THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
H.M.S. Herald in Sylvan Cove, Stewart Island, 1840.
The Herald was at Stewart Island to
obtain signatures on the Treaty of Waitangi.
ATL: A-083-005.
Artist: Edward Marsh Williams.
Sir George Grey.
ATL: G-623.
Artist: Daniel Louis Mundy.
Some 40 chiefs signed on the first day. The Herald fired a 21-gun
salute to mark the occasion. By September, more than 500 chiefs in
different parts of the country had signed (including more than five
women). Almost all of the chiefs signed copies of the Mäori text of
the Treaty. A number of districts were not approached and some
notable chiefs refused to sign. For example, Te Heuheu from Ngäti
Tüwharetoa (located around Taupö) refused "to consent to the mana
of a woman [the Queen] resting on these islands".
1840 May Sovereignty proclaimed over New Zealand
In early March, while heading down the eastern coast to obtain
further signatories for the Treaty, Hobson suffered a paralytic stroke
and so he deputised a number of men (including seven missionaries)
to collect more signatures from around the country on copies of
the Treaty. Hobson wished to have signatures from the Cook Strait
area (particularly that of Te Rauparaha) and so Henry Williams was
despatched to get these, while other copies were sent to the Bay of
Plenty, Waikato, Tauranga and Kaitaia. Major Bunbury, on the Herald,
was sent to get signatures from the South Island, Stewart Island and
Hawke's Bay. On 21 May, while this was still under way, Hobson
proclaimed sovereignty over all of New Zealand: over the North Island
on the basis of cession by the Treaty and the southern islands by right
of discovery. Some historians suggest that he wanted to declare the
Crown's authority over the whole country because he had learned
of possible moves by the New Zealand Company to set up its own
administration around Cook Strait. His second-in-command, Major
Bunbury, also made proclamations of sovereignty over Stewart Island
by right of discovery on 5 June, as no Mäori could be found to sign the
Treaty, and over the South Island on 17 June by virtue of cession.
1841 Chief Protector of Aborigines appointed
In April 1840, while he was recuperating at Waimate, Hobson
approached the CMS lay missionary George Clarke to take the
position of Protector of Aborigines, initially a temporary position,
which he accepted. When the new colony was established in 1841,
Clarke filled the position as Chief Protector of Aborigines. Clarke
and his staff were also given a second, conflicting, role as land
purchasers for the Crown. Hobson was recorded in April 1840 as
saying to Clarke: "It may be necessary to appraise you that, in the
discharge of your duties, you may be called upon to make journies
into the interior and to negotiate the purchase of lands from the
natives." Although Clarke managed to persuade the Governor to free
him of the land purchasing responsibilities, which clearly conflicted
with his protective role, his sub-protectors still retained their dual
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Captain William Hobson, R.N.,
first Governor of New Zealand.
ATL: A-044-002.
Artist: James Ingram McDonald.
Mäori bargaining with a Päkehä, 1845 or 1846.
ATL: A-079-017.
Artist: John Williams.
The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi,
6 February 1840.
ATL: C-033-007.
Artist: Marcus King.
1839 William Hobson appointed
With the New Zealand Company in the process of despatching
colonists from London, the British Government decided to appoint
naval officer Captain William Hobson as Consul. Hobson left England
shortly after the New Zealand Company's first ship, the Tory. He was
instructed to obtain sovereignty over all or part of New Zealand with
the consent of a sufficient number of chiefs. New Zealand would
come under the authority of Sir George Gipps, Governor of New
South Wales, and Hobson himself would become Gipps's Lieutenant-
Governor. Land-buying agents continued swarming over New Zealand
in anticipation of purchasing opportunities being cut off by Hobson.
It was later calculated that their combined claims amounted to more
than New Zealand's total land area.
1840 Prohibition on land purchases
Hobson travelled first to New South Wales to confer with his new
superior, Governor Gipps. As Hobson left Sydney on 18 January
1840, Gipps, relying on his authority over British subjects at least,
proclaimed a prohibition on any further private land purchases
from Mäori and that no existing claims would be recognised until
they had been investigated by the authorities. Hobson repeated the
proclamation in the Bay of Islands on 30 January 1840, soon after
his arrival there. William Colenso of the Church Missionary Society
printed both proclamations for Hobson, as he was the only printer
at the Bay.
1840 Treaty of Waitangi signed
As soon as Hobson arrived at the Bay of Islands he met with Busby
on the Herald, and Busby organised an invitation to the chiefs of
the "Confederation" (which had not actually met before) to meet
Hobson, "a rangatira [chief] from the Queen of England".
The meeting was to take place on Wednesday, 5 February.
Meanwhile a draft of the Treaty was prepared in English and a copy
of this text was provided to Henry Williams so that he could translate
it for the meeting. At the meeting, the text, in both languages,
was discussed before about 500 Mäori and 200 Päkehä. Most
of the speakers were suspicious of what was intended, but the
speech of Tamati Waka Nene is thought to have swayed the chiefs
towards acceptance. Hobson expected several days of discussion and
lobbying by those in favour and those opposed, and discussion
did continue overnight at what is now Te Tii Marae. On the
following day, 6 February, the meeting was hurriedly reassembled, the
text read again, and signing commenced with Hone Wiremu Hene
Pokai (Hone Heke), one of the signatories to the 1835 Declaration.
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