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9. East Coast Treaty Copy

On 8 April 1840 Henry Williams delivered this copy to his brother, William Williams, at Turanga (Gisborne), where a CMS mission had been established earlier in the year. William Williams was asked to get the agreement of chiefs from East Cape to Ahuriri (Napier). From 5 May on, the signatures of twenty-four chiefs from the Turanga district were put on this treaty copy; according to the missionary, this represented almost the whole leadership of the district.

In the latter half of May, William Williams travelled up to East Cape, gathering further signatures. He had intended to visit tribal groups south of Turanga at the end of July or in August, but this plan was shelved. He had anticipated obtaining seventy to eighty signatures, but the final number was forty-one. He also failed to receive the agreement of the great chief, Te Kani-a-Takirau, although he used the chief's house at Tolaga Bay as a place of assembly.

The names on this sheet were written across the sheet in groups of three.

Image of East Coast Treaty Copy signatures (click for enlargment)

Treaty of Waitangi Signatories | Location Map of Treaty Signings | Maori Tribal Location Map | Introduction to the Treaty

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The author is soley responsible for errors and omissions in this work, and invites viewers to make any known: claudia.orange@mch.govt.nz

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