Lesser-known treaty date remembered in Marlborough

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Robin Hood Bay is where Te Rauparaha's wife, Te Rongo, is buried.

February 6, 1840; a date marked in every New Zealand diary.

But June 17, 1840, when the Treaty of Waitangi was finalised four months later, seldom gets a look in.

A house in Ocean Bay, near Port Underwood, where the tour wrapped up.

In Marlborough, where the last of the Māori chiefs' signatures was collected in the Marlborough Sounds, local iwi are trying to keep the date alive.

More than 500 Māori chiefs signed the Treaty in the months after it was first signed as copies were taken around the country, resulting in the declaration of British sovereignty over New Zealand.

Ngāti Toa Rangatira Ki Wairau Trust vice-chairman John Grey discusses the Wairau Incident at the site where it happened in 1843.

John Grey runs through the history of Blenkinsopp's Cannon outside the Marlborough District Council building, in Blenheim.

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Whites Bay was one of several locations visited on the Treaty of Waitangi 178th commemorative tour.

Nine signatures were collected in Port Underwood, Marlborough, including Rangitāne o Wairau chief Ihaia Kaikōura, who was the only signatory from the Kurahaupo tribes, which also included Ngāti Apa ki te Ra To and Ngāti Kuia.

After it was signed, Major Thomas Bunbury sailed to Horahora Kākahu Island and proclaimed the Middle (now South) Island on behalf of the British Sovereignty.

Tour attendees include multiple representatives from historical societies and iwi tribes.

A tour was held by Ngāti Toa Rangatira Ki Wairau Trust on Sunday, June 17 to commemorate 178 years since the signing in Marlborough.

Ngāti Toa Rangatira Ki Wairau Trust chairman Walter Waaka said the tour was a great way to ensure children learnt about the history of their people.

The tour visited several sites of historical importance in Marlborough, including Blenkinsopp's Cannon, in Blenheim, the site of the Wairau Incident, Whites Bay (Pukatea), Robin Hood Bay (Waikutakuta) and Ocean Bay.

An in-depth historical account was provided at each location by Ngāti Toa Rangatira Ki Wairau Trust vice-chairman John Grey, who acted as tour guide.

This was followed by questions, input and discussion among attendees, which included multiple representatives from historical societies and iwi tribes.

Attendees travelled from as far as Nelson (Whakatū) to attend the commemorative tour.

Sites relating to the Wairau Incident included the site itself and the unmarked grave of Te Rauparaha's nephew's wife, Te Rongo, now covered by Port Underwood Rd at Robin Hood Bay.

Ngāti Toa and the settlers of Nelson clashed over land rights on June 17, 1843 in the Wairau Valley, triggered by a report from John Cotterell, a surveyor with the New Zealand Company.

A raupo hut containing his equipment had been burnt by Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha who, for the third time, had tried to evict Pākehā surveyors from the Wairau.

Grey said the Wairau Incident was the first major confrontation between Māori and colonials since the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, killing four Māori, including Te Rongo, and 22 Europeans.

'This happened because of greed,' Grey said. 'It didn't need to happen up until the moment that it did.'

Massey University Māori historian Peter Meihana said the Wairau Incident became an important epoch date, similar to BC and AD.

'Death certificates would say, 'so-and-so died two years after the Wairu incident',' Meihana said.

At the end of the tour, traditional kai was provided for attendees at a house in Ocean Bay, near Port Underwood, which was once a school run by Reverend John Crump from 1909 to 1924.

Ngāti Toa Rangatira Ki Wairau trustee Lorraine Eade said the Ministry of Culture and Heritage granted the trust $3682 in funds to commemorate the local signing through the tour.