"WAITANGI"

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 110, 11 May 1932, Page 7

"WAITANGI"

SIGNING THE TREATY

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Waitangi, in the-Bay of Islands, the most • historic spot-.in,. New Zealand, which has just been presented to ' the nation' by the 1 Governor-General and Lady. Bledisloe, is;th'e site of the signing, on 6th February, " 1840/ of the. famous '"Treatyfof Waitangi," which reconciled' the : conflicting interests oi the Maori ■ Natives: and- the ; British settlers,.put.a stop:to.intertribal warfare (and incidentally, under missionary influence, to''cannibalism),' and made New Zealand part-.of the; British Empire.' It'was '■ the",home,of Mr.' James Busby, th,e British resident who, at the request of the 'British ■Government, had been- sent to: New Zealand 'by the Governor -of -New-i South- Wales (Sir George Gipps) in 1833 with- a view to checking -the excesses'' of • the least reputable of the-British; whalers and other ■ lawless immigrants ■to this then foreign • country < and promoting fair-dealings'in-land "between such persons and the Native Eace. 'The decision to .taka;,ovMjNew- Zealand as a British .Colony^-asprechted. by the- Duke of Wellingtoii* and opposedyby successive Colonial Secretaries'■•' in England—was ultimately-accelerated'by the arrival at Port : Nicholson: (Wellington) in

January, 1840, of;the first settlers— men and women of .ppsition, capacity, and gobd'repute— tsent out:by• the' New Zealand Cpinpa'ny/in-.pursuance of the far-sighted colonising. policy f of Edward Gibbon, Wakefield;;'" The" Treaty . contained '.three" Articles/ the' first providing ■ for the '-'cession!' by the Native Chiefs to: Queen1 Victoria of all .'their sovereign rights,• rthe second 'being .a confirmation, by .the Queen.! to the Chiefs and tribes 'of New Zealand of undisturbed . possessidn of their' lands, forests,; and,fisheries, subject only to the Crown' Js exclusive- 'tight of preemption, over any property which they desired 'to alienate, "and the '; third guaranteeing the protection .of the Natives by the, British ,Crown-and the enjoyments' by them of all the. rights and privileges' of British subjects. , MEMOBABLE SCENE. The original copy of the Treaty was executed on the; lawn in front ■' of the British' Besidency at; Waitangi by;Cap-' tain "Williani Hobsoiij - B^N;, New' Zea-

land's first Governor (or rather Lieutenant-Governor under New South Wales), in the name of Queen Victoria and the leading Maori Chiefs in the extreme north of the North Island, most of whom belonged to the powerful Nga-puhi tribe. The proud and autocratic Chiefs would never have consented to become subject to British sovereignty but for the influence of the_ British missionaries and the latters' intimate knowledge of the Maori language and Maori mentality. These missionaries, Anglican, Wesleyan, Baptist, and Eoman Catholic, had worked zealously and selflessly among them during the previous quarter of a century, and had gained their confidence and respect. Most conspicuous among them was the Reverend Archdeacon Henry Williams, who acted as interpreter in explaining to the Native Chiefs assembled at Waitangi tho exact meaning and purport of the Treaty and the advantages which its execution, with consequent settled government and honest land transactions, would bring to them- and to their descendants. This first copy of the Treaty was signed at Waitangi by forty-five Chiefs, including the redoubtable warriors Hone Heke and Taniaki Waaka Nene. Several of these Native signatories had at first, with hostile gestures, declined emphatically to sign, having been told by lawless European adventurers, who in no way desired the establishment of law and order and equitable land transactions, that it would mean slavery to them and their famihes, but. they were eventually persuaded by.> the obvious sincerity of Governor Hobsonand their missionary friends jind the convincing arguments with which their objections were met. Other copies of tho Treaty, were sub™q£en^ 3 .^A at- Hokianga, Waimate, Waitemata, Kaitaia, Tamaki, Russell, Coromandel Harbour, Mercury Bay, Akaroa,' IWeaux Straits, Otago, Cloudy Bay, Kapiti (by Te Eauparaha.and Te Eangihaeata), Hawkes i Bay, Manukau, . Kawhia, Waikato Heads, Opotiki, Torere, Tekaha, Whakatane, Wellington (Port Nicholson), Queen .Charlotte Sound, Eangitoto, Otaki, Waikanae, Motu, Wanganui Tauranga, and Gisborne, the total signatories numbering 546. Most of these, both at Waitangi and elsewhere, being illiterate, in lien of signing their names drew npon the parchment their Moko or. face tattoo.

From that;time down to the pre^ sent flay, over a period of 92 years, the Treaty has been regarded as the Maori Magna Carta—the charter of their liberties and the guarantee for all time of their legitimate' rights and of their equality in the eye. of the law with their Britsh fellow-countrymen. Unfortunately, the Waitangi estate, which has passed through, the hands of, successive private owners since it belonged; to. the Busby family, has been sadly neglected in recent years, and the old British Residency (which contains some lofty rooms and'good old British oak. floors) and : the ' garden surrounding it are in a dilapidated; condition ' but not '/beyond" judicious rehabilitatori' and restoration in general appearance and ' to what' they must have been, at the time of the signing of.the Treaty.. Moreover, there has been considerable • speculation in the lands- surrounding the actual scene of the historic, gathering of 1840 with a view "to" the enhancement of their value consequent '■ upon their location and.the extreme beauty of the scenic prospect overlooking. the Bay of Islands. '■ The'properties immediately adjoining 4he house- and garden have, with ;the 'helpful intervention of the Government, been acquired by the donors, and an area' (in a-ringed fence) of 1000 acres Tyill-be included in Their Excellencies',gift.to the Dominion. It is contemplated that part of this area ,may be laid tout as a golf-course and a considerable, portion of the remainder planted up with puriri, pohutukawa, kowhai, kauri, totara, rimu, kohe-kohe, tawa,.: tarai^e,-,. an.d, i other,,'. beautiful native timber trees and shrubs, and become .a sanctuary for rare New Zealand birdsj "while a further portion maybe let to settlers and'thus afford some small income to-be applied towards the cost.of maintenance of the rTreaty site.. It is hoped'to utilise at least one of the Tooms-in the old British Besidency at Waitangi as a museum iir which may be exhibited not-,; only a facsimile I copy 'of; the -famous Treaty, but also relics, 'generously ■ given: or ■ loaned by their owners; of >. Captain Hobson, R.N. (New Zealand's1 first Governor), Arch-, deacon Henry. Williams, Hone Heke, Waaka Nene^KawMti, and other leading actors in.the historic drama of the 6th: February, 1840;

THEIR EXCELLENCIES' WISH. It is the sincere hope, of the.donors that .the-transfer to the public of this the cradle of.-New Zealand's; history as a civilised State may develop a sense of. nationhood.. and national solidarity on the part of its inhabitants and heal forall.time-any oldrstanding traditional .differences or .suspicions, which may have existed between.the two races on the'one. hand, and, on the other, ■between the» two powerful British , influences ,- which in . ■ different ways,, have .contributed. so r materially to ,the.peace, prosperity, ordered settlement, and economic development of this Dominion, .namely,- the. enlightened and courageous missionaries of ,the, North, of whom at this .period' Archdeacon William's was, the outstanding figure, and the N«w;.Zealand! Company, with its quota': of. splencUdi'pioneer settlers, in the ~'districts successively' of Wellington, Nelson,. -pta.go,', and Canterbury.- In,- pursuance' of ..this ideal it is proposed to include in. the personnel of the WaitangiVßoardl of Trustees, who will administer the.'.Trust on behalf of the Dominion,' ,not ; only the Governor: General,', the Prime Minister, and the Minister in- Charge.of Sceriery Preservation for' the time being; but also the Native Minister,- and .representatives of the. Maori race,'the South.lsland, and the :families or Archdeacon Williams and Edward. Gibbon :Wakefie]d. , . OTHER *HISTOEIC EVENTS. It is noteworthy that prior to the signing of the'famous Treaty, and while New Zealand 'wa%.still .a foreign countryj ■ two' other '• historic gatherings took place at Waitangi. The first was on the 20th MafcE,'lß34, when, in order to protect unregistered New Zealand-6'wn-ed ship's-from seizure-by pirates) the Native; chiefs assembled at the British Residency to choose a- National Flag. The flag selected waa one with a white ground • divided by St. George's Cross, the_ upper quarter of which was' again divided by the same Cross; a white star on a blue field occupying each of the smaller i sqnares. On the: cession of Sovereignty to- Queen Victoria in 1840

this flag, having been superseded by the Union Jack as' a National Ensign, was adopted by the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Shipping Company, and is now flown by them as their house flag.

The other and more important gathering at Waitangi took place there on the 28th October, 1835, when tho hereditary chiefs of the tribes of the North Island, incited thereto by tho claim of the French Baron de Thierry to establish a separata "kingdom" for himself,' with its headquarters at Hokianga, met at Waitangi and there signed arid promulgated the "Declaration of Independence of New Zealand,'' whereby they declared their country to be an independent State under the designation of "the United Tribes of New Zealand," asserted that all sovereign powers and authority resided exclusively in themselves, and agreed to meet in congress at Waitangi in tho autumn of every year for the purpose of framing laws for dispensing justice, preserving peace and order, and regulating trade. By the same Declaration they cordially invited the southern tribes to lay aside their private animosities and join "the Confederation of the United. Tribes," and also entreated His Majesty the King of England to protect their, infant' State from all attempts upon its independence. There is an historic link between Waitangi and the Bathurst family to which Lord Bledisloe belongs." For Mr. James Busby, whose old home &p Waitangi Lord and Lady Bledisloe have presented to the nation,, owed his presence in New South Wales, whence he was sent as "British Resident" to N,ew Zealand, to his father's appointment in 1823 as Mineral Agent and Civil En.gineer to that Colony by Henry, 3rd Earl Bathurst, a member of Lord Bledisloe 's family,: who was at the time Secre-. tary of State for 1 the Colonies, and ia fact, in that capacity, protested against the lack of protection- afforded to the Maoris ■ against their* ill-treatment by the _crews of European vessels in New Zealand waters. .