What is the Treaty Of Waitangi?              

The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document. It takes its name from the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed in 1840 and was an agreement between the British Crown and a large number of Māori chiefs approximately 500. 

Today the Treaty is widely accepted to be a constitutional document that establishes and guides the relationship between the Crown in New Zealand and Maori.

The Treaty promised to protect Maori culture and to enable Maori to continue to live in New Zealand as Maori. 

At the same time, the Treaty gave the Crown the right to govern New Zealand and to represent the interests of all New Zealanders.

While the Treaty is widely seen as a constitutional document, its status in New Zealand law is less than settled. At the moment, Treaty rights can only be enforced in a court of law when a statute or an Act explicitly refers to the Treaty.

Why is the Treaty Of Waitangi important in New Zealand history?

The Treaty governs the relationship between Māori and everyone else and ensures the rights of both Māori and Pakeha are protected. It does that by:

• accepting that Māori Tribes have the right to organise themselves, protect their way of life, and control the resources they own
• requiring the Government to act reasonably and in good faith toward Māori
• making the Government responsible for helping to address grievances
• establishing equality and the principle that all New Zealanders are equal under the law.

Extra Facts:

Treaty in action:

The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document.

The principles of the Treaty are referred to in several Acts of Parliament. It is an important part of the New Zealand education system and how New Zealanders work.

Applying the Treaty influences life in New Zealand in many ways.

Parliament

Māori representation in Parliament is guaranteed with reserved seats – currently, there are seven. Many Māori is also Members of Parliament via ‘general’ electorates.

Waitangi Tribunal

There is a Waitangi Tribunal that researches and makes legal decisions on cases where Māori land and other resources were taken illegally or unfairly in the past. Quite often this results in large settlements for iwi, including cash and land.

Many iwis are putting these settlements to good use building major commercial enterprises – often becoming important employers in the process.

Some Waitangi Tribunal settlements do not only benefit Māori. For example, a lot of work has been done to restore Auckland’s western harbour from waste and sewage despoliation after Māori living in the area lodged what is known as the Manukau claim.

Early Life:

Hongi, Hariata, 1815-1894, Rongo, Harriet, 1815-1894, Rongomai, Hariata, 1815-1894

Born in 1815. Daughter of Hongi Hika. Married Hone Heke Pokai in Kerikeri chapel on 30 Mar 1837. There were no children from this marriage. She was a forceful character, inheriting much of her father’s drive and self-confidence. Hariata had lived for some years with the family of James Kemp, a CMS missionary. Married later on Arama Karaka Pi (d 1872), whom she also survived as his widow. She died on 9 Jan 1894 at Kaikohe, Northland.

What she did do?

Daughter of famous Ngāpuhi chief Hongi Hika and his senior wife Turikatuku. 

For several years Rongo lived with James and Charlotte Kemp, who were with the Church Missionary Society in Kerikeri. When her father got sick she nursed him until his death. Rongo then attended the Mission School for Māori Girls at Kerikeri. Here she became literate in both languages. With her intelligence, she was equal to some men and superior to many

In March 1837, Rongo (then going by the Christian name Hariata Rongo) married Ngāpuhi warrior leader Hōne Heke in the Kerikeri Chapel. Hōne Heke soon after became famous for his stand against the British authorities.

With a good education from the missionaries, Rongo served as Hōne Heke’s secretary and scribe and was active throughout the treaty war of 1845, supporting her husband in the field and acting as a conduit between him and his enemy, the pro-British warrior Tāmati Wāka Nene. Some scholars believe there is evidence that some of the correspondence was written by Rongo.

Early Life:

Nene was born probably in the 1780s. He was the second son of Tapua, leader, and tohunga of Ngāti Hao of Hokianga, and the younger brother of Patuone, the inheritor of their father’s mana. By descent and marriage, this family was connected to many of the major chiefs of Hokianga, Whangaroa, the Bay of Islands, and other places. Through his mother, Te Kawehau, he was related to Hongi Hika, and also to the brothers Rewa (Manu), Moka, and Te Wharerahi. His sister Tari married Te Wharerahi. Nene could trace his descent from Rāhiri, ancestor of Ngāpuhi, through several lines.

His Career:

In early manhood, Nene began to distinguish himself as a war leader. He may have fought his first battle around 1800, helping Te Hōtete, the father of Hongi Hika, avenge the sack of his pā Ōkuratope, at Waimate North, by Ngare Raumati, the people of Te Rāwhiti in the Bay of Islands. Thereafter Nene would have taken part in a series of battles involving Te Roroa, Ngāpuhi, and his people. These conflicts left several unresolved issues; some Māori believed that they led Nene to oppose Hōne Heke in the northern war of the 1840s.

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