THE WAITANGI ESTATE

Northern Advocate, 5 February 1934, Page 4

THE WAITANGI ESTATE

LORD BLEDISLOB’S GREAT GIFT. SENTIMENT AND UTILITY. Their Excellencies, Lord and LadMk Bledisloe, who purchased the tangi Estate of 2,300 acres, over to the Waitangi National Board 1102 acres. The latter area chiding the site on which the was signed and the British formerly occupied by Air,' James B Busby. The line of the boundary en- ■ closing the area follows the ridge on the northern portion of the property for a distance of approximately, two miles, and then follows another ridge, in a southerly direction to include the > Haruru Falls. The remainder of the ] reserve is bounded by the Waitangi J River and the Bay of Islands :Har- A hour. On the land side the reserve B is bounded by the balance • of. the B estate, approximately 1300 acres which Their Excellencies have handed over B to the Forestry Department under 'in ■ agreement which provides that, this area shall be'afforested on commercial B lines, and the net proceeds from, the B sale of the timber is to be divided B between the Department . and the B Trust. The area will therefore be an B endowment. Their Excellencies, in forming the Board of Trustees, made provision for the representation of both races, Ek-officio positions on the board are held by the Gpvernor-General, Prime Minister, Minister in Charge of Scenic Reserves, the Native Minister, and representatives of ancient families. The families represented are those of Archdeacon Williams, Eds ; ward Gibbon Wakefield, Tamiati Waka Nene, Hone Heke, Kawiti and Pomare. The South Island and the Bay of Islands have fepresentation, while the North Auckland Maoris and the South Auckland Maoris have each a representative. There .is also member representative of' archaeolo- , gists, statesmen and historians. Members of the executive, are: His Excellency, the Governor-General, : Lord Bledisloe (chairman), Her Exicellency Lady Bledisloe, - : lifte! Prime ■ Minister (Hon. G. Forbes), .the Hon. J. G. Coates, the Minister-in-charge ■ of Scenic Preservation, the Native ■ Minister, Sir Francis Bell, Sir Heaton Rhodes, Mr. K. S. Williams, M.P:, the Hon. Vernon Reed, Tau Henare, M.P;, • Riri Maihi Kawiti, and Koroki Te ' Rata-Mahuta. Lord and Lady Bledisloe are life • members, and the Governor-General j will be an ex-officio member of the L Board. ■ . In the historic area, during the past j , twelve months, the renovation and re-id , storation of the Treaty House, for-B [ merly Mr. Bdsby’s residence, bias ceeded to accomplishment. A" great j deal of the original timbers still re- • main, notably • the ironbhrk ; flooring , in the hall. All the rooms have been I replastered, in-keeping with'the : design ■ of 1840. The doors, mantelpieces, I - architrave and windows are as they I - were originally placed in Mr. Busby's I ■ time. The sandstone flooring--under I 5 the verandah brought from, Sydney 1 i by Mr. Busby remains. The roof of - the building has been completely- re- « shingled. The only difference between t the house to-day and as it- was -dn 1840 is that the northern wing, which had been demolished; has been. -re- ’ built on the original design externally, ! while, internally, living, aceummoda- - tiort has been provided for the super- - visor. Further, the southern wing - has altered internally .h/ the - re,- • moval of the old kitchen and/small r rooms attached to make way for the - fire-proof museum and gallery... : The actual site of the signing of i the treaty—some 80 yards in front of the Treaty House—has been marked by a flagpole just erected. From this | flagpole His Excellency will unfurl a ' Union Jack to-morrow afternoon. ■ From then on the flag will fly every 1 day. The Trust Board has acquired two Union ' Jacks, one 16 feet by .. feet, and another, r a storm - flag, 10* ' feet by 5 feet. The board Ijps- also , been presented by Mr. Le Roy with a New Zealand flag. This flag is a : replica of that agreed to by the Con- ’ federation of Tribes as -the New 1 Zealand flag prior td the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The design is a St. George’s Cross in red on a white background. In the right-hand top corner is another St. George’s - Cross, with a star in each corner.