What did the Māori chiefs say before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840?
On February 6, 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed for the first time. Here’s what was said by some of those who signed it.
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This is a narrative of the speeches at the Treaty of Waitangi signings in Waitangi, Hokianga and Kaitāia. The words are not in quotes as they are not verbatim and instead have been edited to be accessible to a wider audience. This means some details have been omitted, condensed or rephrased with modern terminology.
Research for this story comes from several sources, but primarily from this 2010 report by Dame Anne Salmond for the Waitangi Tribunal, which compiled several different accounts of the signings by missionaries and British officials.
The notes that have survived are mostly shortened summaries of speeches given in Māori but recorded in English. Still, they offer an insight into the major themes and ideas that were discussed.
The year was 1840. It had been seven decades since Captain Cook landed in Aotearoa. Since his landing, Māori had become increasingly exposed to the outside world. The first missionaries arrived 26 years earlier, and the first book in te reo Māori was written 25 years earlier. Vast numbers of Māori had learned to read and write, and many had converted to Christianity.
Visitors from around the world were increasingly arriving on whaling and trading vessels. Māori were exploring the wider world too. Several chiefs sent ships filled with timber and flax to sell in Sydney. Others joined whaling vessels on travels around the Pacific islands. Some went even further abroad, including the chief Hongi Hika, who travelled to England to meet King George IV in 1820.
International trade brought newfound wealth to many iwi. But it also brought conflict. Foreign weapons like muskets escalated inter-tribal wars. There were also conflicts between people of different nationalities, some of which had turned bloody. There were arguments about land sales and trading deals but the traditional tribal system was not designed to resolve conflict between Māori and Europeans.
The British Crown had made a token effort to resolve this in 1833 by sending James Busby to be the official British resident, a sort of ambassador who could mediate conflicts. In 1835 he helped a group of northern chiefs to write He Whakaputanga, which declared New Zealand to be a sovereign nation ruled by the chiefs. The document was officially recognised by the British Crown in 1836.
However, that didn’t solve the issues. Some Māori were worried about rumours that France might try to invade New Zealand. Others were concerned about the increasing number of British residents, who they had no means to control. The British Crown was worried too. A settler ship had just arrived in Wellington as part of the New Zealand Company’s colonisation scheme. The British government had always been sceptical of the company, so decided to take action.
The problem was that Britain could not enforce British laws in another sovereign nation. The British Crown had no desire or incentive to launch a military invasion on the other side of the world. A public servant in London named James Stephen designed a solution. Britain would send a treaty to New Zealand asking the chiefs to consent to a British governor to enforce the laws of Britain. The man he chose for that mission was naval officer William Hobson.
On January 29, 1840, chiefs from across the Bay of Islands received a letter from James Busby. It read:
My dear friend,
A ship has arrived with a chief on board sent by the Queen of England to be a governor for us both. Now he suggests that all the chiefs of the Confederation of New Zealand, on Wednesday of this holy week coming should gather to meet him. So I ask you my friend to come to this meeting here at Waitangi, at my home.
From your dear friend, Busby
February 5, 1840
Seven days later, on February 5, 1840, hundreds of Māori and Pākehā gathered in front of Busby’s house at what is now known as the Waitangi Treaty grounds. At 11am, William Hobson emerged from the house, guarded by soldiers on horseback and followed by a group of missionaries. He was the man who had been sent to be the first governor of New Zealand – but only if he could acquire the consent of the chiefs, which British law recognised as the sovereign rulers of New Zealand.
Hobson explained that, if the chiefs accepted him, he would enforce the laws of England over British subjects and defend them against any foreign power that might try to take possession of their lands – specifically, France. Hobson promised that he had not come to take Māori land, but to protect what they already owned. “What I wish you to do is expressly for your own good, as you will soon see by the Treaty,” Hobson told the crowd through his translator, Henry Williams.
Missionary Henry Williams, who read Te Tiriti to the crowd, described it as “an act of love towards them by the Queen, who desired to secure them in their property, rights, and privileges”.
Then Te Kēmara, the chief of the Waitangi lands, rose to address the crowd. He spoke in Te Reo Māori, as did every other speaker. For the next six hours, each chief took turns to share their thoughts, arguing for or against the treaty and asking questions about implications, the role of government, and how it would shift the power structures of New Zealand.
Te Kēmara
Here is what I will say to you, Governor. I am not pleased with you. I do not wish for you to remain here. If you stay here as governor, you could have me arrested or even hung by the neck. That is not right. I will never agree to that.
If we were all equal, perhaps I would agree. But if the governor is up high above us and I am down low like a worm? I will not support that.
I do not wish for you to stay. You English people are not as kind as the other foreigners, you do not give us good things. Go back, Governor, we do not want you here.
Rewa
The governor should return to his own country. What do Māori need a governor for? We are not Pākehā. We are not foreigners. This land is ours, we are the governors. We are the chiefs of our fathers’ land. I won’t consent to the governor remaining. I don’t want this land to become like Sydney and the other lands taken over by the English.
Send this man away. Do not sign the papers. If you do, you will be reduced to the condition of slaves, you’ll be forced to break stones for the roads. Your land will be taken from you, and your mana as chiefs will be destroyed.
Moka
The governor should return, and let us remain where we are. I want all of my land returned to me, but who will obey you?
William Hobson
I promise that all unjustly sold land will be returned, and no more illegal land sales will be allowed.
Tāmati Pukututu
This is what I say to you, Governor: You should stay and be a governor for us, for all of us, so that our lands will be protected, so that those people who sneak around looking for our lands cannot take it all. Stay, Governor, and be like a father for us.
Matiu
Stay here, Governor, alongside the missionaries. Be like a father to us, so that goodness may increase.
Te Ruki Kawiti
No, no, no. Go back to England. We do not want you to stay here. We do not want to be tied up and stepped on. We are free. I do not want your soldiers to fire guns at me when I am paddling my waka by night. I don’t want the governor to send soldiers with guns to tell me where I can and can’t paddle. Go back, there is no place for you here.
Wai
Will you stop the Pākehā from cheating and stealing? The Pākehā pays us Māori a pound for a pig, but he gives a Pākehā four pounds for the same pig. Is that fair? The Pākehā gives us a shilling for a basket of potatoes, but to another Pākehā he pays four shillings. Is that fair? Will you make the dealing fair?
Even if you tried, the Pākehā will not listen to you. If they would obey you, that would be good – but they have never listened to Busby. Why would they listen to you, a man who has only just arrived here?
Pūmuka
Stay here, Governor. Remain here, for me. Hear this, all of you. I will treat this man as my foster father. I wish to have two fathers – you, and the missionaries.
Wharerahi
Yes, stay here Governor. What other option do we have? It is good to be at peace. We will have this man as our governor. He is a man of the Queen and we should not turn him away.
Hākiro
I say no. Do not stay here. We are not your people. We are free. We will not have a governor. Leave us alone. The missionaries are our fathers. We do not want you.
Tāreha
I say no. No governor for me. No governor for us. We are the chiefs of this land. We will not be ruled.
Do you think we are so poor that we really need your foreign clothes and food? Look at this [holding up a bundle of fern roots], this is the food of my ancestors, the food of the Māori people. You will not bribe us with clothing and food. We are chiefs.
If we were all equal, the chiefs and the governor, maybe it would be fair. But if the governor is ranked up high, as high as this tall paddle [holding up a waka oar] and I am down underneath you? No, I will never agree. I want you to return to your ship and go away, back to where you came from.
Rāwiri Taiwhanga
Stay here, Governor, so that we may be in peace. This is a good thing for us. You should remain here.
Hōne Heke
[Speaking sarcastically]
Will you raise us up or bring us down? Up or down? Which is it? Which is it? Who knows? Stay here, Governor. If you return, we Māori will be destroyed. We will be made extinct. We will be nothing. If you leave, what will happen to us? We do not know. Don’t leave. If you leave, then the French people or the rum-sellers will take over. Remain here with the missionaries.
We Māori are just children. We do not know how to decide. The missionaries should choose for us. They are our fathers, we are mere children. I say stay here, Governor. Be a father for us, be a governor for us.
Hakitara
Hōne Heke’s aggressively sarcastic tone caused such a commotion that it was difficult to hear Hakira speak over the crowd, but he supported the governor.
Tāmati Waka Nene
What are you saying? Do you want the governor to return? What would we do then?
Our land is already gone. It is already covered in foreigners, like grass and shrubs, who we have no power over. And now you are telling the governor to go back? I am sick of you.
You should have said this years ago, when the traders and grog-sellers first came here. If you had turned them away then, I would have joined you in telling the governor to go away. We could have spoken together as one man, in one voice. But the way things are now? No. We need you to stay, Governor, as a father, a judge, and a peacemaker. You must not allow us to become slaves. You must preserve our customs and never let our land be taken from us.
Eruera Maihi Patuone
Stay here, Governor. Stay here with the missionaries and the word of God, so that the bad French people will not take over.
It will be like this [raising his hands so his index fingers were side by side]. We will all be perfectly equal. Every chief will be equal to the governor.
Te Kēmara
No, don’t stay. I want my lands back. If we are all equal you can remain, but if the governor is up high and I am down low, I say no.
Te Kēmara held his hands up like Patuone, but instead of holding his index fingers together, he crossed his wrists as if he had been handcuffed.
Will I be like this? Tell me, Governor, will I be like this? Eh? Come on, Governor, tell us.
Keeping his wrists crossed, he grabbed Hobson’s hand, shaking it enthusiastically, and speaking in an exaggerated English accent.
How do you do, Governor? How do you do, Mr Governor? How do you do? [This made the entire crowd laugh.]
This concluded the debate and the chiefs returned to their camp to discuss the matter further.
Thursday February 6, 1840
The second day of meeting was originally scheduled for Friday February 7, but this was hastily brought forward to Thursday because the British had not arranged enough food to feed everyone and were worried the chiefs would leave before signing.
At the start of the meeting, Hobson announced that he was willing to take signatures from any chief who wished to sign the treaty, but that there could not be any more debate that day. Missionary Henry Williams read Te Tiriti to the crowd again.
Soon after the meeting began, Catholic bishop Jean-Baptiste Pompallier arrived and made his way to the front to speak with Hobson. After consulting for a while, Hobson wrote down a decree and asked missionary Henry Williams to translate it to the crowd.
Henry Williams
The governor says the several faiths of England, of the Wesleyans, of Rome, and also the Māori custom, will all be protected by him.
The signing
Hōne Heke stepped forward and became the first of 46 chiefs to sign Te Tiriti that day.
As the chiefs wrote their signatures, Marupō and Ruha made impassioned speeches against signing the document. They ran up and down, flourishing their arms and stamping their feet. But after they had finished their speech, they agreed to sign the treaty.
Some chiefs required a lot of persuasion from the missionaries and other chiefs before signing. Others refused to sign the document altogether.
As each chief signed the treaty, Governor Hobson shook their hand and said “he iwi tahi tātou” – we are one nation.
February 12, 1840
The second treaty signing was held on February 12, 1840, at the Māngungu mission station in Hokianga. A crowd of 3,000 people gathered to hear the speeches.
Several of those who attended were Pākehā Māori, Europeans who had settled in the area and lived in Māori villages. Many of these Pākeha Māori were against the Treaty and had urged their chiefs not to sign it.
Like at Waitangi, William Hobson opened the meeting by explaining the Treaty. Missionary John Hobbs read the text to the crowd in te reo Māori.
Makoare Taonui
We are glad to see the governor. He should come and be the governor of the Pākehā. As for us, we don’t want a governor. We will be our own governors.
How do the British in Australia behave towards the indigenous people? They treat them like dogs. When a white man kills a pig, an indigenous person comes to the door and eats the scraps.
Wiremu Tana Pāpāhia
Why has the governor come here? Will he be high above us like Maungataniwha while we are low on the ground, nothing but little foothills? No, we should be equal. This treaty is bad.
Hōne Mohi Tāwhai
We think you have come to deceive us. The Pākehā told us this, and we believe them.
Makoare Taonui
We are not willing to give up our land. It is from the earth that we obtain all things. The land is our father, the land is our chieftainship, and we will not give it up.
Kaitoke
Mr Governor, I do not want you to sell our land. When you British people first came to our country, we gave you potatoes and all you gave us was fish-hook. We gave you land, and all you gave us was a pipe. We have been cheated. The Pākehā are thieves. They tear a blanket in half and sell it as two blankets. They buy a pig for one pound in gold, and sell it for three. They get a basket of potatoes for sixpence, and sell it for two shillings. This is all they do. They steal from us.
Makoare Taonui
Ha, ha, ha! So this is how the Queen tries to take over our land. First, she sends the missionaries here to put things in order. Then she sends Mr Busby to put up a flag. She pays him a salary, and gives him money to give to us Māori. And now, after all that, she sends you here to be a governor.
William Hobson
Speak your own thoughts, not the things the bad men have told you.
Makoare Taonui
I do. I have been to Sydney. I know governors are paid by the Queen.
William Hobson
Who told you these things?
Makoare Taonui
It was Frederick Maning. Come up here Frederick and tell him what you told me.
[Frederick Maning, an Irish man who lived as a Pākehā Māori, stepped forward.]
William Hobson
Why are you trying to defeat the benevolent objectives of the Queen, whose only desire is to secure these people in their rights and to provide the European settlers with peace and civil government?
Frederick Maning
I believe Māori will be degraded under British influence, so I advised some of them to reject the Treaty. I think it would be good to enforce the laws of England to protect and restrain British subjects – but they should only apply to Pākehā.
William Hobson
Are you aware that British laws can only be applied on British soil?
Frederick Maning
I was not aware, I am not a lawyer.
William Hobson
Mr Maning has misled you. If you listen to his advice and oppose me, you will be stripped of all your land by a worthless class of British subjects. They have no interest but their own, and they do not care how much they trample upon your rights. I was sent here to control such people, and I ask that you give me authority to do so.
Ngaro
Welcome, Governor. I say you should stay. Perhaps no one else will agree, but I, Ngaro, will welcome you.
Mohi Tāwhai
Where does the governor get his authority? Is it from the Queen? If we let him come, what power will he have? Will he stop all the land from ending up in Pākehā hands?
Kaitoke
Let us choose our own governor.
Rangatira
Who sold our land to the Pākehā? It was us. We sold it by our own free will. We let it go, and now it is gone. What now? What good is there in throwing away our speech? Let the governor stay here for us.
Hōne Mohi Tāwhai
If land has been stolen from us, will the governor investigate? Perhaps he will, perhaps he won’t. But if someone acquired the land by fair purchase, they should be allowed to keep it.
Makoare Taonui
I am coming around to your side. My heart is with you. You must watch over my children. Put them under your protection. You must take care of my land too, but I do not wish you to sell it.
And what about the land that has already been sold? Will my children still be able to use it?
William Hobson
I will hold an inquiry into all land transactions. Only sales that were fair and proper will be allowed.
John King (A Māori chief who had taken the name of an English missionary)
My uncle Muriwai told me to treat the Pākehā well. The Pākehā came here to trade, and the trade has been great. I say the governor should stay. You must direct us and keep us in order. From now on, if anyone steals anything, there will be consequences.
Daniel Kahika
I will not sell my land. I do not like it when the Pākehā ask me to sell my land. I am sick of it.
The signing
After the final speech, 56 chiefs came forward and signed Te Tiriti. However, the next morning, Kaitoke asked Hobson to remove his signature from the document. Then, soon after Hobson set off from the beach, a large waka overtook his boat to deliver a letter signed by 50 chiefs, stating that they wanted their names removed from the treaty. Hobson refused to make the change and blamed Catholic missionaries for manipulating the chiefs.
April 28, 1840
The Kaitāia treaty signing was held on April 28 at the Kaitāia Mission Station. William Hobson was too sick to travel so he sent colonial secretary Willoughby Shortland in his place.
The primary goal for the British on this trip was to obtain the signature of Nōpera Panakareao, a highly respected chief. Three years earlier, he had written a letter asking the Queen to send a governor to New Zealand. But before he signed the treaty, he wanted more information about how the arrangement would work.
A crowd of 500 people gathered in front of the mission station. Nōpera Panakareao sat on the verandah beside Shortland, facing the crowd.
As with the previous meetings, Shortland gave an overview of Te Tiriti, promising that the Queen would protect New Zealand from lawlessness and would protect Māori lands and customs. Missionary William Puckey read the document to the crowd before inviting the chiefs to speak.
Reihana Teira
We do not want a governor. We were chiefs many generations before you came here and we are still chiefs now.
What will the governor do? Will he stop us from getting firewood? In the old days, we cleared any spot we wanted and burned the wood from it. Now, if someone comes along and builds a house on the spot, they say we can’t cut down the trees. There have been many arguments. Will you prevent this?
Matiu
I did not understand the meaning of Te Tiriti until a great number of people who have read it explained it to me. I have been told that the governor has come here to kill all the people in the land and take it for himself. It is said that a huge number of Pākehā strangers are coming to take our land. They are not coming for our benefit. There are soldiers coming to shoot us. Many of us here do not believe that the governor has come to protect us.
Wiremu Wiriana Kupa
We have been told that you are coming here to murder all the Māori. If your actions are like those of the missionaries, we would not be afraid of you. But I am afraid of your soldiers. Ever since the missionaries came here, we have been at peace. The missionaries came here for our good, and they support the governor. So if you have anything good or bad to say, say it now.
Rāwiri Tiro
I say yes to the Queen. Although others may disapprove of the governor, I will approve of him. If he plans to come here and take our land I will not accept him, but if he comes to be a shepherd (protector), I will welcome him.
Poari Te Mahanga
The governor hasn’t taken any land from us, it was sold and taken before he arrived. My heart and thoughts are with the governor. I say yes, yes, yes.
Mātenga Paerata
We will not be made slaves by these people. These men have come to protect us. Don’t listen to the negative rumours. The missionaries taught us that it is a sin to commit murder and to tell lies. If what the missionaries tell us is true, then what we hear from the governor is true.
Tokitahi
I have no land to give to the governor, but I welcome him as a friend. We were chiefs before, but trade with the Pākehā has made our lives even better. Our clothes used to be like what I am wearing now [a kākahu/flax cloak], but now we have blankets, shirts and trousers. Our houses were once made of raupō, but they are better now.
Pūhipi Te Ripi
Before the Pākehā came, we loved our own people. Sometimes we would fight, then we would make peace, and then fight again. We have become good friends with the Pākeha. Maybe someday, other people will come here and break the peace and start a war between us, but I stand with you in solidarity.
I am glad you have come to protect us. But if there is a conflict between Māori and Pākehā, how will it be settled? The governor is so far away in the Bay of Islands.
Matiu Tauhara
Could the governor have a man arrested for walking around at night? That is what I am afraid of. But of course, if a man is caught stealing at night they should be punished. I will support the governor if he and his people behave like the missionaries. They have done us no harm.
Martona Wera
If you are a Christian like us, then let us be one. We believe your intentions are good.
Paratene Waiora
There is only one great man who cannot be killed, and that is the tongue. It often stirs up great wars. The Pākehā tell us many strange things, but I believe your words.
Te Huhu
Look at those men with the long feathers, I do not like them [pointing to two British soldiers on horseback]. I do not like that man or the man with the long knife. I do not want them to stop me from going to my neighbour’s house to light a pipe.
Nōpera Panakareao
Hear all of you, Pākehā and Māori. My desire is that we should all be of one heart.
Speak your words openly, and say what you mean.
You should all say yes to the governor, as I do. Be careful not to listen to the bad Pākehā who say the British will commit crimes against us. It was my grandfather who first brought Pākehā to this very spot, and the chiefs approved of what he did. We all benefitted from the trade they brought.
We should do no harm to the Pākehā, just as my grandfather did none. What has the governor done wrong? The shadow of the land goes to the Queen, the substance remains to us. The governor will not take our food. If he wants to buy it, he will pay us, just like it was before.
The people in these parts have always been friendly to strangers. Do not fight with the governor. Do not try to kill him. We should live peacefully with the Pākehā. We now have a helmsman for our canoe. Before, everyone wanted to steer and we never went straight.
Look into your heart and commit no evil. If you have anything else to say, say it. If not, let’s finish and say yes – let’s all say yes!
Nōpera Panakareo’s speech was so compelling that the crowd responded with loud cries of “Āe, āe, āe” (Yes, yes, yes). Panakareo shook hands with the British officials and signed the treaty document – another 60 chiefs signed after him.
Throughout 1840, nine copies of Te Tiriti o Waitangi travelled around New Zealand. More than 500 chiefs signed the document at 51 meetings.
Just one year later, Nōprea Panakareo had become dissatisfied with the government. He flipped his famous quote, “’I thought the shadow of the land would go to the Queen and the substance would remain with us but now I fear the substance has gone to the Queen and the shadow is our only portion”.