Henry Williams treaty copy

Use the tool bar at the bottom of this interactive to zoom in and navigate. The drop down menu at the top lists the names of those who signed this copy of the treaty – selecting a name takes you to their signature on the document.

Henry Williams copy of the treaty

Henry Williams, who had translated the Treaty of Waitangi into Māori, sailed from the Bay of Islands on 2 April 1840 with two Māori-language copies of the document. He left one with his brother William Williams at Tūranga (Gisborne) on 8 April. He arrived at Port Nicholson (Wellington) in mid-April, but for 10 days could not persuade chiefs to sign. A meeting was finally arranged on the schooner Ariel on 29 April, when 39 chiefs signed. Another 34 signed at Queen Charlotte Sound and Rangitoto ki te Tonga (D’Urville Island).

In May, Williams received the agreement of chiefs at Ōtaki, Waikanae, Manawatū, Whanganui and Motu Ngārara, a small island off Kapiti Island. He had intended to take the copy to Otago, but the signatures of South Island chiefs were already being sought by Major Bunbury.

This copy includes the names of several women: Kahe Te Rau-o-te-rangi (4), Rangi Topeora (78) and Rere-ō-maki (120). Pākewa (33) and Kehu (86) may also have been women; Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke’s mother was known by the latter name.

Williams returned to the Bay of Islands with 132 signatures, all with ‘Te tohu o’ (The sign of) written in front of the names. This copy is different from others. It is carefully set out within a double border, and the text is in three columns with symbols and marks to show the principal chiefs of different tribes. The signature of Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson is shaky, as he was recovering from a stroke.