He Whakaputanga — Whose hand was it that crafted these words?

Without He Whakaputanga, there may never have been a Treaty of Waitangi. Come and find out more, at He Tohu.

Transcript

Visual

A watercolour-style minimalist animation of a person seated at a white table on a piece of land jutting out to sea. A group of men appear, some wearing brown and cream korowai and others wearing trousers, waistcoats and hats. Italic handwriting reads ‘Waitangi, October 1835’.

Audio

October 1835. 34 rangatira gather at Waitangi. They have come to agree and sign He Whakaputanga to claim their position as tangata whenua and manage the growing number of European settlers. But whose hand crafted the words that drew these chiefs together?

Visual

A handwritten document is superimposed on the pastel blue sky, and a hand holding a white feather quill writes out the letters He Whakaputanga.

Audio

But whose hand crafted the words that drew these chiefs together? Eruera Pare Hongi.

Visual

Eruera sits with quill in hand, a korowai fastened over his black suit and white shirt. A flashback to a lifeless bearded man, wearing a piupiu, falling backwards as a battle rages behind him.

Audio

A baby when his father died in battle, Eruera was adopted by the legendary chief Hongi Hika.

Visual

Beneath a cream and pink sky, Hongi cradles baby Eruera in one arm and holds a book in the other.

Audio

Hongi foresaw the need for Eruera to learn the skills that he and his people would need, and so Eruera’s elders sent him to Sydney to learn to read and write.

Visual

A two-masted ship rocks on a blue ocean.

Audio

So great was his talent, his people chose him to work with James Busby to co-write He Whakaputanga, the declaration of Māori sovereignty over the land in alliance with the British King.

Visual

Flashing forward, the adult Eruera sits in front of documents on a table lit by candlelight. He looks to James, who leans over the table next to him.

Audio

So it was at the hand of a talented young Māori man who shaped the document that brought these chiefs together.

Visual

An aerial view of rangatira gathering to sign the declaration. The original handwritten document is superimposed over the top, its paper yellowed and torn at the edges.

Audio

Without He Whakaputanga, there may never have been a Treaty of Waitangi. Come and find out more at He Tohu.

Visual

The turquoise, orange and purple painted logo of He Tohu. A declaration, a treaty, a petition. Hashtag He Tohu. National Library, Wellington. (No documents of national importance were harmed in the making of the animation.) The logo for the New Zealand Government.

Credits

Developed in partnership with the Department of Internal Affairs.

Creative concept — Ogilvy New Zealand

Animation — YukFoo

Voiceover — Moana Ormsby

Music — Al Fraser and Ariana Tikao