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Journey of the Treaty of Waitangi

The journey of Treaty of Waitangi and its signatories is as important as the Treaty itself. This topic includes the events that followed the signing, and the shifting attitudes toward the Treaty over the years.

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- Treaty signatories and signing locations

New Zealand's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was prepared over just a few days in February 1840. Several versions of the treaty were taken around the country for signing. Find out how t...

Te Tiriti o Waitangi | Waitangi sheet

Te Tiriti o Waitangi | Waitangi sheet

This is the Waitangi Sheet of te Tiriti o Waitangi, signed at various places around Aotearoa New Zealand in 1840. The document itself was drawn up on the night of 5 February by Richard Taylor, who ...

Lost in Translation 4 - The Manukau-Kawhia Sheet (episode four)

Lost in Translation 4 - The Manukau-Kawhia Sheet (episode four)

After Governor Hobson’s stroke, Willoughby Shortland stepped in and sent the Treaty south in the hope of more signatories. This fourth episode of comedian Mike King’s Treaty discovery series search...

Te Tiriti ki Waikato-Manukau | Waikato-Manukau sheet

Te Tiriti ki Waikato-Manukau | Waikato-Manukau sheet

This is the Waikato-Manukau Sheet, the only sheet to be written in English. It is a neatly written copy on paper bearing William Hobson’s seal and signature. The signature was very shaky owing to h...

Printed treaty copy

The Waikato copy is the only surviving printed copy of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Lost in Translation 6 - The Tauranga Sheet (episode six)

Lost in Translation 6 - The Tauranga Sheet (episode six)

This sixth episode of Mike King's exploration of the original journey of the Treaty travels to Tauranga, where the comedian finds tales of murder, cannibalism, inter-tribal conflict — and a missing...

Te Tiriti ki Te Moana o Toi Huatahi | Bay of Plenty (Fedarb) sheet

Te Tiriti ki Te Moana o Toi Huatahi | Bay of Plenty (Fedarb) sheet

After arriving in Tauranga on 11 May 1840, Major Thomas Bunbury had missionary James Stack produce two copies of te Tiriti o Waitangi. One of these was this Bay of Plenty (Fedarb) Sheet, given to t...

Treaty of Waitangi sheets: the Herald

A British officer, Major Thomas Bunbury, carried this treaty sheet on board HMS Herald to Coromandel (where four chiefs signed it), the Mercury Islands (two) and to a series of South Island ports (...

Treaty of Waitangi sheets: Cook Strait

Missionary Henry Williams carried this treaty sheet on board the schooner Ariel to Port Nicholson (later named Wellington), where he collected 34 signatures. He added 40 more at Queen Charlotte Sou...

Re-enacting the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi

This televised re-enactment of the first signing of the treaty at Waitangi in 1840 shows the confusion and mixed motives among the Maori chiefs present. The prominent younger chief Hōne Heke was th...

The New Zealand Wars

The New Zealand Wars

Five-part series The New Zealand Wars took a new look at the history of Māori vs Pākehā armed conflict. It was presented by historian James Belich, who with his arm-waving zeal proved a persuasive ...

Waitangi Treaty: Letters shed light on Māori plight for sovereignty

Tomorrow the country marks nearly 180 years since Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, but letters from that era show that some issues for Māori remain the same.

Descendant of Treaty signatory bemoans lack of consultation

The Government is being accused of mistreating Maori by not holding widespread consultation with iwi about plans to relocate the Treaty of Waitangi document.

The 1940 Centennial and the Treaty of Waitangi - 1940 Centennial - Centennial - growth of New Zealand identity

The year 1940 marked 100 years since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Yet critics of the centenary celebrations argued that the Treaty and Maori played little meaningful part in the events, a...

One hundred crowded years

In 1940 the Government Film Studios made a film to commemorate the centennial of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the first century of New Zealand as a nation. The film featured this high...

First Waitangi Day celebrations, February 1934

First Waitangi Day celebrations, February 1934

Image taken on the first Waitangi Day, held in February 1934. A day of celebrations after Lord Bledisloe donated and dedicated the Treaty House and grounds to the nation. He and his wife attended t...

Waitangi Day 1960s - Waitangi Day

The Waitangi Day Act 1960 declared 6 February to be Waitangi Day; a national day of thanksgiving in commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

NEW ZEALAND'S NATIONAL DAY - (Te Ao Hou - No. 35 June 1961)

NEW ZEALAND'S NATIONAL DAY - (Te Ao Hou - No. 35 June 1961)

Feb. 6th . The day was perfect. Eight naval ships rode at anchor in the Bay as we drove through Paihia; uncertain of the exact route to the Treaty House, we asked a resident of Paihia the way. He t...

Resource Management Act and treaty principles

Resource Management Act and treaty principles

The Resource Management Act 1991 required those seeking resource consent under the act to 'take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi'. This 2003 cartoon reflects the view that this...

Treaty of Waitangi now on public display

Treaty of Waitangi now on public display

The Treaty of Waitangi, the Declaration of Independence and the Women's Suffrage Petition will now permanently be on display at He Tohu - an exhibition inside Wellington's National Library.

Slane, Christopher, 1957- :'I really think you need these Treaty bungs'. 10 February 2012

Slane, Christopher, 1957- :'I really think you need these Treaty bungs'. 10 February 2012

Prime Minister John Key paddles a canoe that represents 'state asset sales'. Inthe foundering stern are Co-leaders of the Maori Party, Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples. Context: Refers to news that ...

Waitangi honoured with heritage classification

Waitangi has become the first wāhi tūpuna to be included on the New Zealand Heritage List.

1000 Treaty claims received

The Waitangi Tribunal says it received up to 1000 Treaty submissions on Monday, leading up to its midnight deadline for claims. Only five arrived after the deadline.

Protests

Waitangi Day is also an occasion for some to protest against breaches of the treaty. Sometimes disorder overtakes the celebrations, especially at Waitangi itself. This protest took place on Waitang...

Treaty protest posters: ‘The treaty is a fraud’

Treaty protest posters: ‘The treaty is a fraud’

This poster from about the late 1970s expresses the frustration and impatience of the Māori land-rights movement in that period. In the first years after its formation in 1975, the Waitangi Tribuna...

protest badge, 'THE TREATY IS A FRAUD' badge, illustration of human figure with upraised arm with forest, seas and mountains behind and text "THE TREATY IS A FRAUD", safety pin fastening

Protesters with 'Why Celebrate Broken Promises' banner, Waitangi protest

Protesters with 'Why Celebrate Broken Promises' banner, Waitangi protest

The Treaties

Here, Emily Karaka uses the concept of sacrifice to explore three key agreements in New Zealand’s history. Three panels each feature a crucified figure and one of the three deeds: the 1840 Treaty o...

Protesters with 'Why Celebrate Broken Promises' banner, Waitangi protest

Protesters with 'Why Celebrate Broken Promises' banner, Waitangi protest

The Treaty

Pūmuka’s Flag: The mending of many hands

Pūmuka’s Flag: The mending of many hands

Explore the darning and patches added to chief Pūmuka’s flag over many generations since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Te Papa website - https://www.tepapa.govt.nz Te Papa collections - ht...

Te Tiriti o Waitangi : The Cook Strait Sheet.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi : The Cook Strait Sheet.

Where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed

Where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed

Dr Thomas Hocken

The curiosity of Dr Thomas Hocken who found the Treaty documents in the basement of a Government building in Wellington.

Preserving the documents

Journey of the document from Auckland in 1842 to Wellington’s National Library in 2017.

New Zealand before the Treaty of Waitangi was signed

Events leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

1800 to 1993 – Treaty timeline

A timeline covering events leading to the signing of the treaty and developments that followed.

1842 – The Treaty survives a fire in Auckland

George Elliot is woken from this sleep to save the Treaty from a fire.

What happened after the Treaty was signed?

The Government did not do what it said it would do in the Treaty of Waitangi.

Timeline of the New Zealand Wars

A timeline of the New Zealand Wars fought after the signing of the Treaty.

The journey of the Treaty

Maritime New Zealand details signatories and journeys of each of the 9 sheets.

Journey of the Treaty

A pdf from NZHistory tracing the journey of the Treaty and the signings of the sheets around New Zealand.

He Whakaputanga as a prelude to the Treaty of Waitangi

Without He Whakaputanga, there might have been no Treaty of Waitangi.

Treaty events since 1950

Treaty related events from 1953 to 2004.

The Treaty today – what went wrong and what are we doing about it?

Auckland journalist Ted Reynolds digs into 150 years of treaty history and tries to make sense of the whole messy, complicated story.

1877 – Chief Justice declares the treaty as worthless

Chief Justice Sir James Prendergast’s statements influenced decision-making on the Treaty.

The voyages of Te Tiriti o Waitangi

The voyage of the 9 sheets of the Treaty over 8 months in 1840 across New Zealand.

1975 – Setting up of the Waitangi Tribuna

The Waitangi Tribunal was set up to make recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to Crown actions.

Waitangi Day Act 1976

Waitangi Day Act 1976 reinstates 6 February as Waitangi Day.

2016 – the Treaty times thirty

The Treaty of Waitangi gets translated into 30 different languages.

Te Taiwhakaea Treaty settlement stories (Te Tai)

Te tai – Connecting Aotearoa New Zealand with Treaty settlement stories.

Matthew Wright, author of Waitangi: a Living Treaty

Matthew Wright talks about his book that deals with how the Treaty has been viewed over time.

Talking Waitangi Day

A talking Waitangi panel hash out their thoughts on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

A 2003 survey finds New Zealanders are tired of Treaty of Waitangi issues, and many have little or no understanding of the document that shaped our national history, latest Human Rights Commission ...

Is the Treaty of Waitangi relevant today?

‘Reasons’ to agree and disagree about the Treaty’s relevance today.

Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi: What was lost.

What the Treaty means today.

The Treaty today

What went wrong and what are we doing about it.

What changed for five iwi after the Treaty of Waitangi?

The Treaty of Waitangi was messy from the get-go.

Art=protest=a voice

Artists have used art to document and tell the story of protest and struggle. Maori artists create artworks that have changed the way we think about the story of the Treaty.

Canvassing the Treaty

A thought-provoking documentary following six New Zealand artists as they gain deeper insights into the Treaty of Waitangi and create cross-cultural collaborative artworks.

Art and the Treaty

The Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand art.

Some signed, some did not, and some were given gifts for signing the Treaty. Articles

Excerpts from Comber’s Journal

Excerpts from midshipman Henry Comber who was with Captain Hobson when they sailed on the HMS Herald to obtain Treaty of Waitangi signatures.

Significance of the Treaty today

How our founding document is seen to work today.

1964 – Speech by Sir Bernard Fergusson

The Speech made by the Governor-General, Sir Bernard Fergusson, on Waitangi Day, 6 February 1964.

1863 – New Zealand Settlements Act

Pākehā historian Vincent O’Malley focuses on the significance of the 1863 New Zealand Settlements Act.

Dominion Museum and Carillon, Buckle Street, Wellington

Dominion Museum

The Treaty documents that Thomas Hocken discovered in 1908 in the basement of Government Buildings in Wellington were water damaged and partially eaten by rats. In 1913 the documents were sent by I...

Dr Guy Scholefield

Dr G H Scholefield

Dr G H Scholefield was a parliamentary librarian at the General Assembly from May 1926 to March 1948. He was also controller of the Dominion Archives in 1931 when the Hawkes Bay earthquake took pla...

First New Zealand Day At Waitangi - (Te Ao Hou - No. 75 March 1974)

First New Zealand Day at Waitangi

The Waitangi Day Act 1960 declared that 6 February would be known as Waitangi Day in commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Prime Minister Norman Kirk in this article answers crit...

HMS Herald in Sylvan Cove, Stewart Island 1840

In April and May of 1940, Major Thomas Bunbury was responsible for getting signatures for the Treaty in areas in and around the Coromandel. He and his crew travelled on board HMS Herald. This sheet...

Rangi Topeora

This image of Rangi Topeora was taken after the signing of the Treaty. Topeora signed the Cook Strait (Henry Williams) Sheet in Kapiti on 19 April 1840. Other women who signed the treaty were Ereo...

Rev William Williams

Rev William Williams

This is a portrait of Rev William Williams, the brother of Henry Williams, a senior Church Missionary Society missionary who translated the Treaty of Waitangi into Māori. William Williams was given...

Pohaturoa Rock at Whakatane, showing the memorial to Te Hurinui Apanui.

Pohaturoa Rock at Whakatane

This is Pōhaturoa rock in Whakatāne where Ngāti Awa gathers for a dawn ceremony every year on 16 June to celebrate the signing of the Bay of Plenty Sheet by 12 rangatira on 16 June 1840. The sheet ...

How cartoonists framed Waitangi Day

Cartoons about Waitangi Day and the Treaty down the years also serve as a snapshot of the past - and recent history too.

Treaty of Waitangi

Treaty of Waitangi

Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in 1840. This topic covers our founding document, the different versions, main signatories, loss of treaty rights, impact on Māori, protests, timeline settlements, a...

Parihaka

Parihaka was invaded on 5 November 1881. These resources cover the causes, the Day of Plunder, the peace prophets (Te Whiti and Tohu), their non-violent passive resistance to the confiscation of Mā...

New Zealand Wars

New Zealand Wars

The wars between the British Crown and Māori began in the 1840s. This topic covers the causes, participants, effects, movements and the battles fought on New Zealand soil. It also includes the cont...

He Whakaputanga, English

He Whakaputanga, English

He Whakaputanga was signed on 28 October 1835 declaring New Zealand an independent nation. These resources cover the declaration, its significance, the articles, translations, signatories and why t...

Māori history post-European arrival

Māori history post-European arrival

The arrival of Captain Cook initiated a dynamic but increasingly unequal relationship between Māori and Pakeha through colonialism. From the Treaty of Waitangi and the New Zealand wars to land marc...

New Zealand Protest

New Zealand Protest

New Zealand has seen many demonstrations, strikes, marches and campaigns by protesters voicing opinions against wars, laws and events. Explore activists and protests like Bastion Point, The Land Ma...

New Zealand History

New Zealand History

The Māori were the first settlers of Aotearoa, followed by the Europeans. Discover the history of New Zealand’s landscape, its people, events, places, identity and cultures from sites like Te Ara, ...

He Whakaputanga, Te Reo Māori

He Whakaputanga, Te Reo Māori

Kua whiriwhiria e mātou ēnei rauemi hei tautoko koe inā hiahia koe ki ngā mōhiohio e pā ana ki He Whakaputanga. SCIS no: 1852798

Colonial Life in New Zealand

Colonial Life in New Zealand

Colonial New Zealand covers the years 1769-1914. The resources include European discovery of New Zealand, contact with Māori, New Zealand wars, Pākehā colonisation, social life, economy, politics a...

Māori Heroes

These resources cover mythical Maori heroes like Maui, and Kupe, famous warriors like Willie Apiata and Hōne Heke, historical figures like Princess Te Puea and Apirana Ngata, Maori All Blacks, musi...

Māori Religious Movements

Māori Religious Movements

Pre-European Māori recognised a hierarchy of gods and spiritual influences that connected the community with the environment. While colonialism led to many Māori converting to Christianity it also ...