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  5. The Treaty of Waitangi

Te matawai i te Tiriti The Treaty of Waitangi up close

British representatives wrote the Treaty in a hurry, then spent seven months working to get as many rangatira

  rangatirachiefsMāori | noun to sign it as possible. But the Treaty meant different things to different people.

Find out what the Treaty said, and see why it has caused so much debate – both in 1840 when it was signed and now.

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Nā ngā māngai o Ingarangi te Tiriti i tuhi i runga i te horo, kātahi ka oke mō te whitu marama kia hainatia e te tokomaha ka taea o ngā rangatira Māori. Engari he rerekē te tikanga o te Tiriti ki tēnā, ki tēnā.

Kei pātata mai ngā kupu o te Tiriti e whakaatu ana he aha i nui ai ngā tautohetohe i te hainatanga i 1840 – me nāianei.

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This content was originally written for the Treaty2U website in partnership with National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o Te Kāwanatanga in 2008, and reviewed in 2020.

  • Painting depicting Tāmati Wāka Nene in the act of signing the Treaty of Waitangi in a tent surrounded by people
    The making of the Treaty of Waitangi

    The making of the Treaty of Waitangi

    The British government appointed William Hobson as consul to an independent New Zealand. It sent him here with one goal – to get Māori to sign over sovereignty of all or part of New Zealand to Britain.

  • Illustration of festivities at McDonnell’s house. The front garden with six cannon, fences, buildings, a large crowd, 3 flags on flagpoles, many canoes drawn up at the water's edge, the Hokianga River and the hills beyond.
    The Treaty of Waitangi trail

    The Treaty of Waitangi trail

    Over 40 rangatira signed the Treaty at Waitangi, among them many who had signed the Declaration of Independence. Their agreement was important, but Hobson wanted a lot more signatures so he could confidently claim British sovereignty over New Zealand. To get those signatures, he took the Treaty on the road.

  • Head and shoulders portrait of William Colenso
    The content of the Treaty of Waitangi

    The content of the Treaty of Waitangi

    The Treaty is an agreement between the British Crown, represented by William Hobson, and iwi and hapū in New Zealand represented by rangatira. But who agreed to what?

  • Family portrait. A man stands in the centre. He is flanked by an older man and an older woman, both sitting. They are flanked by two children
    Two parties, two understandings: What does the Treaty of Waitangi mean?

    Two parties, two understandings: What does the Treaty of Waitangi mean?

    For many reasons, what Māori and British actually agreed to in the Treaty has been unclear.

  • Close up of the Te Tiriti ki Waikato-Manukau | Waikato-Manukau sheet, showing the beginning of the English text
    The full text of Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi

    The full text of Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi

    Read the original English and te reo Māori texts of Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi, and a contemporary translation of the te reo Māori.