Explainer: Why was the Treaty signed in Waitangi?

Saturday, 3 February 2024

Stuff's NZ Made/Nā Nīu Tīreni project: When the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, Māori owned more than 66 million acres of land. By 1975, almost 97 per cent had been sold or taken. (Last published February 1, 2021.)

Aotearoa has come a long way in its efforts to engage with its own history in a more upfront and honest manner. Among the significant events of our nation is Te Tiriti o Waitangi, The Treaty of Waitangi. In this story, first published in January 2023, Pou Tiaki looks at why Te Tiriti was signed in the Far North.

Waitangi – the “birthplace of our nation” – is best known for the signing of our nation's founding document on February 6, 1840.

It is also the place where He Whakaputanga, the Declaration of Independence, was signed on October 28, 1835.

But why was a small harbour settlement in the Far North chosen as the place to present two of the most important documents in this country’s history?

Why Waitangi?

“Why Waitangi? Why not?” Waitangi curator Chanel Clarke says.

In 1840, Waitangi, which means “weeping waters” in English, was in the busiest harbour in the southern hemisphere and the who’s who of Queen Victoria’s representatives all made their pilgrimage through that harbour during that period.

A stained-glass window in the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Rotorua depicts the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Waitangi is located in the Bay of Islands in the Far North region of Aotearoa. It is 60km north of Whangārei.

Waitangi sits in close proximity to Kororāreka (Russell) which, in the 1800s, was one of the biggest whaling ports in the southern hemisphere. It became a significant point of contact between Māori and Pākehā and was usually the first port of call for visiting ships.

Across the waters at Waitangi, away from the hustle and bustle at Kororāreka is where the British Resident, James Busby, built his home. The house still stands at the Treaty Grounds today.

It is there at Busby’s home, that hui and conversations with Māori and British leaders were held that led to the signing of He Whakaputanga (Declaration of Independence) and Te Tiriti.

Even before the signing of Te Tiriti, Waitangi was a significant meeting place for Northland iwi, Clarke said.

While many have pondered why Waitangi, Clarke says: “Why not?”

“Busby lived there, and his appointment had a lot of influence on all the subsequent discussions and kōrero that followed which then led up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty. All of these conversations were already happening and occurring in Waitangi.”

Clarke said Busby’s role as the consular representative was to “guide and protect Māori”.

“When Governor William Hobson was sent out to establish a treaty, he visited Waitangi – Busby was already here, and he helped Hobson with the drafting of both documents.

The late Queen Elizabeth II visits Waitangi in December 1953.

“There were lots of other reasons. But in terms of the north, it had had a lot of activity and early contact with the British Crown. There was missionary activity way back in 1815, whalers and the traders too,” she said.

If Busby had resided in Taranaki or elsewhere in the country, the Treaty may have been signed there, Clarke added.