A Review of Te Tiriti o Waitangi & The Treaty of Waitangi

Introduction:
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi are documents that have had a
colourful history. They are documents that conjure up controversial memories and
cause the blood to rush into the hearts and minds of many people.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the document that is argued about today in the Courts of
“Pākehā” law. It is this document that Mäori turn to when any problems arise through
the variations of translation that come about when two languages are involved.
The Treaty of Waitangi is the tool of the Pākehā. It is the document that is popularly
described as “the founding document of New Zealand”. It is also the document that
most Pākehā commentators quote from when any issues concerning Mäori arise.
This paper will look at these two documents, providing a bit of background on the
circumstances surrounding their creation, before turning to the words that are
contained within these two documents.

The scholarship of the writer/s will be mentioned in a small way before providing an
analysis of the content within these documents.

It is the intention of the writer to provide, for future readers, an opinion on what these
documents contain and how they impact on Mäori Society and New Zealand Society
as a whole.

Te Timatatanga: Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Prior to the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, a document was created called “Te
Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni”. This document created an
independent nation within certain boundaries of the North Island of New Zealand. A
group of chiefs called Te Wakaminenga o Ngā hapū o Nu Tireni were the instigators
of this document and played a major role in the initiation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and
The Treaty of Waitangi.

This document, “Te Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni”, was the reason

that the Treaty of Waitangi was required. Due to the recognition of this declaration, a
device was needed to remove the sovereignty acknowledged therein, that device was
Te Tiriti o Waitangi/ The Treaty of Waitangi
Background:
The British Empire was spreading its wings into the far-flung corners of the Earth.
The tentacles of colonisation had reached out and enveloped the lesser countries of
the world, and eyes turned towards Aotearoa.

Settlers had come to this country under the illusion that there was land to spare for all
men, and that Aotearoa was the new “land of milk and honey”. The tangata whenua
had other ideas though, and fought to ensure that these newcomers did not cross the
line when it came to tikanga a rohe.

Due to the troubles that brewed in a little town called Kororareka, it was decided that
“Law and Order” needed to come to this land, to deal with what has been described as
“the scourge of the Pacific”, the whalers, sealers and other undesirables whom lived
under their own rules. Petitions were written to the “Great Leader” of these people,
King George IV, asking that he deal with these people. His reply was the sending of a
British Resident aptly known as “he manawa pu kore”i or a Man o’ war without guns,
James Busby. It was to him the tangata whenua turned to in times of troubles with
these people. Due to the troubles that continued, and further entreaties, another man
was sent, Captain Hobson, to be Lieutenant Governor of the “infant State” and bring
Law & Order to the lawless.

His instructions included the statement that:

“The Queen, in common with Her Majesty’s predecessor, disclaims for herself
and her subjects every pretention to seize on the Islands of New Zealand, or to
govern them as a part of the Dominions of Great Britian unless the free and
intelligent consent of the natives, expressed according to their established
usages, shall first be obtained”ii
There was also a statement in regards to the cession of sovereignty to the Queen of
England:
“…Her Majesty’s Government have resolved to authorise you to treat with the
aborigines of New Zealand for the recognition of Her Majesty’s authority of
the whole or any part of those islands which they may be willing to place
under Her Majesty’s dominion.”
It is from these circumstances that Te Tiriti o Waitangi and The Treaty of Waitangi
came about.
Author/s of Te Tiriti o Waitangi:
Henry Williams was born in 1792 in Hampshire, England.iii He joined the Royal Navy
and rose to the rank of Lieutenant, before being discharged in 1815. He later entered
into Missionary work, learning the trade well according to the reports that remain of
his work. His record in Aotearoa is unblemished (according to Pākehā whakaaro)
speaking of total devotion to the cause of bringing Christianity to the Mäori.

Fluency in Te Reo Māori

According to various sources, William’s skill in Te Reo was of such a standard as to
be able to have translated the Anglican Prayer Book into Te Reo around 1827, as well
as preaching entirely in Te Reo to his various congregations!

The greatest test of his fluency prior to Te Tiriti o Waitangi was his translating of
“He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tirani” or “A Declaration of
Independence of Niu Tirani”
Scholarship:
 Language:
The language contained within Te Tiriti o Waitangi seems to be of an immature type,
judging by works that have survived from this period. This could be due to the fact
that Henry Williams was a second language learner, he taking lessons from local
Mäori or from the local missionaries that populated the districts surrounding
Waitangi, or it could be because of a darker, more sinister notion was afoot. The
knowledge that the correct or more appropriate wording would turn what could be
termed as a successful meeting of two nations into a rebuff from which the British
Empire could not possibly return seems to have been a factor. Williams, by his own
admission, was quite fluent in Te Reo, and in what has been termed “Constitutional
Mäori having translated the Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tirani just five
years before.

 Content:
Within this document is the statements outlining the relationship between Mäori of
Aotearoa and the Queen of England. This relationship included the giving up or
ceding of Governorship of the land to the Queen of England, with the proviso that
they still retained their sovereigntyiv. This is mentioned in the lines:
“ Ko nga Rangatira o te wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa hoki kihai i uru ki
taua wakaminenga ka tuku rawa atu ki te Kuini o Ingarangi ake tonu atu te
kawanagatanga katoa o o ratou wenua”v
“ The Chiefs of (i.e. constituting) the Assembly, and all of the Chiefs who are
absent from the Assembly, shall cede to the Queen of England for ever the
government of all their lands.”vi
“Ko te Kuini o Ingarani ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangatira ki nga hapu ki nga
tangata katoa o Niu Tirani te tino Rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me
o ratou taonga katoa…”vii
The Queen of England acknowledges and guarantees to the Chiefs, the Tribes,
and all the people of New Zealand, the entire supremacy of their lands, their
settlements, and of their personal property…”viii

 Structure & Layout:

It is laid out in simple terms, with a preamble and three distinctive articles, that are
easy to read and thus are simple to understand. There is a fourth article which is not
written into the document, but is remembered by the people. This article speaks of the
Governor protecting the religions of Rome, England and “ritenga Mäori” or Mäori
belief systems.

The signatures are arranged in three columns with margins provided to take the
attestations of the witnesses. All in all, a succinctly laid out document.

According to official records Te Tiriti o Waitangi contains 512 signatures or marks of

Ngā Rangatira Maori.

 Audience it was written for:

This is a good example of a piece written for the intended audience i.e. Mäori
Rangatira. The language used carries the imagery and symbolism found within
whaikōrero and other speech making. It carried ambiguous language that has caused
many scholars and members of the Judiciary to discuss the meaning of different
words and contexts contained within, but when looked at in terms of the time, the
language used, was appropriate for a minister of the church.
Most of the controversy arises when the two texts are compared to one another, and
are found wanting in meaning and clarity.

The Treaty Of Waitangi:

Author/s of Te Tiriti o Waitangi:
It is reputed to be the ex British Resident, James Busby who is the author of the
Treaty of Waitangi.
It has been claimed that he wrote the Treaty of Waitangi only after seeing the drafts
written by Hobson, who based those aforementioned drafts on the instructions he
received from Lord Normanby prior to his departure from England. Other notes were
also supplied by Hobson’s secretary, J.S. Freeman, all of which he, Busby, deemed
were “inadequate to accomplish the object”ix.

There has been some argument about his skills to actually write such an important
document, and mention is always made of his lack of administrative experience
because prior to his appointment as British Resident, he was a Collector of Internal
Revenue and a member of the Land Board of New South Wales. But whatever the
argument on his appropriateness, it was his draft that became the official version.

Scholarship:
 Language:
The language used within the Treaty of Waitangi is of a type expected for such an
important document. The convention of legal writing has been held to and is well
written in context for the times. To use the same language today would probably
cause discussion, it being a little patronising in its tone, but again for the times this
was acceptable and in fact was expected.
Content:
 Structure & Layout:
Again this document is laid out in simple terms, with a preamble and three distinctive
articles, that are easy to read and thus are simple to understand. The fourth article that
speaks of the Governor protecting the religions of Rome, England and “ritenga
Mäori” or Mäori belief systems is not mentioned at all.

The signatures are arranged in three columns with margins provided to take the
attestations of the witnesses. Again, a succinct and well laid out document.
According to official records The Treaty of Waitangi contains only 39 signatures or
marks of ngā Rangatira Maori, these being garnered from Rangatira at Manakau
Harbour, because the Māori text was unavailable.

 Audience it was written for:

This document is another example of a paper being written for its proposed audience.
It is full of the “Constitutional” language that people would expect to find in a
document of this type. It also illustrates the thoughts of the times whereby the charity
and the gracious thoughts of the Queen of England are such as to provide protection
to the uncivilised natives of the world, who require such protection not only from the
lawlessness of her own people, but also from themselves!
The whole essence of this document brings to the fore the illusion that the nation of
New Zealand was built on; That Mäori gave away their sovereignty of Aotearoa to the
Queen and they did so knowingly and willingly because of the chance to gain
“…all rights and privileges of British Subjects”.

Conclusion:
The words of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and The Treaty of Waitangi will always conjure up
controversy. This is because they are written in two different languages and are seen
from two different viewpoints. The principle of Contra-proferentum takes care of one
problem, that being the language, but what of the other? What will take care of the
differing viewpoints?

This document has been described variously as “a straightforward agreement

between two consenting parties, nothing more…”x, “a temporary arrangement
between two sovereign powers…xi” to “… the treaty was used to allay any possible
white fears that white possession of Aotearoa was not all above board. After all,
whites say, the Mäori chiefs signed away their sovereignty and that the lie
perpetrated every year at Waitangixii”.

Bibliography:

Buick, T.L. The Treaty of Waitangi

Thomas Avery & Sons Limited
New Plymouth 1933

Miller, H Race Conflict in New Zealand 1814 – 1865

Blackwood & Janet Paul
Auckland 1966

Moon, P & Fenton, S Bound into a fateful union: Henry Williams’ translation
of the Treaty of Waitangi into Mäori in February 1840
Publisher unknown, presumably J.P.S. 2002

N.Z 1990 Commission Belonging Here/ Toi Taketake

The 150 Year Debate
A selection of quotations on the Treaty of Waitangi
New Zealand 1990 Commission 1990

Orange, C The Treaty of Waitangi

Bridget Williams Books Limited
Wellington 1987
i
Buick (1933) pg.16
ii
Ibid pg.72
iii
Vosslamber & Vosslamber (1999) pg. 1 as cited in Moon & Fenton 2002 pg. 1
iv
As translated by J. Noble Coleman, 1865 and cited by Orange (1987) pg 262
v
Orange (1987) pg. 257
vi
Ibid. pg. 262
vii
Ibid pg. 257
viii
Ibid pg. 262
ix
Orange (1987) pg.36
x
Waitangi Bill, cited in NZ 1990 Commission 1990 pg. 29
xi
Prof. Gordon Parson, cited in above
xii
Donna Awatere, cited in above