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The Treaty of Waitangi
Inscribed 1997
What is it
The treaty signed by British government representatives
and New Zealand Māori chiefs on 6 February 1840.
It established the principles by which the British and
Māori agreed to build the nation of New Zealand.
Why was it inscribed
The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document
of the New Zealand nation.
It was also considered a radical departure in relations
between indigenous people and the incoming or
centralized power.
Where is it
Archives New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
On 6 February 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed
in the Bay of Islands on New Zealand’s North Island. In
essence, the treaty agreed the broad terms under which
the British and Māori would move forward in building
and governing the nation.
In the English version of the treaty, Māori ceded
sovereignty of New Zealand to Britain and gave the British
Crown the right to buy lands they wished to sell. By return
Māori received a guarantee of full ownership of their lands,
forests and fishing, and the status and protection of British
subjects. The English and Māori versions of the treaty were
intended to be the same but the versions have been subject
to varying interpretations.
The British were keen to sign the treaty at this stage.
With other foreign powers interested in New Zealand and
large numbers of settlers coming in, the British authorities
wanted to assert their control over the country. Captain
William Hobson was appointed as consul with instructions
to negotiate for sovereignty and the establishment of a
British colony.
Captain Hobson, together with several English
residents, signed along with forty-five Māori chiefs. The
treaty was then taken to obtain more Māori signatures. In
addition, seven other copies were sent around the country,
including to the South Island, for more signatures.
Between February and September 1840, around fifty
signing meetings took place and in the end, around 540
356 The Treaty of Waitangi
Māori chiefs signed the document. Of these, all but thirtynine
signed a Māori-language copy of the treaty.
The treaty was unique in promising protection of
indigenous resources and possessions in the face of
colonization, and gave British citizenship to the
indigenous people. The British used the document as
the source from which they derived their authority.
After the signing, Captain Hobson – by then Lieutenant-
Governor – proclaimed Britain’s sovereignty over New
Zealand. Although at that time considered a part of the
New South Wales colony, New Zealand became a Crown
colony in its own right by May 1841.
In New Zealand, the anniversary of the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February is now a public holiday
as Waitangi Day.