Traveling with the Treaty of Waitangi

Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed on nine separate sheets at locations throughout Aotearoa New Zealand during 1840. The first to be signed was the Waitangi Sheet, with signing beginning on 6 February at Waitangi.

In total, around 240 rangatira signed the Treaty, many doing so after the initial Waitangi signing. On 6 February, 43 rangatira signed alongside Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson and several British residents.

Subsequent signings took place at locations including Waimate North, Mangungu in Hokianga Harbour, Karaka Bay in the Waitematā Harbour, Kaitāia, Russell, and other parts of the Bay of Islands.

At Mangungu, 64 signatures were gathered on 12 February in the presence of Hobson, who travelled there almost directly from Waitangi. This hui saw some of the strongest opposition to the Treaty, yet many of those who signed later remained committed to it, fighting against Hōne Heke during the Northern War of 1845–46.

On 4 March, seventeen Tāmaki rangatira signed at Karaka Bay, near the mouth of the Tāmaki River. Hobson’s party had travelled from Kaitāia to Waitematā aboard HMS Herald.

For many of the rangatira involved, the Treaty offered protection from both Ngā Puhi to the north and Waikato to the south. Many of these signatories were Ngāti Pāoa rangatira from Waiheke Island and the western shores of the Firth of Thames.

In July 1840, Hobson convened what would be his final Treaty meeting somewhere in Tāmaki. The British sought the support of Te Wherowhero, the influential Waikato rangatira who later became the first King of the Kīngitanga. Although he did not sign, he appears not to have harboured ill will toward Hobson.

Colonial Secretary Willoughby Shortland was appointed Hobson’s deputy to oversee the circulation of Treaty sheets. He sent the Manukau–Kāwhia Sheet with Captain William Symonds, who was tasked with collecting signatures from rangatira around and south of Manukau Harbour.

Three Ngāti Whātua rangatira — Kawau, Tinana, and Rēweti — signed at a second hui on 20 March. A further ten signatures were gathered at Kāwhia between April and September. Each tohu (mark) on the sheet is preceded by the particle “ko”, denoting identity. This sheet was the last to be returned, in 1841.

Other Treaty sheets were signed across the country:

• Waikato–Manukau Sheet: signed at Waikato Heads and in Manukau Harbour (March–April)
• Printed Sheet: signed in Waikato (March–April)
• Tauranga Sheet: signed in Tauranga (April–May)
• Bay of Plenty (Fedarb) Sheet: signed at Ōpōtiki, Tōrere, Whakatāne, and Te Kaha (May–June)
• Herald (Bunbury) Sheet: signed in the Coromandel, Mercury Island, Akaroa, Otago Heads, Hawke’s Bay, and elsewhere (May–June)
• Cook Strait (Henry Williams) Sheet: signed at Port Nicholson, Queen Charlotte Sound, Kāpiti, Manawatū, Waikanae, and Whanganui (May–June)
• East Coast Sheet: signed at Tūranga, Ūawa, Whakawhitirā, Rangitukia, and Tokomaru (May–June)

In total, more than 500 rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840. For some signatories, extensive biographical information survives; for others, only their tohu remains.

Image: View from Karaka Bay, Waitematā Harbour, looking toward Motukorea (Brown’s Island) near the mouth of the Tāmaki River. Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed here on 4 March 1840.