william hobson

Treaty timeline

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  See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi.

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• Page 1 - Treaty events 1800-49See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Treaty in brief

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  The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document. It takes its name from the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed, on 6 February 1840. The Treaty is an agreement, in Māori and English, that was made between the British Crown and about 540 Māori rangatira (chiefs).

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• Page 1 - The Treaty in briefThe Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document. It takes its name from the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed, on 6 February 1840. The Treaty is an

History of the Governor-General

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  New Zealand has had a governor or (from 1917) a Governor-General since 1840. The work of these men and women has reflected the constitutional and political history of New Zealand in many ways.

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• Page 3 - Crown colony eraNew Zealand became a British colony in 1840, legitimised by the Treaty of Waitangi and Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson's declaration of 21 May declaring sovereignty over the

Treaty signatories and signing locations

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  The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on nine separate sheets by more than 500 Māori. Find out more about the sheets, the signatories and the signing locations

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• Page 5 – Signing the Treaty

  By the end of 1840 about 540 Māori, including 13 women, had signed the Treaty of Waitangi; all but 39 signed the Māori text. While some had clear expectations about what their

• Page 6 – Preserving the documents

  The Treaty of Waitangi is kept in the Constitution Room at Archives New Zealand in Wellington. It has not always been so secure. Water, time and rodents have all taken a toll

Taming the frontier

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  In 1832 James Busby was appointed as the official British Resident to New Zealand. After arriving in the Bay of Islands in May 1833 he took steps to tame what he saw as a chaotic frontier society.

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• Page 6 - A separate Crown colonyProtecting Māori, regulating land purchases, controlling the activities of settlers and dealing with the potential influx of migrants underpinned British policy in 1839. New