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The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi

TitleTreaty of WaitangiSummaryBrief history on the days leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, with links to related events, as well as publications, letters, and historic newspaper articles in our archive collections.Main Body

More than 40 Māori chiefs signed a treaty with the British Crown in the Bay of Islands. The Treaty of Waitangi remains controversial.

A week earlier, Captain William Hobson had landed at Kororāreka from HMS Herald and proclaimed himself lieutenant-governor of a colony that did not yet exist. His instructions from the Colonial Office in London were to seek Māori consent to British sovereignty. Officials drafted a document to present to a hui of prominent chiefs, especially those who had signed the 1835 Declaration of Independence.

Missionary Henry Williams and his son Edward translated the English draft into Māori on the night of 4 February. Its three clauses transferred kawanatanga (governorship) from the Confederation and individual chiefs to Queen Victoria; guaranteed Māori continued possession of their taonga (property), with the right to sell land to the Crown should they wish; and granted Māori the ‘rights and privileges’ of British subjects.

On the morning of 5 February, about 500 Māori, Hobson’s retinue and local Pākehā gathered on the lawn in front of British Resident James Busby’s house at Waitangi. After Hobson spoke in English, Henry Williams explained in Māori that the treaty was an act of love by the Queen and Busby emphasised that it protected land rights.

Much of the subsequent kōrero – translated for Hobson by the missionaries – favoured the status quo, with missionaries rather than a governor as protectors of Māori. Some chiefs also foresaw the loss of their land. The tide was turned by two influential rangatira, with Tāmati Wāka Nene declaring it was too late to stop Pākehā arriving and Hōne Heke Pōkai advocating a covenant between Māori and the Queen.

Informal debate continued that evening. Hobson had announced that the hui would reconvene on the 7th, but many chiefs were eager to leave for home. When they assembled outside Busby’s residence on the morning of 6th, Hobson was summoned hastily from the Herald to accept signatures. By September 1840, another 500 Māori had signed one of the nine copies of the treaty and British sovereignty over the whole country had been declared.

Date of Event6 Feb 1840SourcesNZ History: Treaty of Waitangi signed » 'Treaty of Waitangi signed', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/the-treaty-of-waitangi-is-signed, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 6-Oct-2020

Publications

British Parliamentary Papers 1841 no.311 Copies or extracts of correspondence relative to New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1842 no.569 Copies of papers and despatches relative to New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1844 no.641 Copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society to Lord Stanley

British Parliamentary Papers 1844 no.556 Report from the Select Committee on New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1845 no.108 Copies of letters from Mr. Shortland and Mr. Busby to Lord Stanley and Mr. Hope

British Parliamentary Papers 1845 no.1 Papers relative to the affairs of New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1846 no.712 Papers relative to the affairs of New Zealand: correspondence with Lieut.-Governor Grey

British Parliamentary Papers 1846 no.337 Copies or extracts of further correspondence between Lord Stanley and Governor FitzRoy, and Lieutenant-Governor Grey

British Parliamentary Papers 1846 no.203 Copies or extracts of despatches from the Governor of New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1847 no.892 Papers relative to the affairs of New Zealand Correspondence with Governor Grey

British Parliamentary Papers 1847 no.837 Further papers relative to the affairs of New Zealand Correspondence with Governor Grey

British Parliamentary Papers 1847 no.763 Papers relative to the affairs of New Zealand correspondence with Governor Grey

British Parliamentary Papers 1850 no.1136 Further papers relative to the affairs of New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1851 no.1420 Further papers relative to the affairs of New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1857 no.171 Report from the select committee on New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1860 no.492 Copies or extracts of despatches from the Governor of New Zealand

British Parliamentary Papers 1872 no.C.522 Correspondence relative to the colony of New Zealand

Stories (Person)

James Busby

Henry Williams

Tāmati Wāka Nene

William Hobson

Items (Archive)

Letter from Rawiri Te Wanui at Otaki

Letter from Parakaia Te Pouepa at Otaki

Letter from multiple authors at Otaki

Newspaper Article

Illustrated London News 1845 vol.6 page 387

Illustrated London News 1845 vol.7 page 59

Illustrated London News 1856 vol.29 page 225

Stories (Events)

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Hōne Heke cuts down the British flagstaff

Finding Aid

Bishop Selwyn Letters - Overview

'Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/the-signing-of-the-treaty, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 18-Aug-2014'Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/the-signing-of-the-treaty, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 18-Aug-2014'Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/the-signing-of-the-treaty, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 18-Aug-2014

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Subject (keywords)Te Tīriti o Waitangi -- The Treaty of WaitangiTreaty of Waitangi (1840)Maori -- Government relationsMāori -- HistoryPeopleWilliam HobsonHōne HekeTāmati Wāka NeneHenry WilliamsJames BusbyEventsTe Tiriti o Waitangi

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