‘We are all one people'

Press, 3 February 1984, Page 17

‘We are all one people'

Waitangi Day is supposed to commemorate New Zealand’s nationhood. Instead it is heralded each year with bitterness, protest, and argument. The Treaty of Waitangi, whether or not we should celebrate the day on which it was signed is a subject which touches on sensitive issues for most Maori people. For some, the Treaty of Waitangi is a sacred document — the Maori Magna Carta. For others, the treaty was a fraud; and the day on which it is celebrated each year is merely a reminder of the way the pakeba has plundered the wealth and heritage of the Maori. The treaty was signed at Waitangi on February 6, 1840, by Captain William Hobson, the new Governor, and 46 Maori chiefs. In the following months additional signatures were collected from all over the country.

According to the terms of the treaty, the Maori chiefs undertook to give to the Queen of England, Queen Victoria, “all the rights and powers of sovereignty over their respective territories.” In return, the Queen guaranteed the Maori people “the full, exclu-

sive and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, fisheries and other properties.” She also extended to the Maori people “Her Royal protection, and the rights and privileges of British subjects.”

So it was that New Zealand became British — a new nation made up of people of both Polynesian and European descent. Captain Hobson said after the signing, as he shook hands with each Maori chief: “He iwi Kotahi tatou.” “We are all one people.”

Ever since then the four main clauses in the treaty have been dissected, discussed, and criticised. Whatever the aims and ideals it was meant to embody, it is now widely recognised that the document has serious flaws. Some believe it still has spiritual importance. Others think that because of the flaws and the way the treaty was put into effect by the settlers, it dealt an unforgiveable blow to

the Maori people. When Captain Hobson was sent to New Zealand in 1840, he was instructed to negotiate with the Maoris for British sovereignty, but he was given no guidelines or draft to work from. Official dispatches reveal no clue about how the treaty was drawn up, but it appears that the British resident, James Busby, and several others, contributed to it.

The original English draft which was read to the assembled chiefs at the first meeting on February 5, has not survived. It was the Maori translation which was signed on the next day. This copy was in turn translated into five English versions, which differ in various ways.

Two of the versions are dated February .5, have different wording in the opening paragraph, and one version makes no mention of the important “forests and fisheries.” Captain Hobson either did not notice these inconsistencies, or did

not think they were important. Signatures were collected on the Maori version of the treaty. Doubts have been raised about the adequacy of the language, however. In the attempt to translate the concepts into comprehensible Maori, it seems that some of the precise terms of the agreement were blurred. For instance, the word “kawanatanga,” meaning governorship, was used to convey sovereignty. It seems that some chiefs did not understand its proper meaning. These are only a few of the problems with the Treaty of Waitangi. The subject is further complicated because tbe treaty has become the focus for complaints about the state of the Maori people in New Zealand today — their high unemployment, low educational achievement, and so on.

With this background, it is not surprising that Waitangi Day has had a chequered history. In 1932 the Waitangi Estate,

where the treaty was negotiated and signed, was given to the State by the then Governor General, Lord Bledisloe, and Lady Bledisloe. Two years later the first commemorative ceremony was held at the site.

In 1957, the Labour Party proposed to make Waitangi Day a public holiday. In 1960, the Waitangi Day Act made February 6 a day of thanksgiving, but not a public holiday. In 1963, the day was made a public holiday for Northland, but it was not until 10 years later that the Labour Party could carry out its plan to make it a public holiday, under the name New Zealand Day. In 1974, the first New Zealand Day celebrations were held at Waitangi, with Queen Elizabeth II in attendance. Two years later the name reverted to Waitangi Day. Again, several thousand people are marching to Waitangi this year to demonstrate their grievance. The march, which began last week, has been stressed by organisers as being a hikoi, or peace march. About 50,000 people were hoped to take part in it.