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6. Bay of Plenty (Fedarb) Treaty Copy

Before the Tauranga treaty copy was returned to Hobson, a local missionary, James Stack, was authorised by Major Bunbury to make two copies. One was sent inland to Rotorua and Taupo, where CMS missionaries were working, but Te Arawa and Ngati Tuwharetoa of those regions refused to sign, and the copy has disappeared. A second copy was made and entrusted to James Fedarb, trading-master of the Bay of Islands schooner Mercury, which was trading down the Bay of Plenty coast.

Fedarb left Tauranga on 22 May. Over the next three to four weeks he secured agreement at Whakatane, Opotiki, Torere and Te Kaha. Returning to the Bay of Islands on 19 June, he entrusted his copy to William Colenso, the missionary printer, to pass on to Hobson. No one commented on the fact that the signature - William Hobson - on the copy was, strictly speaking, forged since the copier had written the name in his own hand.

The Fedarb copy has other interesting features. At the request of chiefs affiliated to the CMS, Fedarb identified the Opotiki chiefs who were Roman Catholic by placing a cross beside each name. This is the only other treaty copy signed by Maori witnesses, Papahia and Wiremu Maihi, both possibly from the north.

Image of the Bay of Plenty (Fedarb) Treaty Copy Signatures. (Click for enlarged copy)

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

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