perspective. Edited by Hineani Melbourne.

Maori sovereignty : the Pakeha perspective. Edited by Carol Archie.

Children's / Student / Teaching

Awesome Aotearoa : Margaret Mahy's history of New Zealand.

Magic eyes. I spy New Zealand history.

The Treaty = Te Tiriti / Mere Whaanga.

The story of a treaty by Claudia Orange.

Aotearoa bound by Justine Jenkins.

Our Treaty : the Treaty of Waitangi 1840 to the present by Ruth Naumann.

Tangata Tiriti = Treaty people : an interactive workbook on the Treaty of Waitangi.

Te Whare, the house : a film and educational resource about the Treaty of Waitangi.

eResources

Our eResources can help you find more information about the Treaty of Waitangi.

E.g. Try "Index New Zealand" or "Knowledge Basket - New Zealand Index" to find articles from New Zealand newspapers, magazines and journals.

Or search resources like "Australian/NZ Reference Centre", "Bateman New Zealand Encyclopedia" and "Encyclopædia Britannica".

Websites

New Zealand History Online Treaty of Waitangi

Te Reo site about the Treaty

Treaty2u

Treaty Resource Centre

Te Ara : the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Archives New Zealand

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography

Waitangi National Trust

Waitangi Tribunal

Office of Treaty Settlements