Te Tiriti o Waitangi me tōna huanga mai
The Treaty of Waitangi and how it happened
Rapua ngā meka tere me ākona he kōrero o Te Tiriti o Waitangi Ko te orokohanga ki a rātou me te wā i waitohu ai, me ngā kōrero o roto i tētahi taha me tētahi taha.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is an agreement between the British Crown and over 500 Māori rangatira. Learn more about the Treaty including how it came to be, who signed it and what each version says.
He aha a Tiriti o Waitangi
What te Tiriti o Waitangi is
Ko Te Tiriti o Waitangi — e mōhiotia ana ki te reo Pākehā ko te Treaty of Waitangi — he whakaaetanga ā-tuhituhi ki waenga i ngā tāngata whenua (ngā iwi taketake o Aotearoa) me te Karauna o Peretānia.
Ehara te Tiriti i tētahi whārangi kotahi, engari e 9 kē ngā whārangi: e 7 kei te pepa, e 2 kei te kiri kararehe. Hui katoa, he whakaaetanga tēnei i waenga i ngā māngai o te Karauna me ngā māngai o ngā iwi me ngā hapū Māori.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi — known in English as the Treaty of Waitangi — is a written agreement made between tangata whenua (the first peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) and the British Crown.
The Treaty is not a single large sheet of paper but a group of 9 documents — 7 on paper and 2 on parchment. Together they are an agreement between representatives of the British Crown and representatives of Māori iwi and hapū (tribes).
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He mea tapa a Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te whenua i te Pēwhairangi ko reira i waitohua tuatahitia ai i te 6 o Pēpuere 1840, nō muri mai ka taki waitohutia haeretia ki ētahi atu wāhi puta noa i Aotearoa, i te pahemotanga o te 7 marama. Ka waitohutia te Tiriti, ka whakapuakina ai e te Rūtene-Kāwana a William Hobson he koroni a Aotearoa nā Peretānia i te Mei 1840.
E 2 ngā putanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ko tētahi i tuhia ki te reo Māori, ko tētahi ki te reo Pākehā. He rerekē te whakamārama o tētahi putanga me tētahi. Nā tēnei, ka rerekē ngā kawatau o Ngāi Māori me Ngāi Pākehā mō ngā tikanga o Te Tiriti. Mai i taua wā, ka hua mai he wero ki a Aotearoa kia rurukutia ēnei rerekētanga.
Named after the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed on 6 February 1840, Te Tiriti o Waitangi was also signed at many locations around the country over a 7-month period. As a result of the Treaty, Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson declared New Zealand a colony of Britain in May 1840.
There are 2 versions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, one in te reo Māori and one in English. Each holds different meanings. This resulted in Māori and Pākehā having different expectations of the Treaty’s terms. Since then, reconciling these differences has presented Aotearoa with challenges.
Te whakapapa o Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Background to the Treaty of Waitangi
Tangata whenua — ngā tāngata taketake o Aotearoa
E ai ki ngā taunakitanga, i tae tuatahi mai te iwi o Porinīhia ki Aotearoa i te 1250 ki te 1300 CE, mā runga waka i te Rāwhiti o Porinīhia. Nō te taetanga mai o Abel Tasman, te kaitūhura Tatimana i te 1642, me ngā toronga mai a Kāpene James Cook i te 1769, kua tau kē te noho o te iwi me te ahurea Māori, otirā he tuatini. Kua 600 tau ngā hapū me ngā iwi motuhake, iwi tauwhāinga hoki e whakawhanake ana, ā, he maha ngā tūmomo mita me ngā tikanga rerekē. ki waenga i a rātau.
He ruarua noa ngā whai pānga ki waenga i te Māori me te Pākehā i ngā ngahurutau i muri i te taenga tuatahi mai o Kāpene Kuki. Ka nui ake ngā whainga pānga i te tīmatanga o te rautau 19. I taua wā, he tokomaha ngā Māori i whakawhiti ki tāwāhi, i tauhokohoko hoki - inakoa te hunga noho takutai.
He mea nui te kohi kai ā-kaupeka ki ngā ōhanga ā-ohu Māori. He mea nui hoki te ahumāra i ngā wāhi mahana. He nui ngā momo rawa i tohatohaina ai i ngā huarahi tohatoha puta noa i Aotearoa. Nā te pikinga o te taupori me te tauwhāinga mō ngā rawa, ka whakariterite ngā hapori ki te takahi i te ara o te riri, me te rangimārie.
Mai i te nōhanga o Peretānia ki Poihākena i te 1788, i te rapu rawa ngā kaipkaihi i ngā rawa hei whakamahi, hei kaiapo mā rātou. Inā te nui o ngā huarahi whai rawa nunui, mōmona o Aotearoa. He tokomaha te Māori - inakoa ērā kei ngā takutai e noho ana - i tino mārama haere ki te Pākehā, i whai hua i ngā tohorā, ngā kekeno, ngā papa rākau, ngā harakeke, ngā kaimahi Māori me ngā taonga hoki.
I kauawhitia e te Māori ngā āhuatanga o te ahurea Pākehā i whai take ki a rātou.
I tere te nanao atu ki te rino, ngā pūeru me ngā kai hou pēnei i te rīwai me te poaka.
Nā te pū i ngoto ake ai ngā riri ā-iwi.
Nā ngā taputapu rino i whakaawe i ngā mahi whakairo, te hī ika me ētahi atu mahi i whakamahi kē i ngā taputapu kōhatu i mua.
Tangata whenua — the first peoples of Aotearoa
Evidence suggests Polynesian people first arrived in New Zealand around 1250 to 1300 CE, coming from East Polynesia in canoes. By the time of Dutch explorer Abel Tasman’s brief encounter in 1642 and Captain James Cook’s several visits from 1769, Māori society and culture were well-established and complex. Independent and often competing iwi and hapū had been developing for around 600 years, and there were many different language dialects and traditions.
Interaction between Māori and Europeans was infrequent in the decades following Cook’s first visit. Contact became more common at the start of the 19th century. By then, many Māori travelled abroad and traded internationally — particularly those in more accessible coastal regions.
Seasonal food-gathering was significant to the communal Māori economies. Horticulture was also important in warmer areas. Extensive trade networks distributed many resources throughout New Zealand. A rising population and competition for resources led to communities organised for both warfare and peace.
From the British settlement of New South Wales in 1788, entrepreneurs looked for resources to exploit. They found rich possibilities in New Zealand. Many Māori — especially those on the coast — soon became familiar with Europeans who profited from whales, seals, timber, flax, and Māori labour and artefacts.
Māori adopted aspects of European culture they found useful.
Metal, clothing, and new foods such as potatoes and pigs were quickly acquired.
Guns led to more intense tribal warfare.
Metal tools greatly influenced wood carving, fishing and other activities that had previously used stone tools.
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Ngā kirinoho Peretānia i Aotearoa
I noho ngā mihinare Peretānia ki Aotearoa mai i te 1814, e whai ana ki te 'takaporipori' i te iwi Māori mā ngā tikanga Peretania me te Karaitianatanga. Engari i whakamanea hoki ki Aotearoa ngā mauhere mohoao, ngā kaihokohoko, ngā heremana me ngā kaihōpara - ko te nuinga i noho ki Te Pēwhairangi. Nā ēnei manuhiri ka auhi te āhua o ngā mihinare, otirā nā rātou i akiaki te Māori kia toro atu ki Peretānia kia tiakina rātou. Engari kāore he mana ōkawa o Peretana ki Aotearoa, ā, i tūtohu kē rātou i te mana motuhake Māori.
I te āhua 1830, ko te matapae ake, he iti ake i te 300 ngā Pākehā puta noa i Aotearoa. He nui te kōtonga a te Māori, nā te pikinga o ngā pakanga ā-iwi, me ngā mate pēnei i te karawaka me te rewharewha - otirā kāore ā rātau tauāraitanga ki ēnei tū mate. He raruraru hoki nga Pākehā ture kore.
Ka tū a James Busby hei Kirinoho Matua i te 1833, ko te tikanga, hei whakahaere i te iwi Peretānia kei Aotearoa. Engari kāore ōna tikanga hei whakatau i a rātou. I whai wāhi ia ki te whakamanatanga o tētahi haki mō Aotearoa i te 1834, ā, me He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni i te 1835. He mea waitohu tēnei e ngā rangatira 34 o te raki. I tūtohu hoki a Peretānia ki ēnei mea e rua.
British settlers in Aotearoa
British missionaries settled in Aotearoa from 1814, seeking to ‘civilise’ Māori society through British customs and Christianity. New Zealand also attracted more unruly convicts, traders, sailors and adventurers — mostly concentrated in the Bay of Islands. These visitors distressed the missionaries, who encouraged Māori to look to Britain for protection. Yet, Britain had no formal authority and recognised Māori independence.
In around 1830, it’s estimated there were less than 300 Pākehā throughout Aotearoa. Māori were suffering from intensified intertribal warfare and diseases such as measles and influenza — against which they had no immunity. Lawless Europeans were also a problem.
James Busby became British Resident in 1833, supposedly to control the British in Aotearoa. But he had no means of enforcing order. He did aid with the adoption of a New Zealand flag in 1834, and the 1835 He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand. This was signed by 34 northern rangatira (chiefs). The United Kingdom acknowledged both.
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Ka haere tonu te whaiwhai haere a te Māori i ngā tikanga Pākehā. I ngā tau mutunga o te ngauhurutau 1830, he tokomaha a Ngāi Māori i rata atu ki ngā akoranga Karaitiana - he mea whakaako, tātari hoki e ngā kaiako Māori. Nā tēnei āhuatanga i hōrapa ai te ako i te reo tuhi, i te mea i whānui hoki te puta o ngā mea pēnei i te Paipera, ngā katikīhama me ētahi atu tuhinga ki te reo Māori. Engari he huakore te manako o Busby kia kukune ake tētahi manatū Māori ā-motu nei. Ko te mana motuhake Māori i noho tonu ki ngā iwi me ngā hapū.
Māori continued to adopt European practices. In the late 1830s, Christianity — filtered by Māori teachers — appealed to many Māori. This encouraged widespread literacy as the Bible, catechisms and other texts became available in te reo Māori. But Busby’s hope for the evolution of a central Māori authority was in vain. Māori independence remained centred on iwi and hapū.
Te huanga mai o Te Tiriti o Waitangi
How the Treaty of Waitangi happened
He aha i hiahia ai te kāwanatanga o Peretānia ki tētahi tiriti
He nui te akiakinga i runga i te kāwanatanga o Peretānia kia kuhu ia ki roto i ngā mahi o Aotearoa i te mutunga o ngā tau 1830, nā ngā take huhua. Hei tauira:
nā ngā take e hua ake ana i ngā Pākehā turekore
nā ngā āwangawanga a ngā tautāwhi tāngata mō te pānga o te tātāmitanga ki ngā iwi taketake, tae atu ki ngā tūmomo mate e poke ana i te iwi Māori
nā ngā kaihoko whenua e ngana ana ki te hoko wāhanga whenua rahi i te Māori, otirā kāore ō rātou tikanga o tēnei momo hoko pūmau o te whenua
nā te aro nui mai o te Wīwī me te Amerikana ki Aotearoa, tae atu ki te hiahia o Wīwī ki te kōkuhu i a Akaroa
I te Mei 1839, i tukua e te New Zealand Company - he rōpū motuhake kāore i whaimana i raro i te kāwanatanga Peretānia - ētahi āpiha ki Aotearoa ki te 'hoko' i te poraka whenua o Pōneke i te Māori i te 27 o Hepetema. I taua wā ka tonoa e te kamupene he kainoho kōkuhu ki konei. Ko te mataku ake, ka tuki pea tētahi koroni motuhake ki te Māori.
Why the British government wanted a treaty
There was considerable pressure on the British government to intervene in New Zealand in the late 1830s, due to a variety of reasons. For example:
ongoing issues with European lawlessness
concerns from humanitarians about the impact of colonisation on indigenous people, including the illnesses overwhelming Māori
land speculators tried to buy large areas from Māori who had no tradition of this form of permanent transfer of land ownership
the French and Americans were taking a greater interest in New Zealand, including an attempt by France to colonise Akaroa
in May 1839, the New Zealand Company — an independent organisation unauthorised by the British government — sent agents to New Zealand who ‘purchased’ the Port Nicholson block from Māori on 27 September. By then the company had sent colonists. The fear was that an independent colony would clash with Māori.
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Engari i mārama ngā kupu o He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni. Ko te mana motuhake i Aotearoa kei ngā rangatira e pupuri ana. Nā te mea i whakamanahia te mana motuhake Māori, me whai tiriti a Peretānia i te tuatahi, e riro ai i a rātou tētahi tūmomo mana ōkawa.
Ka tere mai a Kāpene William Hobson ki Aotearoa
I te 1839, ka whakatau te kāwanatanga o Peretānia ki te whakatakoto tikanga mōna ki Aotearoa. I taua wā, kua piki te tokomaha o ngā Pākehā i Aotearoa ki te 2,000 - otirā he āhua 100,000 pea te iwi Māori. Ka kopoua a William Hobson, he heremana i tuku pūrongo mō Aotearoa i te 1837, hei māngai mō te Karauna me te Kāwanatanga o Peretānia. Ko ngā tohutohu ki a ia, he whiriwhiri i te rironga o te tino rangatiratanga o Aotearoa, he wāhanga iti, te katoa rānei, ā, me te whakatū i tētahi koroni Peretānia, otirā ko ia tonu hei Rūtene-Kāwana mō taua koroni.
But the Declaration of Independence was clear. Authority in Aotearoa resided with the rangatira. This recognition of Māori independence meant the British needed a treaty to gain formal authority.
Captain William Hobson sets sail to New Zealand
In 1839, the British government decided to take action on New Zealand. By then the number of Europeans in Aotearoa had increased to 2,000 — among an estimated 100,000 Māori. It appointed William Hobson, a naval officer who had reported on New Zealand in 1837, to represent the British Crown and Government. He was instructed to negotiate sovereignty of New Zealand, in whole or in part, and to set up a British colony of which he would be Lieutenant-Governor.
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I whakatau te Hēkeretari Koroni, a Lord Normanby, ki te taunaha i tētahi wāhi o Aotearoa i te 30 o Mei 1839. I te Hune, i tukua ētahi Whakataunga Karauna hei whakaū i te mana o New South Wales ki Aotearoa. Engari i āhua rehurehu ngā tohutohu a Normanby ki a Hobson. Ko te whakatau, kia tiakina ngā take a Ngāi Māori (tae atu ki ngā motika whenua), nā reira mā te Karauna kē e whakahaere ngā hokonga whenua. Ko te hiahia o Peretānia, kia riro i a ia te mana ā-ture o āna ake kiriraraunga otirā ka āwhina hoki te taunahatanga i te Māori, otirā ko te whakaaro ia mo tōna tino rangatiratanga, "he iti noa te kiko". Ko te whakaaro ia, ko te ture o Pēretānia tētahi huarahi hei whakahaere, hei hiki hoki i ngā hononga ki waenga i a Ngāi Māori me ngā kainoho Pākehā.
I tae mai a Hobson mā runga i te HMS Herald ki Te Pēwhairangi i te 29 o Hānuere 1840 - he wiki i muri i te taenga o ngā kainoho tuatahi a te New Zealand Company ki Pōneke. I haere tonu ngā 'hokonga' whenua i te Māori. I mōhio a Hobson me wawe te kimi tikanga
The Colonial Secretary, Lord Normanby, decided to annex at least some of New Zealand on 30 May 1839. In June Letters Patent were issued to allow New South Wales authority to extend into New Zealand. Normanby’s instructions to Hobson were ambiguous.
Māori interests (including land rights) were to be protected, so land purchase was to be controlled by the Crown. Britain needed to gain legal authority over its own subjects and annexation would help Māori, whose sovereignty was seen as “little more than nominal”. British law was seen as a way to control and improve Māori/settler relations.
Hobson arrived on the HMS Herald at the Bay of Islands on 29 January 1840 — a week after the first New Zealand Company settlers landed at Port Nicholson (Wellington). Land ‘purchases’ from Māori continued. Hobson knew he had to act fast.
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Ngā whiriwhiri kōrero tuatahi a te Māori me te Karauna Peretānia i Waitangi
I tuku pōhiri a Busby ki ngā rangatira o te pito raki kia tūtaki rātou ki a Hobson, "he rangatira nā te Kuini o Ingarangi", i tōna kāinga i Waitangi i te 5 o Pēpuere 1840 ki te wānanga i tētahi whakaritenga ōkawa. Kaore he tiriti hukihuki ā Hobson. Kāore rāua tahi ko James Freeman, tana hēkeretari, i ākona ki te ture, kāore hoki i tino mōhio ki ngā tikanga a te Māori. Ka oti te tauira tuatahi i a Freeman, ka māuiutia a Hobson. Ka nui ngā āpitihanga o Busby ki te tauira tuatahi, otirā i whakaūtia e Hobson i te 4 o Pēpuere.
Initial discussions between Māori and British at Waitangi
Busby sent invitations to northern rangatira to meet Hobson, “a rangatira of the Queen of England”, at his property at Waitangi on 5 February 1840 to discuss a formal arrangement. Hobson had no draft treaty. Neither he nor James Freeman, his secretary, had legal training or much understanding of Māori. After a first attempt with Freeman, Hobson fell ill. Busby added considerably to the draft, which Hobson finalised on 4 February.
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Nō taua pō, nā Henry Williams, he mihinare, rāua ko tāna tama a Edward i whakamāori te tauira o Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te reo Māori. Ka āta tuhia tētahi tārua pai o te tiriti ki te reo Māori ki runga kiri kararehe e Minita Richard Taylor, i te ata o te 5 o Pēpuere 1840 hei whakaatu ki te hui i taua rā.
Into the evening, the missionary Henry Williams and his son Edward translated the draft into te reo Māori. A clean copy of the proposed treaty in Māori was made on parchment by the Reverend Richard Taylor early on 5 February 1840 to present to the hui that day.
Te waitohu i Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Signing Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Ka whakatakotoria te tauira Tiriti rā ki mua i te Māori
Ka whakatakotoria te tauira Tiriti Reo Māori rā, otirā ka whakamāramatia hoki ki te 500 Māori me te 200 Pākehā i huihui ki Waitangi i te 5 o Pēpuere. Ka noho ko ngā mihinare ngā kaiwhakamāori matua i te reo Pākehā ki te reo Māori. Ka haere tonu ngā whakamārama me ngā whiriwhiri kōrero i te roanga o te rā.
He iti noa nei ngā tīwhiri i ēnei kōrero mō ngā take maha ka ara ake i te waitohutanga o te Tiriti. He mea tautoko te tauira Tiiriti e te nuinga o ngā miningare i whakaponotia e te Māori, engari i whakahēngia e ētahi kaitauhokohoko. Ka whakatōmuatia ngā kōrero mō ngā painga ka hua, ka iti noa nei ngā kōrero mō ngā herenga i runga i te Māori Ka mātāmuritia te āhua katoa o te tuku mana motuhake - arā, te tikanga o te kupu 'sovereignty' - ki te Karauna o Peretānia, ka whakatōmuatia kētia ngā whakamarumaru o te piringa whaiaro ki a Kuini Wikitōria me te kawenata kotahitanga i raro i te maru o te Atua kotahi.
He tokomaha ngā rangatira kāore i tautoko i te tiriti. I te āwangawanga ētahi mō te āhuatanga e kitea ana i te tai tokerau, ā, me te mataku anō kāore e taea e rātou te whakahaere i te taiopenga nui o te Pākehā. Nō te wehenga o Hobson i taua ahiahi, ka haere tonu ngā kōrero. Engari kāore tonu i mārama mēnā ka waitohua e te Māori.
Ko ngā waitohu tuatahi ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Ko te tikanga ka tīmata anō te hui hei te 7 o Pēpuere. Engari ko te hiahia a ētahi Māori kia wawe te hoki, nā reira ka hohoro te whakaae a Hobson kia waitohua te Tiriti. Kāore i whakaaetia e ia kia haere tonu ngā kōrero, i tua atu i te whakaaetanga ā-waha o Hobson ki te hiahia a te Pīhopa Katorika a Pompallier kia māhaki ki ngā whakapono o te katoa - tatū noa ki te Māori.
Ka whakatau a Hone Heke ki te waitohu i te tuatahi, ā, neke atu i te 40 ngā rangatira i whai i a ia, arā, he waitohu i ō rātou ingoa, tohu rānei ki te tauira reo Māori o te Tiriti i te 6 o Pēpuere 1840. I waitohu ētahi rangatira i runga i te hiahia kia tau ētahi tikanga whakahaere i ngā hokonga o te whenua Māori ki ngā Pākehā. I waitohu ētahi i runga i te hiahia ki te tauhokohoko ki te Pākehā me te whakapono anō mā te Tiriti e pākati i ngā riri i waenga i ngā iwi.
The proposed Treaty is presented to Māori
The proposed Treaty in te reo Māori was presented and explained to 500 Māori and 200 Pākehā at Waitangi on 5 February. Missionaries acted as the main translators from English to Māori. Explanation and discussion continued through the day.
The discussion gave little hint of the many implications of signing the Treaty. Missionaries trusted by many Māori generally favoured it, while some traders were against it. Possible benefits were stressed, with little said about the restrictions Māori would face. The absolute nature of the transfer of authority to the British Crown — intended in the English word ‘sovereignty’ — was played down, but ideas of protection through a personal relationship with Queen Victoria and of union in covenant under one God were emphasised.
Many rangatira spoke against a treaty. Some had concerns about the situation in the north and feared they could not control the influx of Europeans. In the evening after Hobson left, discussion continued. But it remained unclear whether Māori would sign.
The first signatures on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The hui was to resume on 7 February. But some Māori wished to leave a day earlier, so Hobson hastily agreed the Treaty could be signed. He did not allow any further discussion, though the Catholic Bishop Pompallier gained Hobson’s verbal agreement to religious tolerance for all — including Māori.
Hone Heke decided to sign first, and over 40 rangatira followed, adding their names or personal marks to the Māori version of the Treaty on 6 February 1840. Some chiefs signed because they wanted controls on sales of Māori land to Europeans. Some signed because they wanted to trade with Europeans and believed te Tiriti would stop fighting between tribes.
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Te kohikohi i ētahi atu waitohu mō Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Kātahi a Hobson ka haere ki te kohi waitohu, i te tuatahi ki Waimate, ā, ki tētahi hui nui i Te Mangungu i te Hokianga. I te 1 o Māehe 1840 i Waitematā, ka pā te īkura roro ki a Hobson. Kaore i taea e ia te kohikohi ngā waitohu katoa e hiahiatia ana.
Ka kī rawa te whārangi taketake, arā te whārangi o Waitangi, ā ko te whakamōrearea ia, ka ngaro pea ina toro haere tonu te whārangi nei. Kātahi ka tāruatia te tauira tuhi reo Māori. Ka mauria haere tēnei ki ētahi tōpito o Aotearoa. I kawea hoki e te hunga kohikohi i ngā waitohu ētahi tārua o te tauira reo Ingarihi, kia mārama ai rātou. I mauria e ētahi ko ngā tārua tā o te tauira reo Māori, nā William Colenso i tā ki te whare perehi o Te Rōpū Hāhi Mihinare i Te Pēwhairangi i te 17 o Pēpuere. Ka wehe a Meiha Thomas Bunbury mā runga i te HMS Herald me tētahi tārua, ki te kohi waitohu i ētahi wāhi, tae atu ki Te Waipounamu. Ka whakaritea e Willoughby Shortland, te Hēkeretari Koroni, ētahi atu whārangi kia mauria ki ētahi wāhi tauwhāiti.
I haere ngā mahi kohikohi waitohu kia tae ki te tīmatanga o Hepetema 1840. No taua wā, he 500 anō ngā rangatira i waitohu ake. I waitohu ētahi ahakoa te rangirua, otirā ko ētahi kāore i whai wāhi ki te waitohu nā te kore e tae ki ō rātou rohe. Kāore rawa hoki ētahi i hiahia ki te waitohu nā runga i te hiahia kia whakatauhia ō rātou tohenga i te tuatahi. Ko te māharahara ia, ka ngaro tō rātou mana motuhake. Ko te tino nuinga o ngā waitohu i whakamaua atu ki te putanga reo Māori o Te Tiriti.
Ka whakapuaki a Peretānia i tōna tino rangatiratanga i runga ake o Aotearoa
Ahakoa i te tāpiritia tonutia ētahi waitohu hou, ka whakapuakina e Hobson te tino rangatiratanga o Peretānia i runga ake o Aotearoa i te 21 o Mei 1840. I taunahatia e ia Te Ika-a-Māui i raro i te mana o Te Tiriti, ā, me Te Waipounamu i raro i te mana o te 'kitenga' e Kāpene Cook. Nā te kore mōhio ki ngā mahi nei a Hobson, ka kauhautia e Bunbury te tino rangatiratanga i Peretānia i runga ake o Rakiura i te 5 o Hune me Te Waipounamu i te 17 o Hune - nā runga i ngā waitohu i kohikohia e ia. I whakapuakina e Te Tari Koroni o Ingarangi, ka tau ngā iwi me ngā hapū Māori katoa ki raro i Te Tiriti, ahakoa kāore ō rātou rangatira i waitohu. Kua ōkawa te mana o Peretānia, e ai ki ō rātou ake whakaaro.
Gathering more signatures for te Tiriti o Waitangi
Hobson then travelled, gathering more signatures, first at Waimate and then at a large hui at Mangungu on the Hokianga. On 1 March 1840 at the Waitematā Harbour, Hobson suffered a stroke. He could not gather all the signatures he wanted.
The original sheet, the Waitangi Sheet, had run out of space and there was the risk of loss if it continued to travel. Copies were made using the Māori text. These were taken to various parts of New Zealand. Those gathering signatures also had copies of the English text for their understanding. Some took printed copies of the Māori text, made by William Colenso at the Church Missionary Society printery in the Bay of Islands on 17 February. Major Thomas Bunbury set off in the HMS Herald with one copy to gain signatures in a variety of places, including the South Island. The Colonial Secretary, Willoughby Shortland, organised for other sheets to be taken to specific areas.
The collecting of signatures lasted until early September 1840. By then, another 500 rangatira had signed. Some signed while still being uncertain, while others did not have the chance to sign it as it was not taken to all regions. Some refused to because they wanted to settle their own disputes. They worried they would lose their independence and power. Almost all the signatures were on the Māori version of te Tiriti.
View the sheets of te Tiriti o Waitangi online and find out more about each one
Britain declares sovereignty over Aotearoa New Zealand
Even as new signatures were still being added, Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over New Zealand on 21 May 1840. He claimed the North Island by right of the Treaty, and further south by right of Captain Cook’s ‘discovery’. Unaware of Hobson’s action, Bunbury proclaimed British sovereignty over Stewart Island on 5 June and the South Island on 17 June — the latter based on the signatures he had obtained. The Colonial Office in England declared that the Treaty applied to Māori iwi and hapū whose chiefs had not signed. British authority was official, as far as the British were concerned.
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![2 rectangular sheets of paper filled with printed text. Each one is titled ‘Proclamation’]()
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Ngā rerekētanga o te putanga reo Māori me te putanga reo Pākehā o Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Differences between te reo Māori and English versions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Kāore i tino ōrite te tikanga o te putanga reo Māori o Te Tiriti o Waitangi i te tikanga o te putanga reo Pākehā.
Kei te Wāhanga 1 o Te Tiriti ki te reo Māori, ka tukua te kāwanatanga o te whenua ki a Kuini Wikitōria. Kei te tāuira reo Pākehā, ka tukua kētia ki a Kuini Wikitōria te 'sovereignty' o te whenua — he kupu tino taikaha ake.
Kei te Wāhanga 2 o Te Tiriti ki te reo Māori, ka whakapūmautia ki ngā rangatira ‘te tino rangatiratanga’ — arā, te tino rangatiratanga o ō rātou whenua, ō rātou kāinga, me ō rātou taonga katoa. Ka tukua hoki ki te Karauna te tika ki te hoko i te whenua i te Māori. Kei te putanga reo Pākehā, ka whakapūmautia ki ngā rangatira ko te 'mana pupuri motuhake' o ō rātou whenua, ō rātou ngāherehere, ō rātou hīnga ika me ētahi atu rawa. Ka tukua hoki ki te Karauna anake te tika ki te hoko i te whenua i te Māori.
The meaning of the te reo Māori version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi was not exactly the same as the meaning of the English version.
In Article 1, the Treaty in Māori gave Queen Victoria governance over the land. In English, it gave Queen Victoria sovereignty over the land — a much stronger term.
In Article 2, the Treaty in Māori guaranteed rangatira ‘te tino rangatiratanga’ — chieftainship over their lands, villages and taonga (treasured things). It also gave the Crown the right to deal with Māori in purchasing land. In the English version of the Treaty, rangatira are given ‘exclusive and undisturbed possession’ of lands, forests, fisheries and other property. The Crown was also given an exclusive right to deal with Māori in purchasing land.
Ko whea Te Tiriti o Waitangi ināianei
Where the Treaty of Waitangi is now
I te tau 1842 - e rua tau i muri i te whakatauiratanga me te waitohutanga o Te Tiriti - i whakaorahia ngā whārangi i te ahi, i ngā tari kāwanatanga i Official Bay, Tāmaki Makaurau. Nā te ngoikore o te rokiroki i waenga i te 1877 me te 1908, ka tūkinotia te Tiriti e te wai me te kīrearea. Engahua o ngā waitohu katoa. Nō muri mai i ētahi momo tikanga whāomoomo, me te noho ki ētahi kāinga rerekē, i haria Te Tiriti ki Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga i te 1989.
Tirohia tētahi rārangi wā o te Tiriti o Waitangi
Hei wāhanga mō ā mātou mahi hei kaitiaki mō ngā pūranga 7 miriona nā ngā tari kāwanatanga me ngā whakahaere tūmatanui o Aotearoa i waihanga, ka mahi mātou ki te rokiroki, ki te tiaki hoki i ngā tuhinga taketake o Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ko tō mātou whāinga, kia ngāwari noa te āhei mai o ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa ki tēnei taonga, me te tūhono i a koe ki ō tika me āu kōrero.
Ka taea e koe te tirotiro ki te Tiriti o Waitangi —me te Whakaputanga o Te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni me te P etihana Mana Wahine — ki tō mātou paetukutuku, ā-tinana rānei ki He Tohu
In 1842 — only 2 years after the Treaty was drawn up and signed — the documents were saved from a fire at the government offices in Official Bay, Auckland. Poor storage between 1877 and 1908 led to water and rodent damage to the Treaty. But facsimiles of the Treaty were created in 1877 before the damage occurred, and images of all signatures have survived. After a series of different conservation treatments and different homes, the Treaty was finally brought to National Archives in 1989.
View a timeline of the Treaty of Waitangi
As part of our role as guardian of over 7 million records created by the government and public institutions of Aotearoa New Zealand, we work to preserve and protect the original Tiriti o Waitangi documents. Our goal is for all New Zealanders to easily access and use this taonga, connecting you to your rights and stories.
You can view the Treaty of Waitangi — as well as the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand and the Women’s Suffrage Petition — on our website and in person at He Tohu.