Tūranga, 5-12 May 1840

On the 8 April 1840 William Williams received a copy of the treaty from Henry Williams in Turanga and was instructed ‘to obtain the consent of the chiefs from East Cape to Ahuriri, the present-day port of Napier.’ [1] Henry and William Williams were joined by George Clark Jnr. who also acted as a witness during the signings in their travels throughout the East Coast between the 5th of May to the 9th of June collecting signatures of chiefs of this region.

On the 5 May the Crown officials discussed the Treaty and its principles with local chiefs and between 5-12 May 24 signatures of chiefs from Turanga were obtained, which ‘represented almost the whole leadership of the district’. [2]

[1] Orange, C. The Treaty of Waitangi, 1987, Allen and Unwin. p.71.

[2] Turanga Journals, in Orange, The Treaty of Waitangi, p.71.