PROGRAMME BACKGROUND Sunday 20 July 2008 Waitangi, Northland Waitangi is a township located in the Bay of Islands on the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the town of Paihia (of which it is now considered a part), 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The name means weeping waters in Māori. Waitangi is best known for being the location where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed on February 6, 1840; however, it is also the place where the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand was signed five years prior, on October 28, 1835. This document was ratified by the British Crown the following year (1836). The Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) proper began on February 5, 1840 when a public meeting was held on the grounds in front of James Busby's residence. Lieutenant Governor Hobson read a proposed document to the 300 or so European and Maori who were in attendance and then provided the Maori chiefs an opportunity to speak. Initially, a large number of chiefs (including Te Kemara, Rewa, Moka 'Kainga-mataa' and others) spoke against accepting the Crown's proposition to rule over Aotearoa. However, later in the proceedings a few chiefs began to entertain this idea; amongst the more notable chiefs to support the Crown were Te Wharerahi, Pumuka, and the two Hokianga chiefs, Tamati Waka Nene and his brother Eruera Maihi Patuone). The proceedings were ended and were to recommence on February 7; however, a number of chiefs pressed to sign earlier. The Treaty of Waitangi was initially signed on February 6, 1840 in a marquee erected in the grounds of James Busby's house at Waitangi by representatives of the British Crown, the chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and other Māori tribal leaders, and subsequently by other Māori chiefs at other places in New Zealand. Not all of the chiefs chose to sign this document, with a number of chiefs either delaying or refusing to put pen to paper. In 2007, Sydney-based Maori academic, Brent Kerehona (Ngapuhi/Whakatohea/Tuhoe/Whanau-a-Apanui), claimed that uncertainty has arisen over whether Ngapuhi chief Moka 'Kainga-mataa' actually signed; despite his name appearing on this document. A close inspection of the Treaty document itself shows no evidence of a signature or 'mark' next to Moka's name (which is written as 'Te Tohu o Moka'). Kerehona elaborates by inferring that it is clear by the accounts of Colenso (1890)[1] that not only did Moka clearly express his concerns about the Treaty's effects whilst at the meeting on February 5, but that the discussion that he had with the Reverend Charles Baker combined with Moka's final comment should be taken into account. The introduction of the Treaty effectively revoked the Declaration of Independence; making New Zealand a British colony, and the Treaty is generally considered the founding document of New Zealand as a nation. Waitangi Day is the annual celebration of the signing, and is New Zealand's national holiday. In preparation for New Zealand Centenary in 1940 the Treaty house at Waitangi was restored in the 1930s, and the Meeting House Te Whare Runanga was built beside it, sparking the first emergence of the Treaty into Pākehā attention since the 19th century. ----------------------- The Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: Tiriti o Waitangi) is a treaty first signed on February 6, 1840, by representatives of the British Crown, and various Māori chiefs from the northern North Island of New Zealand. The Treaty established a British governor in New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and gave Māori the rights of British subjects. However the English and Māori language versions of the Treaty differ significantly, and so there is no consensus as to exactly what was agreed to. From the British point of view, the Treaty gave Britain sovereignty over New Zealand, and the Governor the right to run the country; Māori seem to have had a range of understandings, many of which conflicted with the British understanding. After the initial signing at Waitangi, copies of the Treaty were taken around New Zealand and over the following months many other chiefs signed. Until the 1970s, the Treaty was generally ignored by both the courts and parliament, although it was usually depicted in New Zealand historiography as a generous and benevolent act on the part of the Crown. From at least the 1860s, Māori looked to the Treaty, with little success, for rights and remedies for land loss and unequal treatment by the state. From the late 1960s, Māori began drawing attention to breaches of the Treaty, and subsequent histories have emphasised problems with its translation. In 1975 the Waitangi Tribunal was established as a permanent commission of inquiry tasked with researching breaches of the Treaty by the Crown or its agents, and suggesting means of redress. Today it is generally considered the founding document of New Zealand as a nation; despite this, the Treaty is often the subject of heated debate. Many Māori feel that the Crown did not keep its side of the bargain, and have presented evidence of this before sittings of the Tribunal, despite a contrary view from some in the non-Māori population that Māori pay too much attention to the Treaty and use it to claim 'special privileges'. The Crown is not obliged to give effect to the recommendations of the Tribunal, but nonetheless in many instances has accepted that it breached the Treaty and its principles. Settlements to date have consisted of millions of dollars in money and assets, as well as apologies. The signing of the Treaty The Treaty of Waitangi was instituted by the British Government on the advice of officials in the Colonial Office, prompted by concerns over lawlessness, Maori tribal wars and the prospect of formal colonisation of New Zealand by a private firm, the New Zealand Company. Historian Claudia Orange claims that the Colonial Office had initially planned a Maori New Zealand in which European settlers would be accommodated, but by 1839 had shifted to "a settler New Zealand in which a place had to be kept for Maori."[1] Naval officer Captain William Hobson, who had earlier spent time in New Zealand, was dispatched from London in August 1839 with instructions to take the constitutional steps needed to establish a British colony. He was instructed to negotiate a voluntary transfer of sovereignty from Maori to the British Crown. This was necessary, as the House of Commons ruled that as the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand had been ratified in 1836, any move by the British Crown to annex New Zealand would be unlawful.[2] He was sworn in as Lieutenant- Governor in Sydney and arrived in the Bay of Islands on January 29, 1840. The following day (January 30, 1840), Hobson attended the Christ Church at Kororareka (Russell); where he publicly read a number of proclamations. The first was in relation to the extension of the boundaries of New South Wales to include the islands of New Zealand. The second was in relation to Hobson's own appointment as Lieutenant-Governor. The third was in relation to land transactions (notably the issue of pre-emption).[3] Without a draft document prepared by lawyers or Colonial Office officials, Hobson was forced to write his own treaty with the help of his secretary, James Freeman, and British Resident James Busby, neither of whom was a lawyer. (Busby had previously drafted the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand which had been signed by a few Māori chiefs in 1835, and which was ratified by the Crown the following year.) The entire treaty was prepared in four days.[1] Realising that a treaty in English could be neither understood, debated or agreed to by Maori, Hobson instructed missionary Henry Williams and his son Edward to translate the document into Maori and this was done overnight on February 4. On February 5, copies of the treaty in both languages were put before a gathering of northern chiefs inside a large marquee on the lawn in front of Busby’s house at Waitangi. Hobson read the treaty aloud in English and Williams read his Maori version. Maori speakers debated the treaty for five hours, during which time chiefs Te Kemara, Rewa, Moka 'Kainga-mataa' and a number of others opposed the Treaty; whilst chiefs such as Pumuka, Te Wharerahi, Tamati Waka Nene and his brother Eruera Maihi Patuone suggested that they were accepting of the Crown. Afterwards, the chiefs then moved to a river flat below Busby’s house and lawn and continued deliberations late into the night. Although Hobson had planned for the signing to occur on February 7; the following morning 45 of them were ready to sign and so, Hobson hastily arranged for this to occur.[4] Hobson headed the British signatories. Of the 40 or so Māori chiefs, the Ngapuhi rangatira Hone Heke was the first to sign the treaty. To enhance the authority of the treaty eight further copies were made and sent around the country to gather additional signatures: Treaty of Waitangi About 50 meetings were held from February to September 1840 to discuss and sign the copies, and a further 500 signatures were added to the treaty. A number of chiefs and some tribal groups refused to sign, including Tuhoe, Te Arawa and Ngāti Tuwharetoa. Recently (2007) Maori academic Brent Kerehona, suggested that despite historians, both past and present, claiming that the chief Moka 'Kainga-mataa' signed the Treaty at Waitangi on February 6; he did not do so, refusing out of protest.[5] Some were not given the opportunity to sign.[6] Nonetheless, on 21 May 1840, Governor Hobson proclaimed sovereignty over the whole country, and New Zealand was constituted as a colony separate from New South Wales on 16 November 1840.