Over forty rangatira (chiefs) signed the Treaty at Waitangi, among them many who had signed the Declaration of Independence. Their agreement was important, but Hobson wanted a lot more signatures so he could confidently claim British sovereignty over New Zealand.
To get those signatures, he took the Treaty on the road.
Hobson headed to Hokianga, where most of the rangatira were experienced at negotiating business agreements with timber traders and settlers. Many there were suspicious of Hobson and his Treaty.
Some were concerned about how the Treaty would affect trade and commerce with settlers. Others, like Te Taonui, had visited Sydney and seen how badly the Aborigines fared from British treatment. But, after much debate, many Hokianga rangatira signed. And over the following months other rangatira in the Bay of Islands and at Kaitaia signed.
Hobson now travelled south. However, in March he had a stroke at Waitemata Harbour and returned to the north to recover.
One of his officials, two army men, and several missionaries now took over the task of getting signatures. Several copies of the Treaty were written out. Each negotiator took a different copy, and a different path. Some rangatira signed quickly, others took a while to be convinced, and a number refused to sign.
Oil on canvas by Gottfried Lindauer, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Mr H E Partridge 1915
Rangi Topeora, who signed the Treaty at Kapiti in May 1840, was one of around twelve women to sign. The British missionaries circulating the Treaty accepted some senior women's signatures, including Ereonora at Kaitaia and Ana Hamu at the Bay of Islands.
Photograph 186072, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington (Ref: PA2-2820)
Taraia Ngakuti Te Tumuhuia, a Ngāti Tamaterā leader in the Thames area, was one of several rangatira who declined to sign the Treaty. Others included Ngāi Te Rangi leader Tupaea of Tauranga, Te Wherowhero of Waikato-Tainui, and Mananui Te Heuheu of Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Some were not prepared to compromise their independence, while others could see no benefit in the Treaty.
Proclamation of sovereignty, 1840. Hobson proclaimed sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May, while copies of the Treaty were still circulating. New Zealand was a dependency of New South Wales until November 1840, when it became a separate colony. National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington (Ref: F81956 1/20)
While the Treaty was still making the rounds of the country, the newly arrived English settlers at Port Nicholson – today Wellington – started setting up their own, unauthorised government.
William Hobson, the only person with the right to set up a British colony in New Zealand, was alarmed. As Lieutenant Governor, he quickly proclaimed British sovereignty over the whole country in May.
That month, he sent Police Magistrate Willoughby Shortland to the Port Nicholson settlement to read the proclamation, and demand allegiance to the Crown.
A haka of fifteen hundred men opened a massive feast to celebrate the Treaty signing in the Hokianga. Around three thousand Māori feasted on pork, potatoes, rice, and sugar. Gifts of blankets and tobacco were distributed. Sketch by Richard Taylor, 1840, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington , (Ref:E-296-Q-169-3)
| Date | Chief | Goods | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill of 1 July 1840 | |||
| 28 May | Opotiki | 8lbs tobacco @ 3/- | 1.4.0 |
| 12 pipes @ 1/2d | .6 | ||
| 15 June | Te Kaha | 5 fancy pipes @ 2/6 | 12.6 |
| 1/2lb tobacco | 1.6 | ||
| 12 June | Torere | 2 fancy pipes @ 2/6 | 5.0 |
| l/2lb tobacco | 1.6 | ||
| 17 June | Whakatane | 11 fancy pipes | 1.17.6 |
| 4 ditto boxes | 8.0 | ||
| 3 looking glasses | 4.6 | ||
| 51bs tobacco | 15.0 | ||
| 4 rows beads | 2.0 | ||
| 1 slate | 2.0 | ||
| 5.4.0 | |||
James Fedarb requested payment from Hobson for this bill. It shows the gifts he gave to chiefs who agreed to sign a Treaty copy he took down the Bay of Plenty coast. Freeman to Colenso, 1 July 1840, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington , (Ref: MS COL. 1833-63,IV)
HMS Herald in Sylvan Cove, Stewart Island, carrying Major Thomas Bunbury who was seeking signatures to a copy of the Treaty in May and June 1840. Drawing by Edward Marsh Williams, 1840, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington , (Ref: A-083-005)
On 3 September 1840 near Kawhia, the last signature was put on a copy of the Treaty. Altogether, over 500 chiefs had signed. Hobson sent the British government copies of the Treaty in Māori and English.
Hobson did not have the signatures of every Māori leader in the country. While some had refused to sign, others hadn't even had the chance – the Treaty hadn't been taken to their region. Hobson, however, didn't draw attention to these shortcomings.
