THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
An imaginative reconstruction of the capture
of the ship Boyd in Whangaroa Harbour.
ATL: PUBL-0034-2-390.
Artist: Louis Auguste de Sainson.
Revd. Samuel Marsden (1764-1838),
first missionary to New Zealand.
ATL: G-620.
Artist: Joseph Backler.
Eruera Maihi Patuone, one of the chiefs
who signed the 1831 petition.
ATL: PA3-0197. Photographed by G W Redfern.
C1800 Early Mäori and European contact
A pattern of contact was established between Mäori and early whalers
and sealers. Europeans (or Päkehä) numbered barely a handful in any
one place, and they often lived as guests of the estimated 100,000
Mäori in their distinct and independent tribal regions. Early interaction
with ships visiting to trade or take trees (for ships' spars) sometimes
led to misunderstandings and violence. Crewmen sometimes broke
local tapu or mistreated Mäori, and occasionally openly plundered,
for which Mäori sought utu (satisfaction) by attacking the ships.
This occurred with the Fancy in 1795, the Royal Admiral in 1801,
the Elizabeth, the Seringapatam and the Parramatta in 1808 and
culminated with Her Majesty's Transport the Boyd in Whangaroa
in 1809, where the ship was attacked and burnt. The subsequent
massive retaliation, however, fell on the wrong village.
1814 Marsden's mission
The Revd. Samuel Marsden, the Anglican Chaplain to the British penal
colony in New South Wales, was one of the first missionaries in New
Zealand. Despite an earlier visit in 1807, a Church Missionary Society
(CMS) mission was not established at Rangihoua until December
1814. Three lay missionaries, William Hall, Thomas Kendall and John
King, accompanied Marsden, who preached a sermon to Mäori on
Christmas Day. This was interpreted for them by local chief Ruatara,
who had earlier met Marsden in England. Marsden purchased
a supply ship for the mission (the Active), and this was sent on a
preliminary voyage in June 1814.
At the same time, offences committed against Mäori, whether on land
or on board ships, led to Thomas Kendall being appointed as Resident
Magistrate in the Bay of Islands by New South Wales Governor
Macquarie. This was New Zealand's first judicial appointment.
1831 Mäori Chiefs petition British government
Lawlessness by sailors, escaped convicts and adventurers from New
South Wales began to increase and there were growing fears of
French annexation of New Zealand. Therefore, at the suggestion of
New South Wales Governor Darling, missionary William Yate assisted
13 northern chiefs to prepare a letter to King William IV, asking for
his protection and signed with their moko. The fear of unscrupulous
sailors had increased after the Elizabeth affair, when her captain
allowed the vessel to be used in a Ngäti Toa raid from Kapiti on Ngäi
Tahu in Akaroa. The British Crown acknowledged the petition and
promised protection.
PAGE 3
The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document. Over 500 Mäori chiefs and
representatives of the British Crown signed the Treaty in 1840. Like all treaties it is an exchange
of promises; the promises that were exchanged in 1840 were the basis on which the British
Crown acquired New Zealand. The Treaty of Waitangi agreed the terms on which New Zealand
would become a British colony.
This is one of a series of booklets on the Treaty of Waitangi which are drawn from the Treaty of
Waitangi Information Programme’s website www.treatyofwaitangi.govt.nz.
Many historians have contributed to the material in these booklets to ensure it is as accurate
and balanced as possible. Their contribution is gratefully acknowledged.
Further copies of this booklet are available from:
The Treaty of Waitangi Information Programme
State Services Commission
PO Box 329
Wellington, New Zealand
© State Services Commission 2005
Permission of the owner and copyright holder must be obtained before any
re-use of the images used in this booklet.
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library,
National Libraryof New Zealand Te Puna Mätauranga o Aotearoa,
must be obtained before any re-use of their images.
Note:
ATL = Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand
Te Puna Mätauranga o Aotearoa
Archives = Archives New Zealand, Te Rua Mahara o te Kawanatanga.
ISBN 0-478-24474-6
PAGE 4
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
The landing of New Zealand’s first Governor,
Captain Hobson, Bay of Islands, 1840.
ATL: A-109-018.
Artist: Arthur Herbert Messenger.
Settlement of Wellington by the New Zealand
Company. Pioneer ships in Port Nicholson, 1840,
as described by E.J. Wakefield.
ATL: C-033-005.
Artist: Matthew Thomas Clayton.
enable Mäori to retain access. They and others from New Zealand,
Australia and England pressured the British Government to prevent
the spread of immoral behaviour as well as the introduced diseases
that were causing the population to markedly decline. Given Busby's
inability to act, the preference was eventually for annexation and
direct government.
1837 Britain to establish colony
From its experience in other parts of the world, the British
Government had found that colonies involved great expense and
difficulty. As a result it had initially tried to avoid assuming
responsibility in New Zealand. Instead it had tried to influence the
interaction of Mäori and British settlers through the missionaries
and by sending Busby to try to work with the rangatira (chiefs) in
the north. Busby reported pessimistically on his efforts and on the
increasing number of land transactions that British settlers and
New South Wales speculators were making with local chiefs. British
settlers at Kororäreka (now called Russell) petitioned King William IV in
March 1837 for protection and expressed their disapproval of Busby's
proceedings. Officials at the Colonial Office agreed that "the state
of New Zealand is shewn (sic) to be lamentably bad, and Mr Busby
has long been regarded as unfit for office". In December 1837,
understanding that colonisation "to no small extent" was already
happening in New Zealand, the British Government, led by Lord
Melbourne and Lord Glenelg, decided that it had to intervene to
ensure that colonisation was regulated and that land transactions
that defrauded Mäori were stopped. By mid-1839, the British
Government had decided to annex at least part of New Zealand to
New South Wales.
1838-39 Landsharking peaks
Purchasers raced to buy as much land as they could. Apart from
the few who wanted relatively small areas for their own settlement,
large-scale speculators were putting pressure on Mäori all over the
country to enter into the flimsiest of deals, often for huge areas.
Missionaries petitioned London to intervene to protect Mäori. Some
of the largest alleged purchases included: W.B. Rhodes, who claimed
to have bought Kapiti, Banks Peninsula, Wellington and most of
Hawke's Bay, the last for £150; Daniel Cooper, who claimed to have
purchased 133,000 hectares of the Hawke's Bay, Cape Turnagain
and Table Cape districts for £383; and especially the New Zealand
Company, which claimed to have bought some 20 million acres,
effectively the middle third of New Zealand from New Plymouth to
Banks Peninsula, within only a few months.
1832 Busby appointed British Resident
In order to protect Mäori, the growing number of British settlers
and its own trade interest, the British Government appointed James
Busby as its official Resident (a sort of junior consular representative,
without effective powers because New Zealand was not within British
jurisdiction). He arrived in May 1833 and built a house on land he
bought at Waitangi. Described as a "man-o'-war [naval warship]
without guns", he was unable to exert much control over British
subjects beyond mere persuasion nor much influence over Mäori.
1835 The Declaration of Independence
In response to a perceived threat of French annexation, Busby drew
up, without authorisation from his superiors, a Declaration of
Independence, which was signed by 34 northern chiefs. Additional
signatures, including some from further south, were added over the
next four years. This group referred to themselves in the Declaration
as the Confederation of Chiefs of the United Tribes of New Zealand,
although there is no evidence that the confederation was ever
convened again, except at the time of the signing of the Treaty in
1840. It received a puzzled and rather lukewarm reception at the
Colonial Office in England, which was well aware that New Zealand
was not a British possession and did not want to take responsibility
for it. The Colonial Office, advised by the missionary societies, was
by no means convinced that there was a viable political authority
in New Zealand with which it could form diplomatic relations.
The Declaration was, however, acknowledged by the British
Government. Some historians suggest it was not taken seriously until
it proved to be an impediment to the annexation of New Zealand.
It is thought that for this reason the document was used for calling
up chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840. Other
experts view the Declaration as an embryonic expression of Mäori
nationhood which, in conjunction with other events in the 1820s and
1830s, shows that the Treaty of Waitangi was part of a negotiated
relationship and not the beginning of European power and the end
of Mäori sovereignty.
1835-40 Concern over Mäori welfare
In the late 1830s, following on from the report of the Select
Committee on Aborigines (1836–1837) and the House of Lords
inquiry into the "present state of the islands of New Zealand" (1838),
many humanitarians became concerned about the harmful effects to
Mäori of exposure to the various groups of Europeans that arrived
here. Missionaries intervened to discourage land sales, sometimes
buying land themselves, at least partly in the role of trustees, to
James Busby.
Private collection, courtesy ATL: NON-ATL-P-0065.
Artist: Richard Read.
Mäori women working on a kümara plantation.
In the background two Mäori talk to French sailors.
ATL: PUBL-0034-2-387.
Artist: Louis Auguste de Sainson.
Church Missionary settlement at Kerikeri.
ATL: PUBL-0031-30.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
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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.
PAGE 7
PAGE 6
PAGE 8
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Te Rangihaeata, Ngäti Toa chief.
ATL: PUBL-0032-1.
Artist: Richard Aldworth Oliver.
View of the pä at Ruapekapeka from the lower
stockade at the time it was entered and captured
by the "allied force of friendly natives and troops",
under Lt Colonel Despard, 11 January 1846.
ATL: A-079-007.
Artist: Cyprian Bridge.
1843 The Wairau Incident
The settlers in the New Zealand Company town of Nelson were
keen to expand their lands into the Wairau Valley, ahead of the Land
Commissioner's inquiry into the area. The local Mäori, particularly
Ngäti Toa, rejected any claim that they had already sold that area to
the Company. One group, led by Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata,
disrupted a survey party and burned their huts. In response, a party
led by local magistrate Thompson and company representative
Captain Arthur Wakefield set out to arrest the chiefs. When they met
at Tuamarina, Te Rauparaha denied destroying anything that was not
his own property. Thompson became enraged, and when he called
his men forward a musket went off, killing Te Rangihaeata's wife. In
the ensuing battle, 22 Europeans were killed, including those who
surrendered, in utu (satisfaction) for the Mäori deaths. The settlers
were outraged and there was widespread hysteria that Ngäti Toa
would attack elsewhere, especially in Wellington. But incoming
Governor Robert FitzRoy took the view that the settler posse had
brought it on themselves by foolish and provocative actions and
inflicted no punishment upon Ngäti Toa.
1844 War in the north
Many chiefs had suffered economically when customs duties were
levied on ships calling at the Bay of Islands, raising the cost of goods
and reducing the flow of trade. They were further disadvantaged in
1841 with the relocation of the colonial capital to Auckland. The new
Governor, Robert FitzRoy (1844-45), waived Crown pre-emption (the
Crown's exclusive right of land purchase), partly to appease Heke
and other northern chiefs who wanted no constraint on whom they
could deal with. Heke was incensed that the Union Jack, a symbol
of British government, flew over Kororäreka (the town now called
Russell), without the former "New Zealand Standard" of 1834 beside
it. As a result, he had the flagpole chopped down four times in 1844-
1845. Some considered this a truly patriotic gesture on Heke's part.
On the last occasion, the township of Kororäreka was sacked and
pillaged, and most buildings, except the church buildings, were burned.
The townsfolk were evacuated to Auckland. Fighting between British
troops (aided by some Mäori such as Nene) and the forces under
Heke and Kawiti broke out, and on 15 January 1845 a proclamation
was issued in both languages offering a reward for Heke's arrest.
FitzRoy was recalled, to be replaced at the end of 1845 by the
military governor George Grey. Mäori fortifications and tactics
enabled the forces under Heke and Kawiti to defeat the British troops,
and when they gave Governor Grey an empty victory at Ruapekapeka
by simply withdrawing, the tactic led to stalemate.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Major Mathew Richmond.
ATL: 1/2-005393.
Taraia Ngakuti Te Tumuhuia.
ATL: PA2-2820.
roles. Several sub-protectors worked actively for Mäori interests,
most prominently the very young George Clarke Jnr, who was an
advocate for Mäori before William Spain's Land Claims Commission
and who investigated the Wairau Incident. In 1846, Governor George
Grey, suspicious of anyone else who exercised influence over Mäori,
especially missionaries, disbanded the Native Protectorate and
appointed a Native Secretary to implement his instructions.
1842 Commission investigates early land purchases
Following Lord Normanby's instructions, and as proclaimed
by Governor Gipps in Sydney and Hobson when he arrived in
New Zealand, three Land Claims Commissioners (M. Richmond,
E. L. Godfrey and W. Spain) were appointed to investigate all
pre-Treaty land purchases made by Europeans. If the Commissioners
concluded that a purchase was made in good faith, they could validate
it and award a Crown Grant limited to 2560 acres (4 square miles).
If the purchase was invalid or exceeded that size, the excess land in
question was not returned to the original Mäori owners but
became Crown land. One Land Claims Commissioner, English lawyer
William Spain, was appointed especially to investigate the huge
purchases claimed by the New Zealand Company. Over several
years, Spain determined that most of the New Zealand Company
purchases in Wellington and elsewhere were invalid but not all his
recommendations were acted upon. There was subsequently a shift
from investigating the validity of the Company's land claims to
arbitrating agreements with Mäori to allow settlement in Wellington
to go ahead.
1842 Mäori deemed under Crown authority
In 1842, a long-standing struggle between the Mäori of Hauraki and
Tauranga broke out in a fresh wave of violence. The Government could
do little about it, and the Attorney-General advanced the argument
that the chiefs who had not signed the Treaty (as was the case with
Taraia, one of the leaders in the fighting) were perhaps not bound
by the Crown's authority anyway. This argument was immediately
rejected in London. Since Hobson's declaration of the Queen's
sovereignty in May 1840 (or at least since his proclamation was
gazetted in London in October 1840) all of New Zealand and all of its
inhabitants were considered to be under British sovereignty. This did
not mean, however, that British law had to be imposed immediately
upon Mäori. Some matters, such as warfare, cannibalism and slavery,
were supposed to be suppressed as soon as practicable, but other
customs could be left to the influence of missionaries and increasing
contact with white settlement.
PAGE 9
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Te Wherowhero in 1847.
ATL: PUBL-0014-44.
Artist: George French Angas.
The 57th Regiment taking a Mäori redoubt
on the Katikara River, Taranaki.
ATL: PUBL-0033-1863-212.
Illustrated London News, 29 August 1863, Page 212.
1858 First Mäori king
In the first year that the Päkehä population exceeded that of Mäori in
New Zealand, the first Mäori king was chosen. A decade previously
this concept had been suggested then, in 1854, Ngäti Ruanui hosted
the first of many joint talks among North Island Mäori to halt the
advance of Päkehä settlement and stem the decay perceived in
traditional Mäori society. Now a unified Mäori response was believed
possible in the movement, soon to be called Kingitanga. The aged but
very highranking Waikato chief Te Wherowhero (who had not signed
the Treaty) became the first king, taking the name Potatau. Around
him grew the Kingite movement, supported by Mäori from Hauraki
to Horowhenua. The Kingitanga was not universally welcomed
among Mäori, though, with many chiefs refusing to put their mana
under that of someone else. The northern tribes of Tai Tokerau had
no involvement because they were strongly associated with the
Treaty, which was viewed by some as being in opposition to the King
movement. They and others reacted against the strongly Tainui tribal
connections of the Kingitanga's leadership. It should be noted that
the Kingitanga regarded the Queen as complementary to the Mäori
king, not as a competitor, but the colonial government took a different
view. Under the second king, Tawhiao (who ruled for 34 years from
1860), the movement gave strong direction and cohesion in many of
the armed campaigns that followed.
1860 War in Taranaki
Warfare directly linked to land issues broke out in Taranaki in March
1860. The Government, wishing to show its freedom to act, insisted
on dealing with a minor chief over a small block at Waitara against
the direct opposition of a senior chief, Wiremu Kingi, and most of
the local people who were actually living on the block. Those Mäori
who resisted the alienation of their land were immediately branded
as being in rebellion against the authority of the Crown, in defiance
of Article 1 of the Treaty which provided for the Queen's sovereignty.
The New Plymouth military commander sent troops to enforce the
purchase, and a land dispute became open warfare lasting a year.
Many Mäori came to Taranaki to fight alongside Wiremu Kingi in
defence of his land, and many others throughout the country were
sympathetic to his stand.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Ruined raupö whare by a stream in New Zealand
bush, Wellington region, between 1848 and 1860.
ATL: A-288-003.
Artist: Charles Emilius Gold.
An 1853 list of representatives and
their electoral districts.
ATL: Eph-D-POLITICS-1853-01.
1846 "Surplus" land taken
In 1846, the British Government issued a self-governing charter to
the colony and instructed that all Mäori land ownership be registered.
Any lands deemed to be unused were to become Crown land.
The preemption clause in Article 2 of the Treaty requiring Mäori to
sell only to the Crown or its agent, was reinstated by Governor Grey
after being waived two years earlier by his predecessor, FitzRoy.
Crown pre-emption meant exclusive right of purchase, not first
option. Crown agents developed a range of frequently dubious
practices to persuade Mäori to sell, and the Crown monopoly meant
that they could offer whatever the Government was prepared to
pay, not a market rate. Governor Grey embarked on wholesale land
purchases in the South Island, the Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay. As
complaints increased, the Government itself was the arbiter as well
as the defendant. Mäori criticised a system that did not allow them to
lease out their own land or receive market prices, while many Päkehä
wished to purchase directly.
1852 First NZ Parliament excludes Mäori
The Constitution Act 1852, which set up New Zealand's parliamentary
system, suggested some form of temporary local self-government
for Mäori. Section 71 provided that "Native districts could be
declared wherein the laws, customs and usages of the aboriginal or
native inhabitants … should for the present be maintained for the
Government of themselves, in all their relations to and dealings with
each other…". Grey did not, however, declare any Native Districts,
arguing that the "amalgamation of races" was proceeding well
through trade and through the mission schools. In the administration
of justice, Grey did provide for the appointment of chiefs as salaried
Mäori "assessors" and police to assist the Resident Magistrates,
and in practice, the joint administration did allow for a measure
of practical recognition of Mäori values and customs. However,
since the right to vote was based on individual property ownership,
Mäori who possessed their land communally were almost entirely
excluded from voting for parliament. "Amalgamation" with settler
society was still believed to be the only future for a race thought
otherwise to be doomed. But in many important respects, notably in
the national parliament and in the provincial assemblies which were
also established at this time, Mäori were not included in the new
governing institutions. Well aware of the settlers' hunger for land,
they became increasingly anxious for their future.
PAGE 11
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THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Two settlers’ cottages in a bush clearing
at Ahaura, around 1865.
ATL: WC-085.
Artist: William Fox.
The Alexander Redoubt at Tuakau,
on the Waikato River.
ATL: PUBL-0033-1863-573.
Illustrated London News.
as a measure to assist European settlement, particularly by placing
military settlers on lands as a type of buffer between Mäori and
European settlements. Mäori considered to be in rebellion were not
entitled to compensation, and even "loyal" Mäori were first offered
monetary compensation rather than the return of their land. Later,
the law was amended to allow awards of land, including small areas
to surrendered "rebels".
1863-65 War in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and East Coast
The war dominated this period. Fighting flared up again in Taranaki in
May 1863. In July 1863, Governor Grey ordered Lieutenant-General
Duncan Cameron to cross the Mangatäwhiri River (the accepted
boundary to the Waikato) with his mixed imperial and colonial army.
His stated justification for this action was a belief that the Kingitanga
was the fount of Mäori resistance to British authority and his fear
of an attack on Auckland. The Waikato campaign lasted until the
Mäori defeat at the battle of Öräkau
in April 1864. The fighting
then spread immediately to Tauranga, with the Mäori victory at Gate
Pä and their defeat at Te Ranga, where East Coast Mäori, trying to
help, were riven off by government forces. Historians have much
debated the causes of the wars. Some suggest that the wars can be
seen as an attempt by the British to impose "real" as opposed to
"nominal" sovereignty over Mäori. More specific factors such as a
hunger for land or the desire to impose British administration, law
and civilization on Mäori, can be seen as aspects of this over-arching
cause. Other historians argue that land was the critical factor that led
to the outbreak of war.
1864 Colonial "self-reliance"
As the imperial government was losing enthusiasm for paying for
the thousands of men fighting in New Zealand, the Weld Ministry
pushed a policy of colonial "self-reliance" in dealing with Mäori
so that the settlers could handle matters as they saw fit. Despite
many reservations about this the point was largely conceded by the
imperial authorities, and in a rapid series of steps in 1864-65, the
Governor lost the power to control Mäori affairs. Grey managed to
retain some imperial troops for several years, but after mid-1865 they
were restricted to garrison duties.
Frederick Weld, around 1860.
ATL: MNZ-0439-1/4.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Sir Thomas Gore Browne.
ATL: PA2-0740.
Photographed by the Freeman Brothers of Sydney.
Sir George Grey, around 1880.
ATL: 1/2-092109.
Photographed by Wrigglesworth and Binns.
1860 Kohimärama Covenant
Governor Thomas Gore Browne (Governor 1855-61) convened the
first of many large meetings on the Treaty, partly in an attempt to
draw attention away from the King movement and the fighting.
It should also be noted that the idea of the Treaty as a holy covenant
between Mäori and the Crown had been present since 1840, when
the missionaries appear to have used the term to encourage Mäori
chiefs to sign. The term was further developed at the Kohimärama
meeting in Auckland. Over four weeks at Kohimärama, a wide
range of Mäori from outside those groups fighting the Government
discussed the Treaty and their concerns over land. The Kohimärama
Covenant proposed a Native Council and other ideas, some of which
were embodied in the first Native Land Act two years later. The Native
Council, however, was never set up. The Government continued
to face unremitting political pressure to provide land for waves of
new migrants.
1862 Mäori Affairs shifts to government
George Grey was appointed to New Zealand for a second term as
governor, commencing in late 1861. Up to this point, “Native Affairs”
had been the responsibility of the Governor because of concerns in
England that the elected settler governments would inevitably put
their interests ahead of those of Mäori. In 1862, however, the British
Government instructed Grey to accept the advice of his ministers in
Native Affairs. However, as commander-in-chief of British forces in
New Zealand, he retained a great deal of control, and responsibility
for Native Affairs did not fully pass to the New Zealand Government
until 1865. In the light of the disastrous Waitara purchase, and as
part of its new-found responsibilities, the settler government and
Grey together shaped the Native Land Act 1862, which set up the
Native Land Court to adjudicate upon competing customary claims
to land. It created a court of Mäori chiefs chaired by a Päkehä
magistrate. The Act also allowed Mäori to deal directly with settlers
over land. Because it contravened the Treaty, it had to be approved
in London. Given the time this took, and the warfare taking place
around the North Island, this Act was hardly ever implemented before
it was replaced by the very different 1865 Act.
1863 New Zealand Settlements Act
Parliament passed the Suppression of Rebellion Act which allowed
for the introduction of martial law, and the New Zealand Settlements
Act which authorised the taking of land from Mäori. The intention
of the Act was to punish "rebel" Mäori by allowing the confiscation
of their lands. However, the Act's title disguised this by portraying it
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THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki.
ATL: A-114-004-2.
Artist: Unkown.
Titokowaru (left) and Te Whiti at the trial of
Te Whiti, Wellington, 1886.
ATL: B-034-015.
Artist: Walter Jefferson Leslie.
But the Government persisted with the land confiscations (or
forced "cessions") which gave rise to resistance by Te Kooti and
Titokowaru.
1865 Te Kooti imprisoned without trial
Until 1865, the government tended to treat Mäori who were captured
in battle as prisoners of war. In 1865, with the rise of the Pai Märire
movement, it also arrested people whom it thought were aiding the
"rebels". Te Kooti of Poverty Bay was one of these. He was sent with
some 300 others to the Chatham Islands. Te Kooti's pleas for a trial
were ignored. On 4 July 1868, Te Kooti and many followers escaped
from the Chathams and were pursued on the East Coast and in the
Urewera and the Taupö districts. He founded the Ringatü church and
provided it with rituals and structures that last to this day. From 1868,
the government began to charge particular individuals with crimes
such as murder or treason, but Te Kooti escaped the pursuing forces
(over some four years) and was eventually pardoned in 1883.
1868 Titokowaru resists land confiscation
In 1868, Ngäti Ruanui leader Titokowaru led a strong resistance
to land confiscation in south Taranaki. His force, persuading and
coercing neighbouring tribes to join in, swept south from the
Häwera district, inflicting several heavy defeats on the colonial
forces and finally threatening Wanganui itself. In November, for some
reason now unclear, Titokowaru's army then largely deserted him,
literally overnight, and he became a fugitive, hunted back into the
inaccessible upper Waitara area. He was later involved in the Parihaka
passive resistance movement.
1868 First Mäori members of parliament
Following the Mäori Representation Act 1867, and while Titokowaru
and Te Kooti still led violent resistance, the first four Mäori members
were elected to parliament. Under this statute, adult Mäori men were
given universal suffrage (voting rights) 11 years before Päkehä men,
who still faced property qualifications. However, there were only four
Mäori seats at a time when Mäori should have had many more based
on their population. Only in the 1890s did Mäori begin to achieve
significant influence in parliament, first through James Carroll
(member for Eastern Mäori and then Gisborne), then through younger
activists such as Apirana Ngata, Hone Heke Ngapua, Peter Buck and
Maui Pomare. The number of Mäori seats remained constant at four
until the first MMP election in 1996. Since then they have increased
by one seat per election (reflecting the increasing numbers of voters
on the Mäori roll).
Mete Kingi Te Rangi Paetahi, the first Member
of Parliament for Western Mäori, around 1869.
ATL: PA2-2241.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Tuakau, Waikato.
ATL: WC-017.
Artist: William Fox.
Portrait of F.E. Manning,
a judge of the Native Land Court.
ATL: G-331.
Artist: Unkown.
Ngäti Haua chief Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te
Waharoa, negotaiting with Brigadier-General Carey.
ATL: PUBL-0033-1865-228-1.
Illustrated London News.
1864 Land confiscations
The first proclamation confiscating land under the New Zealand
Settlements Act was made in December 1864. In all, five districts were
proclaimed to be under the Act over the next three years: Taranaki,
Waikato, Tauranga, Eastern Bay of Plenty, and Möhaka-Waikare.
The area affected was about 1.5 million acres. A "Compensation
Court" (mostly comprising judges of the Native Land Court) was set
up to hear claims by "loyal" Mäori for monetary compensation or to
recover their land.
1865 Native Land Court established
Following the Native Land Act 1865, a new Europeanised Native
Land Court replaced the court established under the 1862 Act.
In determining ownership, the court was required to name no
more than 10 owners, regardless of block size, thus effectively
dispossessing all other tribal members who may have been owners.
The newly-designated owners held their lands individually, not
communally as part of (or as trustees for) a tribal group, and
could deal with it, including selling it, as individuals and for their
own benefit. Many then did that, either willingly or as prospective
purchasers picked them off one by one, often by getting them into a
debt that could be paid off only by selling land.
1865-1867 Legislation to secure peace
In 1865, the Kingitanga leaders effected a ceasefire in the Waikato
and the British Government announced that it would begin to
withdraw its forces from New Zealand. In an effort to try to
secure peace, successive settler governments passed laws that were
intended to give practical effect to some of the promises implied in
the Treaty. These included:
• The Native Rights Act 1865, which gave Mäori the rights of
natural-born British subjects and allowed them to sue and be
sued in the Supreme Court;
• The Mäori Representation Act 1867, which created the four
Mäori seats based on adult (male) voting;
• The Native Schools Act 1867, which provided funds for schools
in Mäori villages teaching in English, and many Mäori
communities were to embrace the programme eagerly in the
1870s and gift land for schools; and
• The Resident Magistrates Act 1867, which continued the
system of salaried Mäori Assessors and police and allowed
some bicultural application of law in rural areas (a system that
was wound down in the 1880s and abolished in 1893).
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THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
1881 Parihaka occupied by force
After two years of tension and Mäori non-violent resistance to land
alienation in southern Taranaki, the Government occupied the town
of Parihaka by force. From 1879, the prophet Te Whiti o Rongomai
had encouraged his followers to uproot survey pegs and plough up
roads and fences erected on land they still considered to be theirs,
thus asserting that they did not recognise the Taranaki confiscation.
These "ploughmen" were arrested and detained without trial.
As roadmaking advanced up the Waimate plain, often across Mäori
settlements and cultivations, Mäori erected fences across the routes
and more were arrested. Still Te Whiti resisted settlement, so the
government sent a large armed force into Parihaka on 5-8 November
1881, commanded by Native Minister John Bryce. Although there
was no resistance at all, he read the Riot Act, imprisoned Te Whiti
and fellow prophet Tohu and dispersed his followers. At Te Whiti's
trial for sedition, even officials had to admit that the 10,125 hectares
reserved for Mäori had never been properly set aside for them to
occupy and plant. Te Whiti and Tohu were exiled to the South Island
to serve their prison sentences. Parihaka has been a symbol of Mäori
resistance ever since.
1882 King Tawhiao makes peace
(End of the New Zealand Wars)
A formal act of peace was made by the King movement in 1882 when
King Tawhiao appeared before Resident Magistrate Major William
Mair at Alexandra (now Pirongia). His appearance was seen as a
conciliatory gesture of reconciliation between Mäori and Päkehä.
1882 Mäori deputations to the Queen
The first of several deputations was sent to England to seek redress
from the Crown. Mäori felt they had a special relationship with
their Treaty partner, Queen Victoria, in person, but in this and each
subsequent case taken to England they were referred back to
the New Zealand Government on the ground that the imperial
government no longer had the responsibility for such matters.
Armed constabulary awaiting orders to
advance on Parihaka Pä in 1881.
ATL: 10x8-1081.
King Tukaroto Potatau Matutaera Te Wherowhero
Tawhiao in the 1880s.
ATL: 1/2-050875.
Queen Victoria, taken in the late 19th century.
ATL: 1/4-016542.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Members of the Repudiation movement,
probably in Napier, February 1876.
ATL: 1/2-038687.
James Prendergast,
New Zealand’s third chief justice.
ATL: 1/2-031752.
1873 Fragmentation of Mäori land ownership
The Native Land Act 1873 allowed the Native Land Court to fragment
land ownership among Mäori. Instead of having 10 names listed as
owners and the rest of the tribal group missing out, everyone with
an ownership interest was now to be put on the title. Conceived as
a way of recognising tribal ownership, it did not individualise land
ownership but fragmented it. Individual Mäori were not given blocks
large enough to support themselves in the way Päkehä farmers could,
but instead they received shares in blocks that were then partitioned
and repartitioned into uneconomic segments at great time and
expense, especially given the cost of surveyers and lawyers. This, and
the ordinary costs of living, pressured many into selling their interests.
Although intended to slow land selling, purchasers (both Crown and
private) resorted to secretive methods such as paying advances to
numerous individuals, sometimes for years, before appearing before
the Court and claiming the percentage of the block corresponding to
their proportion of the shares. The effect upon Mäori was disastrous.
This fragmentation has bedevilled Mäori land ownership ever since,
making it extremely difficult to borrow development funding or utilise
much Mäori freehold land productively. A Repudiation movement
at this time, driven by a resurgence in runanga (council) or tribal
management, aimed to repudiate or obtain compensation for bad
land deals.
1877 Treaty of Waitangi judged legal "nullity"
At its lowest point, the Treaty of Waitangi was described by Chief
Justice James Prendergast in the Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington
case as "worthless", having been signed "between a civilised nation
and a group of savages". This extreme view denied that the Treaty
had any judicial or constitutional role in government because Mäori
were not a nation capable of signing a treaty. Since it had not been
incorporated into domestic law, it was a legal "nullity". Although
many of his conclusions were overturned by the Privy Council by the
beginning of the twentieth century, his attitude largely prevailed from
the 1870s to the 1970s.
1879 Major meetings on the Treaty
A resurgence of big Treaty meetings, at Kohimärama (Öräkei) in
1879 and Te Tii, Waitangi in 1881 and at various centres on the
east and west coasts, brought the Treaty back into prominence. Over
3000 people attended the Te Tii meeting, at which a monument to
the Treaty was dedicated at Te Tii Marae and demands for a Mäori
parliament were put to the government.
Waitangi marae at Te Tii, on the banks of the
Waitangi River, showing the hall Te Tiriti o Waitangi
and the Waitangi Treaty Memorial, 1880.
ATL: 1/2-077503.
Photographed by Josiah Martin.
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THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
statement perhaps fuelled by war hysteria, firmly expressed society's
displeasure with dissidents at Rua's trial for sedition, saying his
18-month sentence "is the lesson your people should learn from this
trial". Some historians claim that the last instance of armed Mäori
resistance occurred at Maungapöhatu, because Rua's people were
armed, and resisted when the police tried to arrest their leadership.
However another view disputes this, noting that Rua had planned to
meet the police with food and peaceful dialogue, and argues that
Rua was no doubt determined to apply the laws of his own tikanga
(custom) within his territory.
1918 Ratana movement
In 1918, as the following of its leader T.W. Ratana grew, the Ratana
religious movement opened an office near Wanganui. The Ratana
movement picked up aspects of the defiant spirit of the Parihaka
community, but softened its separatist stance and had a strong
focus on largely Christian religion and healing. Its leaders also had
economic and modernising goals. In the 1920s, Ratana formed a
political arm, and from the mid-1930s it entered into an alliance
with the Labour party in an arrangement whereby Labour nominated
Ratana leaders as its candidates in the Mäori electorates. By 1943,
Ratana/Labour candidates had won all four Mäori seats, thus gaining
a much stronger voice in governing circles. The new members also
brought into the Labour caucus the long-standing Ratana demand
that the Treaty be "ratified".
1921 Türangawaewae home of the Mäori king
Türangawaewae Marae in Ngäruawähia was adopted as the
traditional home of the Mäori King movement, on land regained in
the aftermath of the wars and confiscation of the 1860s.
1926 Royal Commission on land confiscations
The rise of the Ratana vote boosted the determination of
another politician, Sir Maui Pomare, for an inquiry into the 1860s
confiscations. Pomare encouraged Mäori dairy farmers to donate
money for an inquiry and convinced Prime Minister Gordon Coates
of its value. The Royal Commission, set up with limitations on
resourcing, its time frame and terms of reference, recommended
compensation for some confiscations which it found to have been
excessive. Taranaki Mäori accepted an annual payment of £5,000
from 1931, but negotiations for the other settlements were delayed
until 1944. A political movement called Muru Raupatu, seeking more
compensation for lost land, grew in the wake of Sir Maui's work.
Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana publicising the Ratana
movement in Taupö in the 1920s.
ATL: 1/2-089569.
Wooden carved door displaying the coat of arms
for the Maori Kings (Te Paki o Matariki)
at the Mäori meeting house Te Mahinarangi,
Turangawaewae Marae, Ngäruawähia.
ATL: 1/2-025440.
Sir Maui Wiremu Pomare, 1923.
ATL: 1/1-019098.
Photographed by S P Andrew.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
The opening of the meeting house at Päpäwai
Pä, Greytown, centre of the Kotahitanga; including
Richard John Seddon, to the left of the group.
ATL: PAColl-1892-77.
Rua Kenana in 1908.
ATL: 1/2-019618.
Photographed by James Ingram McDonald.
1891 Investigation of Mäori land
A Royal Commission investigated the state of the laws controlling
the administration of Mäori land. It found that the situation could
hardly have been more unworkable had governments over the years
deliberately tried to make it so. Fragmentation of ownership and the
complex and contradictory nature of the laws meant that almost
nothing could be done. By now, only 50 years after the Treaty's
signing, Mäori had virtually no land in the South Island and less than
40 percent of the North Island. What they did still have was largely of
poor quality and hard to develop; the areas that the settlers had not
wanted. The Commission made many recommendations to improve
the situation but few were implemented, largely because they were
inconsistent with government policy.
1892 Establishment of Mäori parliaments
Frustrated at the lack of success in securing a remedy for their
grievances, Mäori in different parts of the country convened large
meetings which were called parliaments. Following meetings at
Waitangi and Öräkei, a Mäori congress or parliament (called
"Kotahitanga": unity) met for the first time at Waipawa in Hawke’s
Bay. This Kotahitanga then moved to several other locations and
developed a more permanent base at Päpäwai, Greytown. The King
movement's own parliament was called Kauhanganui. Both aimed
to unify Mäori, but neither wholly succeeded. Mäori MPs such as
Wi Pere and Hone Heke Ngapua drafted bills and introduced them
to Parliament in Wellington, seeking recognition of the Kotahitanga.
They were not successful, but in 1900 Carroll and Ngata persuaded
the Liberal government of Richard Seddon to set up a system of
regional and local Mäori councils. The councils had some success in
dealing with matters such as health and alcohol sales and in slowing
the sale of land. But from 1905 their powers began to be weakened
again when the Reform government, which took office in 1911,
resumed a vigorous programme of land purchase. The Kotahitanga
faded rapidly after the turn of the century.
1916 Rua Kenana arrested
At about the time of Te Whiti's death at Parihaka, another commun-
ity sprang up at Maungapöhatu in the Ureweras comprising followers
of the Tühoe prophet Rua Kenana. As a result of Rua's alleged
pro-German sympathies (he had discouraged recruitment for the
First World War) and his sale of alcohol without a permit, a large
expedition, commanded by the Commissioner of Police himself,
made its way into the Ureweras to Maungapöhatu. In the grievously
bungled raid that followed there was a shoot-out in which Rua's
son died, and the prophet was arrested. Justice Chapman, in an
excessive
Whare at Heipipi, Whakatäne,
in the late 19th or early 20th century.
ATL: PAColl-6208-33.
PAGE 19
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THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
1953 Mäori Affairs Act focuses on “unproductive” land
A measure designed to force unproductive Mäori land into use was
introduced by the Government in the Mäori Affairs Act. Anyone who
could now show the Mäori Land Court (renamed from the Native
Land Court in 1947) that a piece of good land was not being used
could then apply to have it vested in trustees. This Act, allowing
some flexibility in land management such as trusts, remained the
governing legislation for Mäori land for 40 years. For the first time,
a reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, visited Waitangi.
1962 NZ Mäori Council established
This national body was set up as the pinnacle of a hierarchy of village
and district councils, dating from 1900, though revived under the
1945 Mäori Social and Economic Advancement Act. Largely because
of the huge movement of Mäori from country to town, the rural
organisations declined in significance while the New Zealand Mäori
Council gained increasing authority.
1967 Protest over Mäori Affairs Amendment Act
Mäori were becoming increasingly concerned at the continued
alienation of their remaining land by paternalistic legislation, and by
a lack of understanding of how the confusion of laws since 1862 had
mostly hindered rather than assisted the development of Mäori land
by its owners. The Amendment Act in 1967 introduced compulsory
conversion of "Mäori freehold" land with four or fewer owners into
"general land", and increased the powers of the Mäori Trustee to
compulsorily acquire and sell "uneconomic interests" in Mäori land.
The Amendment Act led to growing Mäori concerns that the law
would result in further alienation of what land remained, and also led
to strong protests by organisations such as the New Zealand Mäori
Council and the Mäori Graduates Association, street demonstrations
and angry meetings throughout the country. The law was modified in
1974 and work subsequently began on the drafting of a completely
new act.
Sidney George Holland,
Prime Minister in 1953.
ATL: 1/2-038341.
Photographed by Gordon Burt.
Alfred Thomas (Turi) Carroll, founding president
of the New Zealand Mäori Council.
Print from ATL: 1/2-040109.
Archives: AAQT 6401 A31019.
Photographed by T Ransfield.
Josiah Ralph Hanan, Minister of Mäori Affairs
and author of the Mäori Affairs Amendment Act.
Photographed in around 1946.
ATL: PAColl-6303-27.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Apirana Turupa Ngata, around 1905.
ATL: 35mm-00181-f.
Sir Apirana Ngata taking the lead in a haka on
Waitangi Day, 1940.
ATL: 1/2-029794.
Photographed by B Snowdon.
Eruera Tihema Te Aika Tirikatene
around October 1949.
ATL: PAColl-6388-26.
1929 Mäori land development schemes set up
The first Mäori land development scheme was set up by Native
Minister Sir Apirana Ngata. The Government provided funds for the
development of Mäori land and sometimes contributed small areas
of Crown land to the schemes. The tenure of the farmers on the
schemes, though commonly chosen from among the landowners, was
not always satisfactory. Inadequate Crown management of at least
some schemes resulted in large accumulating debts, which had to be
borne solely by iwi. In some instances, for example the Ngäti Manawa
Development Scheme, the debt has only recently been paid off.
Mäori started to move off the land in the 1930s, an urbanisation
greatly accelerated by the Second World War.
1934 First celebration of Waitangi Day
Two years after James Busby's former residence at Waitangi was
gifted to the nation by the Governor General, Lord Bledisloe, Waitangi
Day was formally celebrated for the first time, on the site where
the Treaty was signed. Busby's home became known as the Treaty
House and construction of a whare rünunga began beside it. This
Mäori meeting house was finished in time for the 1940 Centennial,
which celebrated the signing of the Treaty as the nation's founding
moment.
1944 Three settlements
Arising out of the 1926 Royal Commission and other formal
investigations, Settlement Acts provided compensation to several
major iwi for land taken in the nineteenth century. The three major
settlements were: Ngäi Tahu (£10,000 per annum for 30 years),
Waikato-Maniapoto (£6,000 per annum) and Taranaki (£6,000 per
annum for 50 years and £5,000 thereafter). These were negotiated
by Sir Eruera Tirikatene MP, Princess Te Puea and Sir Maui Pomare
respectively. These settlements have subsequently been seen as
inadequate in terms of the involvement of tribal members and their
amounts. Iwi did not agree that these were full settlement of their
claims. At least, however, there had now been efforts (in some cases)
to offer compensation where the crown had unfairly acquired lands
and other resources. Copies of the Treaty of Waitangi were hung in
every school and marae in 1945.
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THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Bastion Point, 25 May 1978.
Copyright New Zealand Herald.
1977 Bastion Point occupation
Protesters occupied Bastion Point in Auckland in January 1977 after
the government announced a high-value housing development
on former Ngäti Whätua reserve land overlooking the Waitematä
Harbour. Over time the once-large reserve, designated "inalienable",
had been reduced in size by compulsory acquisition, leaving the
Ngäti Whätua o Öräkei tribal group holding less than one hectare.
After 506 days the occupiers were evicted by police (in May 1978),
by which time Bastion Point had become a household term for land
rights protest. The film Bastion Point – Day 507 was released three
years later. Since then, at the recommendation of the Waitangi
Tribunal, much of the land has been returned to or vested with
Ngäti Whätua.
1981 Raglan Golf Course protest
Land taken during the Second World War for a military airfield at
Raglan was returned to Tainui Awhiro people, but only after a long
dispute and protest. Instead of being handed back to its former
owners when not required for its designated public purpose, part
of the land had been turned into a golf course in 1969. This led Eva
Rickard to initiate protest action in the 1970s.
1985 Crown allows claims back to 1840
The Treaty of Waitangi Act was amended, with the Waitangi Tribunal
having its powers extended to allow investigation of Crown actions
and omissions that could be in breach of Treaty principles dating back
to 1840. There were unexpected implications of going back to 1840,
opening up the whole history of the terms and modes of colonisation.
Researching claims has proved an enormous and specialised task,
given the paucity of pre-existing historical work and the level
of detail required. The presentation of the claims to the Tribunal
and subsequent settlement negotiations with the Crown has also
necessitated the involvement of many lawyers and other experts on
behalf of both the Crown and the claimants.
Eva Rickard on the old Raglan golf course.
Copyright New Zealand Herald.
Photographed by Yanse Martin.
Koro Wetere, Minister of Mäori Affairs, and
David Lange, Prime Minister, at Waitangi in 1985.
Copyright New Zealand Herald.
Photographed by Paul Estcourt.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Norman Kirk, around 1971. Prime Minister Norman
Kirk announced in 1974 that Waitangi Day would
be a national holiday.
ATL: 35mm-18291-21. Photographed by Morrie Hill.
Whina Cooper addressing a crowd during the
1975 land march.
Print from ATL: PA7-15-18. C F Heinegg Collection.
Photographed by Christian F Heinegg.
1974 Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day had been a holiday since 1963 for Auckland and
Northland only (replacing the provincial anniversary holiday).
The Mäori protest movements took up the long-standing Ratana
demand for ratification of the Treaty, that is, having it formally
recognised in legislation. In 1974, three years after Ngä Tamatoa
staged the first big protest at Waitangi, 6 February became a
national holiday and the Queen attended her first Waitangi Day
ceremony. It was, for two years, briefly renamed New Zealand Day.
1975 Mäori land march/hïkoi
From 14 September, Whina Cooper's Mäori land hïkoi marched from
the tail of the "fish", Te Ika-a-Mäui (North Island) at Cape Reinga,
to the head (Wellington) to publicise concerns over unceasing
disposal of Mäori land in Crown hands. Gathering support at about
25 stops along the way, the hikoi reached the capital on 13 October.
Five thousand people walked onto Parliament grounds and presented
a petition bearing 60,000 signatures. By the time a tent embassy was
dismantled two months later, the hïkoi had raised public awareness
of Mäori concerns. Responding to the pressure of the hïkoi and other
lobbying, the government passed the first legislative recognition of
the Treaty (although there had been recognition of aspects of it in the
legislation of the 1860s).
1975 Waitangi Tribunal established
The Treaty of Waitangi Act established a tribunal, the Waitangi
Tribunal, as a formal, ongoing commission of inquiry to hear
grievances against the Crown. But it limited such grievances to
those occurring after the passing of the Act in 1975 and allowed the
Tribunal the power to make findings of fact and recommendations
only, not binding determinations. The Waitangi Tribunal first began
hearings two years later, but, particularly because of that limitation,
few claims were investigated.
PAGE 23
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THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Prime Minister Jim Bolger and
Dame Te Atairangikaahu at the signing of the
Tainui settlement 1995.
Copyright Taipu Moana.
Photographed by Taipu Moana.
1990 The Sesquicentenary
In the mid-1980s, in response to rising protests, the official role in
celebrating 6 February at Waitangi had been minimised, and in 1988,
it was suspended altogether. For the sesquicentennial year since the
Treaty signing, official participation returned to Waitangi. Public focus
and awareness was on issues surrounding ownership and control of
Mäori resources as well as partnership between the tangata whenua
(Mäori) and tängata tiriti (Päkehä, the people of the Treaty).
1992 Treaty settlements signed
A comprehensive Treaty settlement on commercial fisheries was
signed, vesting $170 million with the Waitangi Fisheries Commission
to enable it to buy 50 percent of Sealord Products Ltd, a large,
Nelson-based fishing company. But the allocation of the fishery
resource and proceeds caused much disagreement among Mäori,
particularly between coastal and inland tribes, traditional iwi and
newer urban authorities, and the allocation issue was only resolved in
2004, with the passage of the Mäori Fisheries Act. Major settlements
were subsequently signed with Tainui in 1995 and Ngäi Tahu in
1998, each at an estimated total value of $170 million.
1993 Te Ture Whenua Mäori enacted
After a great deal of discussion, led largely by the New Zealand Mäori
Council, a completely new act regulating Mäori land was passed.
Under Te Ture Whenua Mäori it is now very difficult to purchase
remaining Mäori land. The Act also seeks to overcome the problems
of fragmentation of titles among multiple owners by providing for
various kinds of trust under which the land can be managed.
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
The re-enactment of the arrival of the
Te Arawa canoe, 1990.
Copyright New Zealand Herald.
Photographed by Glenn Jeffry.
1985 Waitangi Tribunal issues reports
An enlarged Waitangi Tribunal issued reports on Treaty claims, often
on a regional basis. More than 30 reports have now been issued,
among them the Öräkei Report, the Te Reo Mäori Report, the Taranaki
Report: Kaupapa Tuatahi, the Ngäi Tahu Report, the Muriwhenua
Lands Report, the Whanganui River Report and Te Whanganui a Tara
me öna Takiwä: the Report on the Wellington District.
1986 Treaty principles in legislation
The State Owned Enterprises Act was a key piece of legislation to
incorporate a reference to the Treaty. Since then, more than 40
statutes have referred (with varying degrees of emphasis) to the
principles of the Treaty, in relation to the purpose of the legislation.
(Treaty principles are the core concepts that underpin both the Mäori
and English texts of the Treaty; they reflect the intention of the Treaty
as a whole.) From this the Courts have been able to determine
whether the principles are being appropriately applied. This has given
the Treaty far-reaching recognition in national and local government.
Supported by a Waitangi Tribunal report on te reo Mäori, the Mäori
language has also gained greater authority and usage.
1987 Landmark court case
A landmark Court of Appeal case (Mäori Council v Attorney-
General) established that the Crown must pay heed to previous
Mäori ownership in disposal of surplus Crown assets such as land.
This followed the break-up of old land-holding departments and
the establishment of new state-owned enterprises under the 1986
State Owned Enterprises Act. That Act declared that the Crown
might do nothing "that is inconsistent with the principles of the
Treaty of Waitangi". The Court set out a number of principles it
saw encapsulated in or derived from the Treaty. Perhaps the key
principle was that of partnership, since the Treaty had been signed
by two partners. Another was that the Crown, as the more powerful
partner, has a duty of active protection of the interests of the weaker
partner, Mäori.
Lord Cooke, President of the
Court of Appeal in 1987.
Copyright New Zealand Herald.
Photographed by Robert Paterson in 2003.
Ian Shearer, Acting Director of the Waitangi Tribunal,
hands over the Tribunal’s Taranaki report Wai 143
to Ngäti Mutunga representative Hamiora Raumati
and Ngäti Ruanui representative Mate Carr.
ATL: EP/1996/1710/25A. Dominion Post Collection.
Photographed by Phil Read, Evening Post.
Te Äti Awa kaumätua Richard Luke greeting
people attending a hui on Te Ture Whenua Mäori,
at Waiwhetü Marae.
ATL: EP/1993/1784/5A.
Dominion Post Collection.
The Treaty of Waitangi - The Waitangi Sheet.
IA 9/9. Copyright Archives New Zealand.
PAGE 25
PAGE 24
THE TREATY OF WAITANGI TIMELINE
Associate Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi
Negotiations, Georgina te Heuheu, Minister in Charge
of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Doug Graham and
Arapeta Tahana signing papers beginning negotiation
for the Rotorua Lakes claim, 1999.
Copyright New Zealand Herald.
Photographed by Nicola Topping.
1995 Rising protest on land and Treaty issues
A series of protests in the mid-1990s denoted a new phase of
activism on land and Treaty issues. Many were generated in response
to the government's proposal to limit the monetary value of Treaty
settlements to one billion dollars over ten years, the so-called"fiscal
envelope". A series of hui around the country graphically illustrated
the breadth and depth of Mäori rejection of such a limitation in
advance of the extent of claims being fully known, and much of
the policy package, especially the fiscal cap, was subsequently
dropped. These protests included occupation of Wanganui's Moutoa
Gardens (twice) and the Takahue school in Northland (leading to
its destruction by fire). Symbolic acts included attacking Victorian
statuary, the America's Cup and the lone pine on One Tree Hill and
removing a Colin McCahon painting (subsequently returned) from the
Lake Waikaremoana Visitor Centre. Rising protests at the Waitangi
Day celebrations led the government to move the official observance
to Government House in Wellington.
1995 Office of Treaty Settlements established
The Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) was formed from the previous
Treaty of Waitangi Policy Unit (TOWPU). OTS conducts negotiations
with Mäori claimants on levels of remedy for past breaches of
the Treaty of Waitangi. Treaty breaches need to be proven but not
necessarily through a Waitangi Tribunal hearing.
Mäori activists on the Treaty grounds on
Waitangi day, 2000.
Copyright New Zealand Herald.
Photographed by Peter Meecham.
PAGE 26
