Treaty of Waitangi: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1840 treatyagreement between the British Crown and peopleMāori leaders ofin New Zealand}}

| context = Treaty to establish a British [[Governor of New Zealand]], consider Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and give Māori the rights of British subjects.

The '''Treaty of Waitangi''' ({{lang-langx|mi|Te Tiriti o Waitangi}}), sometimes referred to as '''''Te Tiriti''''', is a document of central importance to the [[Historyhistory of New Zealand]], [[Constitution of New Zealand|its constitution]], and its [[national mythos]]. It has played a major role in the treatment of the [[Māori populationpeople]] in New Zealand, by successive governments and the wider population, a rolesomething that has been especially prominent from the late 20th century. The treaty document is an agreement, not a treaty as recognised in international law,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=Noel |title=The Treaty of Waitangi and the Relationship Between the Crown and Maori in New Zealand |journal=Brooklyn Journal of International Law |date=2002 |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=132 |url=https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1371&context=bjil |access-date=4 October 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004213236/https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1371&context=bjil |url-status=live }}</ref> and it has no independent legal status, being legally effective only to the extent it is recognised in various statutes.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Status of the Treaty as a Legal Document |url=https://trc.org.nz/treaty_legal |website=Treaty Resource Centre – He Puna Mātauranga o Te Tiriti |access-date=4 October 2022 |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007002306/https://trc.org.nz/treaty_legal |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was first signed on 6 February 1840 by Captain [[William Hobson]] as [[Administrative consul|consul]] for the [[British Crown]] and by [[Māori people|Māori]] chiefs ({{lang|mi|[[rangatira]]}}) from the [[North Island]] of New Zealand. The treaty's quasi-legal status satisfies the demands of biculturalism in contemporary New Zealand society. In general terms, it is interpreted today as having established a partnership between equals in a way the Crown probably did not intend it to in 1840. Specifically, the treaty is seen, first, as entitling Māori to enjoyment of land and of natural resources and, if that right were ever breached, to restitution. Second, the treaty's quasi-legal status has clouded the question of whether Māori had ceded sovereignty to the Crown in 1840, and if so, whether such sovereignty remains intact.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kolig |first1=Erich |title=Of Condoms, Biculturalism, and Political Correctness. The Maori Renaissance and Cultural Politics in New Zealand. |journal=Paideuma |date=2000 |volume=46 |page=238 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40341791?seq=8 |location=JSTOR}}</ref>

The treaty was written at a time when the [[New Zealand Company]], acting on behalf of large numbers of settlers and would-be settlers, werewas establishing a [[colony]] in New Zealand, and when some Māori leaders had petitioned the British for protection against French ambitions. It was drafted with the intention of establishing a British [[Governor of New Zealand]], recognising Māori ownership of their lands, forests and other possessions, and giving Māori the rights of [[British subject]]s. It was intended by the British Crown to ensure that when Lieutenant Governor Hobson subsequently made the declaration of British [[sovereignty]] over New Zealand in May 1840, the Māori people would not feel that their rights had been ignored.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1839/3.html|title=Additional Instructions from Lord Normanby to Captain Hobson 1839 – New Zealand Constitutional Law Resources|date=15 August 1839|access-date=5 October 2019|website=[[New Zealand Legal Information Institute]]|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204154300/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1839/3.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Once it had been written and translated, it was first signed by Northern Māori leaders at [[Waitangi, Northland|Waitangi]]. Copies were subsequently taken around New Zealand and over the following months many other chiefs signed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/treaty-of-waitangi-signings-in-the-south-island/ |title=Treaty of Waitangi signings in the South Island |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218122042/http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/treaty-of-waitangi-signings-in-the-south-island/ |archive-date=18 February 2015 |website=[[Christchurch City Libraries]]}}</ref> Around 530 to 540 Māori, at least 13 of them women, signed the Māori language version of the Treaty of Waitangi, despite some Māori leaders cautioning against it.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi/ |work= Waitangi Tribunal |access-date= 28 May 2015 |title= Treaty of Waitangi |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160706002417/http://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi |archive-date= 6 July 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=260}} Only 39 signed the English version.<ref name="B&T I">{{cite book |last=Newman |first=Keith |title=Bible & Treaty, Missionaries among the Māori – a new perspective |year = 2010 |orig-year = 2010 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0143204084}} pp 159</ref> An immediate result of the treaty was that [[Queen Victoria]]'s government gained the sole right to purchase land.<ref name="Burns">{{cite book |last= Burns |first= Patricia |title= Fatal Success: A History of the New Zealand Company | year = 1989 | isbn= 0-7900-0011-3 |publisher=Heinemann Reed}}</ref> In total there are nine signed copies of the Treaty of Waitangi, including the sheet signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.archives.govt.nz/exhibitions/treaty |title= Treaty of Waitangi – Te Tiriti o Waitangi |publisher=[[Archives New Zealand]] |access-date= 10 August 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110811091145/http://archives.govt.nz/exhibitions/treaty |archive-date= 11 August 2011}}</ref>

During the second half of the 19th century Māori generally lost control of much of the land they had owned, sometimes through legitimate sale, but often by way of unfair land-deals, settlers occupying land that had not been sold, or through [[New Zealand land confiscations|outright confiscations]] in the aftermath of the New Zealand Wars. In the period following the New Zealand Wars, the New Zealand government mostly ignored the treaty, and a court-case judgement in 1877 declared it to be "a simple [[Void (law)|nullity]]". Beginning in the 1950s, Māori increasingly sought to use the treaty as a platform for claiming additional rights to sovereignty and to reclaim lost land, and governments in the 1960s and 1970s responded to these arguments, giving the treaty an increasingly central role in the interpretation of land rights and relations between Māori people and the state. In 1975 the New Zealand Parliament passed the [[Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975|Treaty of Waitangi Act]], establishing the [[Waitangi Tribunal]] as a permanent commission of inquiry tasked with interpreting the treaty, researching breaches of the treaty by the Crown or its agents, and suggesting means of redress.<ref name="Meaning-Tribunal" /> In most cases, recommendations of the tribunal are not binding on the Crown, but settlements totalling almost $1 billion have been awarded to various Māori groups.<ref name="Meaning-Tribunal" /><ref name="Settlements" /> Various legislation passed in the latter part of the 20th century has made reference to the treaty, which has led to ad hoc incorporation of the treaty in law.{{sfn|Palmer|2008|p=292}} As a result, the treaty has now become widely regarded as the founding document of New Zealand.<ref name="NZ const">{{cite web |url= https://gg.govt.nz/office-governor-general/roles-and-functions-governor-general/constitutional-role/constitution/constitution |title= New Zealand's Constitution |publisher=Government House |access-date= 17 August 2017 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171210231805/https://gg.govt.nz/office-governor-general/roles-and-functions-governor-general/constitutional-role/constitution/constitution |archive-date= 10 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.beehive.govt.nz/Documents/Files/NZ%20Constitution%20Cabinet%20Office%20backgrounder.pdf|publisher=Cabinet Office|title= New Zealand's constitution – past, present and future|access-date= 17 August 2017|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170424235332/https://www.beehive.govt.nz/Documents/Files/NZ%20Constitution%20Cabinet%20Office%20backgrounder.pdf|archive-date= 24 April 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Palmer|2008|p=25}}

The [[New Zealand governmentDay Act 1973]] established [[Waitangi Day]] as [[New Zealand Day Act 1973|a national holiday]] in 1974; each year the holiday commemorates the dateto ofcommemorate the signing of the treaty.

The first recorded contact between the Māori and Europeans occurred in 1642, when the Dutch explorer, [[Abel Tasman]], arrivedsailing andalong wasthe foughtnorth-west offcoast of the South Island, had a violent offshore encounter with local Māori. In 1769 the English navigator Captain [[James Cook]] claimed New Zealand for Britain in a ceremony at the [[Mercury Islands]]. Nevertheless, theThe British government showed little interest in following up on this claim for over half a century.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The British Inheritance: A Treasury of Historic Documents |publisher= University of California Press |year= 1999 |editor-last= Hallam |editor-first= Elizabeth |pages= 90 |editor-last2= Prescott |editor-first2= Andrew}}</ref> The first mention of New Zealand in British statutes iswas in the [[Murders Abroad Act 1817| Murders Abroad Act of 1817]],<ref name="Wilson 1985">{{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year= First published in 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher= V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc= 154283103 | pages= 15f}}</ref> which clarified that New Zealand was not a British colony (despite having been claimed by Captain Cook) and "not within His Majesty's dominions".<ref name="Te Ara">{{cite bookweb |titlelast1=AnGreat Encyclopaedia of New ZealandBritain |orig-yeartitle=The FirstStatutes publishedof inthe 1966United |publisher=Kingdom [[Ministryof forGreat CultureBritain and HeritageIreland |publisher=His Ministry forMajesty's CultureStatute and HeritageLaw /Printers, Te Manatū Taonga]]1817 |chapter-url= https://tearabooks.govtgoogle.nzcom/en/1966/history-settlement-and-development/page-3 |editor-firstlocation=Google A. H.Books |editor-lastpage=McLintock181}}</ref> |editor-link=AlexanderFrom Hare1815, McLintockmissionaries |access-date=24purchased Junelarge 2017 |chapter=The Establishmentareas of Sovereigntyland |date=22in Aprilthe 2009Bay |url-status=liveof |archive-url= https://webIslands.archive.org/web/20171222104921/https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/history-settlement-and-development/page-3 |archive-date= 22 December 2017}}</ref> Between 1795 and 1830 a steady flow of [[Seal hunting | sealing]] and then [[whaling in New Zealand | whaling]] ships visited New Zealand, mainly calling at the [[Bay of Islands]] for food supplies and recreation. Many of the ships came from [[Sydney]].{{cn|date=April 2023}} Trade between Sydney and New Zealand increased as traders sought [[Agathis australis |kauri]] timber and flax; and missionaries purchased large areas of land in the Bay of Islands from 1815.<ref name="Simpson 2015">{{cite book | last = Simpson | first =Tony | title = Before Hobson | publisher = Blythswood Press | date = 2015 | location = Wellington | isbn = 9780473312848}}</ref> Trade was seen both by Māori and by visitors as mutually advantageous, and Māori tribes competed for access to the services of Europeans who had chosen to live on the islands - because they brought goods and knowledge that were essential to the local tribe ({{lang|mi|[[iwi]]}} (tribe). At the same time, Europeans living in New Zealand ([[Pākehā Māori]]) needed the protection that Māori chiefs could provide.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=2}} As a result of trade, the Māori economy changed drastically up to the 1840s, moving from subsistence [[Agriculture in New Zealand | farming]] and gathering to cultivating commercial trade- crops.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=2}}

While heading the parliamentary campaign against the British [[slave-trade]] for twenty years until the passage of the [[Slave Trade Act of 1807]], [[William Wilberforce]] co-championed the foundation of the [[Church Missionary Society]] (CMS) in 1799, with other members of the [[Clapham Sect]] including [[John Venn (priest)|John Venn]] -– determined to improve the treatment of indigenous people by the British. This led to the establishment of the CMS Christian mission in New Zealand, which saw laymen arriving from 1814 to teach building, farming and Christianity to Māori, as well as training "native" [[minister (Christianity) | minister]]s. The [[Māori language]] did not then have an indigenous writing system. Missionaries learned to speak Māori, and introduced the Latin alphabet. The CMS, including [[Thomas Kendall]]; Māori, including [[Tītore]] and [[Hongi Hika]]; and [[Cambridge University]]'s [[Samuel Lee (linguist) |Samuel Lee]], developed the written form of the language between 1817 and 1830. In 1833, while living in the [[Paihia]] mission-house of [[Anglicanism |Anglican]] priest and the now head of the New Zealand CMS mission (later to become the [[New Zealand Church Missionary Society]]) Rev [[Henry Williams (missionary) |Henry Williams]], missioner [[William Colenso]] published Māori translations including parts of books of the [[Bible]], the first books printed in New Zealand. Colenso's 1837 Māori New Testament was the first [[Bible translations into Oceanic languages | indigenous-language translation of the Bible]] published in the southern hemisphere. Demand for the Māori New Testament, and for the Prayer Book that followed, grew exponentially, as did Christian Māori [[leadership]] and public Christian services, with 33,000 Māori soon attending regularly. Literacy and understanding the Bible increased {{lang|mi|[[Mana (Oceanian mythology)|mana]]}} and social and economic benefits, decreased the practices of slavery and intertribal violence, and increased peace and respect for all people in Māori society, including women.<ref name="B&T II"/>

Māori generally respected the British, partially due to their relationships with missionaries and also due to Britain's status as a major maritime power,{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=5}} which had been made apparent to Māori travelling outside New Zealand.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=4}} Other major players in the area around the 1830s included [[American whalers]], whom the Māori accepted as cousins of the British, and French Catholics who came for trade and as missionaries. The Māori were deeply distrustful of the French, due to a massacre of 250 people that had occurred in 1772, when the French retaliated for the killing of [[Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne| Marion du Fresne]] and some of his crew.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=4}} While the threat of general French colonisation never materialised, in 1831 it prompted thirteen major chiefs from the [[Far North District |far north]] of the country to meet at [[Kerikeri]] to compose a letter to [[William IV of the United Kingdom |King William IV]] asking for Britain to be a "friend and guardian" of New Zealand.{{sfn|Moon|2010|p=24}} It is the first known plea for British intervention written by Māori.<ref>Binney, Judith (2007). ''Te Kerikeri 1770–1850, The Meeting Pool'', Bridget Williams Books (Wellington) in association with Craig Potton Publishing (Nelson). {{ISBN|1-877242-38-1}}. Chapter 13, "The Māori Leaders' Assembly, Kororipo Pā, 1831", by Manuka Henare, pp 114–116.</ref> In response, the British government sent [[James Busby]] in 1832 to serve as the British [[Resident minister|Resident]] in New Zealand. In 1834 Busby drafted a document known as the [[Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand| Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand,]] ({{lang | mi | He Whakaputanga}}]]) which he and 35 northern Māori chiefs signed at Waitangi on 28 October 1835, establishing those chiefs as representatives of a [[proto-state]] under the title of the "[[United Tribes of New Zealand]]". This document was not well received by the [[Colonial Office]] in Britain, and it was decided in London that a new policy for New Zealand was needed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/declaration-of-independence-taming-the-frontier |title=Taming the frontier Page 4 – Declaration of Independence |date=23 September 2016 |website= NZ History |publisher= Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date= 20 August 2017 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170711075427/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/declaration-of-independence-taming-the-frontier |archive-date=11 July 2017}}</ref> From a Māori perspective, The Declaration of Independence had a twofold significance: 1.first, for the British to establish control of its lawless subjects in New Zealand; and 2.second, to establish internationally the [[Mana (Oceanian mythology)|mana]] and sovereignty of Māori [[leader]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Mutu|first= Margaret|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2q1lLwEACAAJ|title= Huia histories of Māori : ngā tāhuhu kōrero|date= 2012|publisher= Huia|isbn= 978-1-77550-009-4|editor-last= Keenan|editor-first= Danny|location= Wellington, N.Z.|chapter= Custom Law and the Advent of New Pākehā Settlers|oclc= 779490407|access-date= 6 April 2023|archive-date= 14 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230414232700/https://books.google.com/books?id=2q1lLwEACAAJ|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= Keenan|first= Danny|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2q1lLwEACAAJ|title= Huia histories of Māori : ngā tāhuhu kōrero|date= 2012|publisher= Huia|isbn= 978-1-77550-009-4|editor-last= Keenan|editor-first= Danny|location= Wellington, N.Z.|chapter= Separating Them from that Common Influence|oclc= 779490407|access-date= 6 April 2023|archive-date= 14 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230414232700/https://books.google.com/books?id=2q1lLwEACAAJ|url-status= live}}</ref>

From May to July 1836, [[Royal Navy]] officer Captain [[William Hobson]], under instruction from [[Governor of New South Wales]] Sir [[Richard Bourke]], visited New Zealand to investigate claims of lawlessness in its settlements. Hobson recommended in his report that British sovereignty be established over New Zealand, in small pockets similar to those of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] in [[Rupert's Land]] (in present-day [[Canada]]).{{sfn|Moon|2010|p=34}} Hobson's report was forwarded to the Colonial Office. From April to May 1838, the [[House of Lords]] held a [[Select committee (United Kingdom) |select committee]] into the "State of the Islands of New Zealand". The [[New Zealand Association]] (later the [[New Zealand Company]]), missionaries, [[Joel Samuel Polack]], and the Royal Navy made submissions to the committee.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-GolHist-t1-body1-d6.html|access-date=22 June 2017|title=Chapter VI – A select committee on the islands of New Zealand|publisher= Victoria University of Wellington – victoria.ac.nz|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170828160410/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz//tm/scholarly/tei-GolHist-t1-body1-d6.html|archive-date=28 August 2017}}</ref>

On 15 June 1839, new [[Letters Patent]] were issued in London to expand the territory of [[New South Wales]] to include the entire territory of New Zealand, from latitude 34° South to 47° 10' South, and from longitude 166° 5' East to 179° East.{{sfn|McDowell|Webb|2002}} Governor of New South Wales [[George Gipps]] was appointed Governor over New Zealand.{{sfn|McLean|2006|p=24}} This was the first clear expression of British intent to annex New Zealand.{{sfn|McLean|2006|p=24}}{{vn|date=April 2023}}

Hobson was called to the Colonial Office on the evening of 14 August 1839 and given instructions to take the constitutional steps needed to establish a British colony.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1h29/hobson-william |title= Hobson, William. Biography|publisher=[[An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]]|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170820074742/https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1h29/hobson-william|archive-date=20 August 2017}}</ref> He was appointed [[Consul (representative) |Consul]] to New Zealand and was instructed to negotiate a voluntary transfer of sovereignty from the Māori to the British Crown -– as the House of Lords select committee had recommended in 1837. The [[Secretary of State for War and the Colonies]], the [[Constantine Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby|Marquess of Normanby]], gave Hobson three instructions –: to seekgain afreely cessiongiven Māori recognition of British sovereignty over all or part of New Zealand, to assume complete control over land matters, and to establish a form of civil government;. The Colonial heOffice did not provide a draft of the treaty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lord&Normanby's&Instruc4ons&to&William&Hobson |url=https://trc.org.nz/sites/trc.org.nz/files/Treaty%20education%20resources/Lord%20Normanby%27s%20Instructions%20to%20Hobson.pdf |publisher=Treaty Resource Centre |access-date=15 April 2023 |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531040143/https://trc.org.nz/sites/trc.org.nz/files/Treaty%20education%20resources/Lord%20Normanby%27s%20Instructions%20to%20Hobson.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|McDowell|Webb|2002|p=174}}<ref>Scholefield, G. (1930). ''Captain William Hobson''. pp. 202–203. (Instructions from Lord Normanby to Captain Hobson – dated 14 August 1839)</ref> Normanby wrote at length about the need for British intervention as essential to protect Māori interests, but this was somewhat deceptive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1839/2.html|title=Lord Normanby's Instructions to Captain Hobson 1839 [1839] NZConLRes 2|date=14 August 1839|publisher=New Zealand Legal Information Institute|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406012311/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1839/2.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=22}} Hobson's instructions gave no provision for Māori government of any kind nor any Māori involvement in the administrative structure of the prospective new colony.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=23}} His instructions required him to:

HistorianThe historian, [[Claudia Orange]], argues that prior to 1839 the Colonial Office had initially planned a "Māori New Zealand" in which European settlers would be accommodated (without a full colony), where Māori might retain ownership and authority over much of the land and cede some land to European settlers as part of a colony governed by the Crown.{{sfn|Orange|1990|p=22}}{{sfn|King|2003|p=157}} Normanby's instructions in 1839 show that the Colonial Office had shifted their stance toward colonisation and "a settler New Zealand in which a place had to be kept for Māori", primarily due to pressure from increasing numbers of British colonists,{{sfn|Orange|1990|p=22}} and the prospect of a private enterprise in the form of the New Zealand Company colonising New Zealand outside of the British Crown's jurisdiction.{{sfn|King|2003|p=157}} The Colonial Office was forced to accelerate its plans because of both the New Zealand Company's hurried dispatch of the [[New Zealand Company ships#Tory| ''Tory'']] to New Zealand on 12 May 1839 to purchase land,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/ships-famous/page-4 |title= Ships, Famous. Tory|publisher=[[An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]]|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170819231533/https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/ships-famous/page-4|archive-date= 19 August 2017|last1= Hare |first1= Mclintock }}</ref> and plans by French Captain [[Jean François Langlois |Jean François L'Anglois]] to establish a French colony in [[Akaroa]].{{sfn|King|2003|p=170–171}} After examining Colonial Office documents and correspondence (both private and public) of those who developed the policies that led to the development of the treaty, historian [[Paul Moon]] similarly argues that the treaty was not envisioned with deliberate intent to assert sovereignty over Māori, but that the Crown originally only intended to apply rule over British subjects living in the fledgling colony, and these rights were later expanded by subsequent governors through perceived necessity.<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Zhp0QgAACAAJ |title= Path to the Treaty of Waitangi |last= Moon |first= Paul |date= 2002 |publisher= David Ling Pub. |isbn= 9780908990832 |pages=10, 11}}</ref>

Hobson left London on 15 August 1839 and was sworn in as Lieutenant-[[Lieutenant governor|Lieutenant-Governor]] of New Zealand]] in Sydney on 14 January 1840, finally arriving in the Bay of Islands on 29 January 1840. Meanwhile, a second New Zealand Company ship, the [[New Zealand Company ships#Cuba| ''Cuba'']], had arrived in [[Wellington Harbour |Port Nicholson]] on 3 January 1840 with a survey party to prepare for settlement there.<ref>{{Cite book |title= Early History of New Zealand: From Earliest Times to 1840 |last1= Arundell |first1= Richard |last2= Sherrin |first2= Augur |year= 1890 |editor-last= Leys |editor-first= Thompson W. |publisher= H. Brett |location= Auckland |page= 477 |last3= Wallace |first3= J. H. }}</ref> The [[New Zealand Company ships#Aurora| ''Aurora'']], the first ship carrying immigrants, arrived in Port Nicholson on 22 January 1840.<ref name="WisesWellington">{{cite book |title= Wise's The New Zealand Guide |publisher= Wise & Co Ltd |edition= 7th |year= 1979 |page= 499}}</ref>

On 30 January 1840 Hobson attended the Christ Church at Kororareka (Russell), where he publicly read a number of proclamations. The first was the [[Letters patent| Letters Patent]] 1839, in relation to the extension of the boundaries of [[New South Wales]] to include the islands of New Zealand. The second related to Hobson's own appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand. The third concerned land transactions (notably the issue of pre-emption).<ref>King, Marie. (1949). ''A Port in the North: A Short History of Russell'', p 38.</ref>

Without a draft document prepared by lawyers or Colonial Office officials, Hobson was forced to write his own treaty with the help of his secretary, James Freeman, and British Resident [[James Busby]], neither of whom was a lawyer.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=24}} Historian [[Paul Moon]] believes certain articles of the treaty resemble the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] (1713), the British [[Sherbro people|Sherbro]] Agreement (1825) and the treaty between Britain and Soombia Soosoos (1826).<ref name="moon">{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10619805&pnum=0|title=Paul Moon: Hope for watershed in new Treaty era|date=13 January 2010|access-date=15 January 2010|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|archive-date=4 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104165929/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10619805&pnum=0|url-status=live}}</ref>

Assuming that a treaty in English could not be understood, debated or agreed to by Māori, Hobson asked CMS head missioner Henry Williams, and his son [[Edward Marsh Williams]], who was a scholar in Māori language and custom, to translate the document overnight on 4 February.{{sfn|McDowell|Webb|2002|p=174-176}} Henry Williams was concerned with the actions of the New Zealand Company in Wellington and felt he had to agree with Hobson's request to ensure the treaty would be as favourable as possible to Māori. Williams avoided using any English words that had no expression in Māori "thereby preserving entire the spirit and tenor" of the treaty. He added a note to the copy Hobson sent to Gibbs stating, "I certify that the above is as literal a translation of the Treaty of Waitangi as the idiom of the language will allow."<ref name="B&T II"/>

The [[gospel]]-based literacy of Māori meant some of the concepts communicated in the translation were from the Māori Bible, including {{lang|mi|[[kawanatanga]]}} (governorship) and {{lang|mi|[[rangatiratanga]]}} (chiefly rule), and the idea of the treaty as a "covenant" was biblical.<ref name="Moxon">{{cite web |last1=David |first1=Moxon |title=The Treaty and the Bible in Aotearoa New Zealand |url=https://vaughanpark.nz/?sid=124 |website=Vaughan Park |publisher=Vaughan Park / [[David Moxon]] |access-date=26 April 2021 |archive-date=26 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426034120/https://vaughanpark.nz/?sid=124 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The translation of the treaty was reviewed by James Busby, and he proposed the substitution of the word {{lang|mi|whakaminenga}} for {{lang|mi|huihuinga}}, to describe the "Confederation" or gathering of the chiefs.<ref name="CARv2-2">{{cite book |last1= Carleton |first1= Hugh |title= The Life of Henry Williams: "Early Recollections" written by Henry Williams |year= 1874 |publisher= [[Early New Zealand Books]] (ENZB), University of Auckland Library |page= 12 |chapter= Vol. II |chapter-url= http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document?wid=1048&page=1&action=null |access-date= 19 October 2013 |archive-date= 27 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210227221740/http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=1048&page=1&action=null |url-status= live }}</ref>{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=34}} This no doubt was a reference to the northern confederation of chiefs with whom Hobson preferred to negotiate, who eventually made up the vast majority of signatories to the treaty.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=34}} Hobson believed that elsewhere in the country the Crown could exercise greater freedom over the rights of "first discoverers", which proved unwise as it led to future difficulties with other tribes in the South Island.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=71}}

Bishop Pompallier, who had been counselling the many Catholic Māori in the north concerning the treaty, urged them to be very wary of the treaty and not to sign anything.<ref name="CARv2-3">{{cite book |last1= Carleton |first1= Hugh |title= The Life of Henry Williams: "Early Recollections" written by Henry Williams |year= 1874 |publisher= [[Early New Zealand Books]] (ENZB), University of Auckland Library |pages= 11–15 |chapter= Vol. II |chapter-url= http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document?wid=1048&page=1&action=null |access-date= 19 October 2013 |archive-date= 27 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210227221740/http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=1048&page=1&action=null |url-status= live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|{{Lang|Mi|E mea ana te Kawana, ko nga whakapono katoa, o Ingarani, o nga Weteriana, o Roma, me te ritenga Maori hoki, e tiakina ngatahitia e ia.}} (The Governor says that the several faiths [beliefs] of England, of the Wesleyans, of Rome, and also Māori custom shall alike be protected by him).<ref name="B&T III"/><ref>{{cite web |title=The content of the Treaty of Waitangi |url=https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/maori/treaty-waitangi/treaty-close/content-treaty-waitangi |website=Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa |date=8 January 2020 |publisheraccess-date=Museum26 ofApril New2021 Zealand,|archive-date=22 TeJanuary Papa2019 Tongarewa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122000759/http://treaty2u.govt.nz/the-treaty-up-close/the-content-of-the-treaty/index.htm |accessurl-datestatus=26live April 2021}}</ref>}}

This addition is sometimes referred to as article four of the treaty, and is recognised as relating to the right to [[Freedom of religion|freedom of religion and belief]] ({{lang|mi|[[wairuatanga]]}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Rights and the Treaty of Waitangi, Te Mana i Waitangi |url=https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/2414/2388/0497/HRNZ_10_Human_RIghts_and_the_Treaty_of_Waitangi.pdf |website=NZ Human Rights |publisher=Human Rights Commission, NZ Government |access-date=26 April 2021 |archive-date=20 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220091025/https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/2414/2388/0497/HRNZ_10_Human_RIghts_and_the_Treaty_of_Waitangi.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Historian [[Paul Moon]] has claimed any guarantee of religious freedom implied by Pompallier's action is a myth and that there is a lack of evidence or legal basis to support the statement being a fourth article of the treaty. Historian [[Michael King (historian)|Michael King]] agreed with Moon that Pompallier was probably protecting Catholic interests, but also accused Moon of being anti-Catholic in his criticism of Pompallier stirring up trouble that day.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-06 |title=Five myths and misconceptions that confuse the Treaty debate |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/waitangi-day-2024-five-myths-and-misconceptions-that-confuse-the-treaty-of-waitangi-debate/NS5RHTNGBVC6RFOW23B3A5MSWI/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-06 |title=Bishop's guiding light shines again for faithful |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/bishops-guiding-light-shines-again-for-faithful/MALXWSLQQOYMAV5QKWU2YUKMOU/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref>

The treaty signing began in the afternoon. Hobson headed the British signatories. Hōne Heke was the first of the Māori chiefs who signed that day.<ref name="CARv2-3"/> As each chief signed Hobson said "{{Lang|Mi|He iwi tahi tātou}}", meaning "We are [now] one people". This was probably at the request of Williams, knowing the significance, especially to Christian chiefs, 'Māori and British would be linked, as subjects of the Queen and followers of Christ'.{{sfn|Orange|2013|p=28}} Two chiefs, [[Marupō]] and [[Ruhe (Māori chief)|Ruhe]], protested strongly against the treaty as the signing took place but they eventually signed<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/signatory/1-24 |title=Ruhe |date=17 June 2016 |website=NZ History |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=20 August 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518181234/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/signatory/1-24 |archive-date=18 May 2017}}</ref> and after [[Marupō]] shook the Governor's hand, seized hold of his hat which was on the table and gestured to put it on.<ref name="colenso" /> Over 40 chiefs signed the treaty that afternoon, which concluded with a chief leading three thundering cheers, and Colenso distributing gifts of two blankets and tobacco to each signatory.{{sfn|Orange|2013|p=30}}

* the [[Manukau Harbour|Manukau]]-[[Kawhia]] copy (13 signatures),

On 21 May 1840, Lieutenant-Governor Hobson proclaimed sovereignty over the whole country, (the North Island by treaty<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1840/9.html|title=Proclamation of Sovereignty over the North Island 1840 [1840] NZConLRes 9|date=21 May 1840|access-date=6 April 2019|publisher=New Zealand Legal Information Institute|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224162357/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1840/9.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the South Island and Stewart Island by discovery)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1840/10.html|title=Proclamation of Sovereignty over the South and Stewart Islands 1840 [1840] NZConLRes 10|date=21 May 1840|access-date=6 April 2019|publisher=New Zealand Legal Information Institute|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406013816/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1840/10.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/hobson-proclaims-sovereignty-over-all-of-new-zealand |title=Hobson proclaims British sovereignty over New Zealand |date=20 December 2016 |website=NZ History |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=23 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518121838/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/hobson-proclaims-sovereignty-over-all-of-new-zealand |archive-date=18 May 2017}}</ref> and New Zealand was constituted the [[Colony of New Zealand]], separate from [[New South Wales]] by a Royal Charter issued on 16 November 1840, with effect from 3 May 1841.{{sfn|Moon|2010|p=66}}

In Hobson's first dispatch to the British government,{{sfn|McLean|2006|p=28}} he stated that the North Island had been ceded with "unanimous adherence" (which was not accurate) and while Hobson claimed the South Island by discovery based on the "uncivilised state of the natives", in actuality he had no basis to make such a claim.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=70}} Hobson issued the proclamation because he felt it was forced on him by settlers from the New Zealand Company at Port Nicholson who had formed an independent settlement government and claimed legality from local chiefs,{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=60}} two days after the proclamation on 23 May 1840, Hobson declared the settlement's government as illegal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1840/11.html|publisher=New Zealand Legal Information Institute|access-date=6 April 2019|date=23 May 1840|title=Proclamation on the Illegal Assumption of Authority in the Port Nicholson District 1840 [1840] NZConLRes 11|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225213002/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1840/11.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Hobson also failed to report to the British government that the Māori text of the treaty was substantially different from the English one (which he might not have known at the time) and also reported that both texts had received 512 signatures, where in truth the majority of signatures had been on the Māori copies that had been sent around the country, rather than on the single English copy.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=57}} Basing their decision on this information, on 2 October 1840, the Colonial Office approved Hobson's proclamation. They did not have second thoughts when later reports revealed more detail about the inadequacies of the treaty negotiations, and they did not take issue with the fact that large areas of the North Island had not signed. The government had never asked for Hobson to obtain unanimous agreement from the indigenous people.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=48}}

In 1841, treaty documents, housed in an iron box, narrowly escaped damage when saved by civil servant George Elliot as the government offices at Official Bay in [[Auckland]] were destroyed by fire.<ref name="Journey">{{Cite book |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/documents/Journey.pdf |title=The Journey of the Treaty |publisher=State Services Commission |year=2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414152742/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/documents/Journey.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2017}}</ref> They disappeared from sight until 1865 when a Native Department officer worked on them in Wellington at the request of parliament and produced an erroneous list of signatories. The papers were fastened together and then deposited in a safe in the [[Colonial Secretary (New Zealand)|Colonial Secretary]]'s office.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=236}}

In 1877, the English-language rough draft of the treaty was published along with photolithographic [[facsimiles]], and the originals were returned to storage. In 1908, historian and bibliographer [[Thomas Hocken]], searching for historical documents, found the treaty papers in the basement of the [[Old Government Buildings, Wellington|Old Government Buildings]] in poor condition,<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 August 1909 |title=N.Z. COMPANY DOCUMENTS. OTAGO DAILY TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19090806.2.9 |access-date=2 April 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz |archive-date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402084622/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19090806.2.9 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Te Tiriti o Waitangi |url=https://www.archives.govt.nz/discover-our-stories/the-treaty-of-waitangi |access-date=2 April 2022 |website=www.archives.govt.nz |archive-date=11 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811091145/http://archives.govt.nz/exhibitions/treaty |url-status=live }}</ref> damaged at the edges by water and partly eaten by rodents.<ref name="Journey" /> The papers were restored by the [[New Zealand Dominion Museum building|Dominion Museum]] in 1913 and kept in special boxes from then on.<ref name=":0" /> In February 1940, the treaty documents were taken to Waitangi for display in the [[Treaty House]] during the [[New Zealand Centennial Exhibition|Centenary]] celebrations.<ref name="Journey" /> It was possibly the first time the treaty document had been on public display since it was signed.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=236}} After the outbreak of war with Japan, they were placed with other state documents in an outsize [[trunk (luggage)|luggage trunk]] and deposited for secure custody with the [[Public Trustee]] at [[Palmerston North]] by the local member of parliament, who did not tell staff what was in the case. However, as the case was too large to fit in the safe, the treaty documents spent the war at the side of a back corridor in the Public Trust office.

In anticipation of a decision to exhibit the document in 1990 (the sesquicentennial of the signing), full documentation and reproduction photography was carried out. Several years of planning culminated with the opening of the climate-controlled Constitution Room at the [[Archives New Zealand|National Archives]] by [[Mike Moore (New Zealand politician)|Mike Moore]], [[Prime Minister of New Zealand]], in November 1990.<ref name="Journey" /> It was announced in 2012 that the nine Treaty of Waitangi sheets would be relocated to the [[National Library of New Zealand]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=45636 |title=Treaty of Waitangi to be moved from Archives to National Library |publisher=Wellington.scoop.co.nz |access-date=2 March 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306091917/http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=45636 |archive-date=6 March 2014}}</ref> In 2017, the He Tohu permanent exhibition at the National Library opened, displaying the treaty documents along with the [[Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand|Declaration of Independence]] and the [[1893 Women's Suffrage Petition]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Signatures that shape New Zealand |url=https://natlib.govt.nz/he-tohu |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-date=31 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131091348/https://natlib.govt.nz/he-tohu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The treaty, its interpretation and significance can be viewed as the contrast between a literate culture and one that was wholly oral before European contact.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McKenzie |first1=Donald Francis |title=Oral Culture, Literacy & Print in Early New Zealand: The Treaty of Waitangi |date=1985 |publisher=Victoria University Press |location=Google Scholar |isbn=9780864730435 |page=9}}</ref>

===English text ===

The English text (from which the Māori text is translated) starts with the preamble and presents Queen Victoria "being desirous to establish a settled form of Civil Government", and invites Māori chiefs to concur in the following articles. The first article of the English text grants the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Queen of England]] "absolutely and without reservation all the rights and powers of Sovereignty" over New Zealand. The second article guarantees to the chiefs full "exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties". Itbut alsothe specifiesCrown thathas Māoria will[[Pre-emption sellright|pre-emptive land onlyright to buy]] the Crown (Crown pre-emption)land. The third article guarantees to all Māori the same rights as all other British subjects.<ref name="Read English" />

The Māori text has the same overall structure, with a preamble and three articles. The first article indicates that the Māori chiefs "give absolutely to the Queen of England for ever the complete government over their land" (according to a modern translation by [[Hugh Kāwharu]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi/translation-of-te-reo-maori-text/ |title=Translation of the te reo Māori text |website=www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz |access-date=25 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123203137/https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi/translation-of-te-reo-maori-text/ |archive-date=23 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sLqyAAAACAAJ |title=Waitangi Revisited: Perspectives on the Treaty of Waitangi |last1=Belgrave |first1=Michael |last2=Kawharu |first2=Merata |last3=Williams |first3=David Vernon |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780195584004 |pages=390–393 |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103051444/https://books.google.com/books?id=sLqyAAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> With no adequate word available to substitute for 'sovereignty', as it was not a concept in Māori society at the time, the translators instead used {{lang|mi|kāwanatangakawanatanga}} (governorship or government).{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} The second article guarantees all Māori "chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures" (translated), with 'treasures' here translating from {{lang|mi|taonga}} to mean more than just physical possessions (as in the English text), but also other elements of cultural heritage. The second article also says: "Chiefs will sell land to the Queen at a price agreed to by the person owning it and by the person buying it (the latter being) appointed by the Queen as her purchase agent" (translated), which does not accurately convey the [[Preemption (land)|pre-emption]] clause of the English text. The third article gives Māori the "same rights and duties of citizenship as the people of England" (translated); roughly the same as the English text.{{cn|date=April 2023}}

The English and Māori texts differ.{{sfn|Orange|1987|p=31}} As some words in the English treaty did not translate directly into the written [[Māori language]] of the time, the Māori text is not a literal translation of the English text.<ref name="Meaning-Tribunal"/><ref name="B&T II"/> It has been claimed that [[Henry Williams (missionary)|Henry Williams]], the missionary entrusted with translating the treaty from English, was fluent in Māori and that far from being a poor translator he had in fact carefully crafted both versions to make each palatable to both parties without either noticing inherent contradictions.<ref name="Moon, Fenton (2002)">{{cite journal |last1=Paul Moon |last2=Sabine Fenton |title=Bound into a Fateful Union: Henry Williams' Translation of the Treaty of Waitangi into Maori in February 1840 |journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |date=2002 |volume=111 |issue=1 |page=58 |jstor=20707042 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20707042 |access-date=5 October 2022 |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005093417/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20707042 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The differences between the two texts have made it difficult to interpret the treaty and continue to undermine its effect. The most critical difference between the texts revolves around the interpretation of three Māori words: {{Lang|Mi|[[kāwanatanga]]}} ('governorship'), which is ceded to the Queen in the first article; {{Lang|Mi|[[rangatiratanga]]}} ('chieftainship') not {{Lang|Mi|[[Mana#In New(Oceanian Zealandmythology)|mana]]}} ('leadership') (which was stated in the Declaration of Independence just five years before the treaty was signed), which is retained by the chiefs[[rangatira|chief]]s in the second; and {{Lang|Mi|[[taonga]]}} (property or valued possessions), which the chiefs are guaranteed ownership and control of, also in the second article. Few [[Māori people|Māori]] involved with the treaty negotiations understood the concepts of [[sovereignty]] or "governorship", as they were used by 19th-century Europeans, and lawyer [[Moana Jackson]] has stated that "ceding mana or sovereignty in a treaty was legally and culturally incomprehensible in Māori terms".<ref>{{cite web|title=Facing the truth about the Maori Wars|publisher=The Mana Trust|year=2016|url=http://www.e-tangata.co.nz/news/moana-jackson-facing-the-truth-about-the-wars|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003110533/http://www.e-tangata.co.nz/news/moana-jackson-facing-the-truth-about-the-wars|archive-date=3 October 2016}}</ref>

Furthermore, {{Lang|Mi|kāwanatanga}} is a [[Calque|loan translation]] from "governorship" and was not part of the Māori language. The term had been used by Henry Williams in his translation of the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand, which was signed by 35 northern [[Māori people|Māori]] chiefs at [[Waitangi, Northland|Waitangi]] on 28 October 1835.<ref name="nzhistory dec of independence">{{cite web| |work = Translation from Archives New Zealand, New Zealand History online| |title = The Declaration of Independence | url = http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/interactive/the-declaration-of-independence| |access-date = 18 August 2010| |url-status = live| |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150707130520/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/interactive/the-declaration-of-independence| |archive-date = 7 July 2015}}</ref> The Declaration of Independence of New Zealand had stated "{{Lang|Mi|Ko te Kīngitanga ko te mana i te w[h]enua}}" to describe "all sovereign power and authority in the land".<ref name="nzhistory dec of independence"/> There is considerable debate about what would have been a more appropriate term. Some scholars, notably Ruth Ross, argue that {{Lang|Mi|mana}} ('prestige', 'authority') would have more accurately conveyed the transfer of sovereignty.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ross |first=R. M. |year=1972 |title=Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Texts and Translations |journal=New Zealand Journal of History |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=139–141}}</ref> However, it has more recently been argued by others, including Judith Binney, that {{Lang|Mi|mana}} would not have been appropriate. This is because {{Lang|Mi|mana}} is not the same thing as sovereignty, and also because no-one can give up their {{Lang|Mi|mana}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Binney |first=Judith|year=1989|chapter=The Maori and the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi|title=Towards 1990: Seven Leading Historians Examine Significant Aspects of New Zealand History|pages=20–31}}</ref>

The English-language text recognises Māori rights to "properties", which seems to imply physical and perhaps intellectual property. The Māori text, on the other hand, mentions "taonga", meaning "treasures" or "precious things". In Māori usage the term applies much more broadly than the English concept of legal property, and since the 1980s courts have found that the term can encompass intangible things such as language and culture.<ref>{{cite bookweb |first=Brian |last=Easton |title=The Maori Broadcasting Claim: A Pakeha Economist's Perspective |publisher=Brian Easton |year=1990|url=http://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/?p=293 |access-date=1 September 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927093405/http://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/?p=293 |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Report of the Waitangi Tribunal on Claims Concerning the Allocation of Radio Frequencies (Wai 26) |publisher=Waitangi Tribunal |year=1990 |url=https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/WT/reports/reportSummary.html?reportId=wt_DOC_68476762 |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622091906/https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/WT/reports/reportSummary.html?reportId=wt_DOC_68476762 |archive-date=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= Radio Spectrum Management and Development Final Report (Wai 776)|publisher=Waitangi Tribunal|year= 1999|url= https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/WT/reports/reportSummary.html?reportId=wt_DOC_68205950|access-date= 1 September 2011|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170819231417/https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/WT/reports/reportSummary.html?reportId=wt_DOC_68205950|archive-date= 19 August 2017}}</ref> Even where physical property such as land is concerned, differing cultural understandings as to what types of land are able to be privately owned have caused problems, as for example in the [[New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy|foreshore and seabed controversy]] of 2003–04.

Based on these differences, there are many academics{{who|date=August 2024}} who argue that the two versions of the treaty are distinctly different documents, which they refer to as "Te Tiriti o Waitangi" and "The Treaty of Waitangi",<ref>{{Cite book |title=Colonising Myths: Maori Realities-He Rukuruku Whakaaro|last=Mikaere|first=Ani |publisher=Huia|year=2011|location=Wellington}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=View of Te Arewhana Kei Roto i Te Rūma: An Indigenous Neo-Disputatio on Settler Society, Nullifying Te Tiriti, 'Natural Resources' and Our Collective Future in Aotearoa New Zealand|journal=Te Kaharoa|date=2 February 2016|volume=9|issue=1 |doi=10.24135/tekaharoa.v9i1.6 |url=https://www.tekaharoa.com/index.php/tekaharoa/article/view/6/4 |access-date=9 October 2018|doi-access=free|archive-date=9 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009211325/https://www.tekaharoa.com/index.php/tekaharoa/article/view/6/4|url-status=live}}</ref> and that the Māori text should take precedence, because it was the one that was signed at Waitangi and by the most signatories.<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/14137 |title=Constitutional Intentions: The Treaty Texts |last=Margaret |first=Mutu |date= Feb 2010 |publisher=Huia Publishers |isbn=9781869694043 |access-date= 15 October 2018 |archive-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013093618/https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/14137 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Waitangi Tribunal, tasked with deciding issues raised by the differences between the two texts, also gives additional weight to the Māori text in its interpretations of the treaty.<ref name="Waitangi Tribunal Meaning">{{Cite web |url= https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi/meaning-of-the-treaty/ |title= Meaning of the Treaty |via= Waitangi Tribunal |website= waitangitribunal.govt.nz |access-date= 15 October 2018 |archive-date= 8 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160708084042/http://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi/meaning-of-the-treaty/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

The entire issue is further complicated by the fact that, at the time, writing was a novel introduction to Māori society. As members of a predominately oral society, Māori present at the signing of the treaty would have placed more value and reliance on what Hobson and the missionaries said, rather than on the written words of the treaty document.<ref>Belich, James (1996), ''Making Peoples: A History of the New Zealanders from Polynesian Settlement to the End of the Nineteenth Century'', pp.195–6.</ref> Although there is still a great deal of scholarly debate surrounding the extent to which literacy had permeated Māori society at the time of the signing, what can be stated with clarity is that of the 600 plus [[rangatiratanga|chiefs]] who signed the written document only 12 signed their names in the [[Latin alphabet]]. Many others conveyed their identity by drawing parts of their {{Lang|Mi|[[Tā moko|moko]]}} (personal facial tattoo), while still others marked the document with an X.<ref name="Simpson 2015"/>

Māori beliefs and attitudes towards ownership and use of land were different from those prevailing in Britain and Europe. The chiefs would traditionally grant permission for the land to be used for a time for a particular purpose. A northern chief, [[Nōpera Panakareao]], also early on summarised his understanding of the treaty as "{{Lang|Mi|Ko te atarau o te whenua i riro i a te kuini, ko te tinana o te whenua i waiho ki ngā Māori}}" ("The shadow of the land will go to the Queen [of England], but the substance of the land will remain with us"). NoperaNōpera later reversed his earlierthe statement – feeling that the substance of the land had indeed gone to the Queen; only the shadow remained for the Māori.<ref name="EncNZ">{{cite webencyclopedia |last=Taonui title|first=Rāwiri |title=Story: Muriwhenua tribes, Page 4 – European contact |encyclopedia= publisher =The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand | url= =http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/muriwhenua-tribes/page-4| |access-date = 26 November 2013| |url-status= =live| |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131203204010/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/muriwhenua-tribes/page-4| |archive-date = 3 December 2013}}</ref>

At Governor Grey's request, this act was suspended in 1848, as Grey argued it would place the majority Māori under the control of the minority British settlers.{{sfn|McLean|2006|p=43}} Instead, Grey drafted what would later become the [[New Zealand Constitution Act 1852]], which determined the right to vote based on [[Suffrage#New Zealand|land-ownership franchise]]. Since most Māori land was communally owned, very few Māori had the right to vote for the institutions of the colonial government.{{sfn|McLean|2006|p=46}} The 1852 Constitution Act also included provision for "Māori districts",<ref>{{cite web|author=Malcolm McKinnon|title=Colonial and provincial government – Colony and provinces, 1852 to 1863|publisher=[[Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]|url=http://www.TeArateara.govt.nz/en/colonial-and-provincial-government/page-2|access-date=27 October 2021|date=20 June 2012|archive-date=11 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211124343/https://teara.govt.nz/en/colonial-and-provincial-government/page-2|url-status=live}}</ref> where Māori law and custom were to be preserved, but this section was never implemented by the Crown.

In July 1860, during the conflicts, Governor Thomas Gore Browne convened a group of some 200 Māori (including over 100 pro-Crown chiefs handpicked by officials){{sfn|O'Malley|2019|p=88}} to discuss the treaty and land for a month at [[Mission Bay, New Zealand|Mission Bay]], Kohimarama, Auckland. This became known as the Kohimarama Conference,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paterson|first=Lachy|date=2011|title=The Kohimärama Conference of 1860: A Contextual Reading|url=https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/jnzs/article/view/487/619|journal=Journal of New Zealand Studies|issue=12|doi=10.26686/jnzs.v0i12.487|doi-access=free|access-date=9 October 2018|archive-date=26 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126064707/https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/jnzs/article/view/487/619|url-status=live}}</ref> and was an attempt to prevent the spread of fighting to other regions of New Zealand. But many of the chiefs present were critical of the Crown's handling of the Taranaki conflict.{{sfn|O'Malley|2019|p=89}} Those at the conference reaffirmed the treaty and the Queen's sovereignty and suggested that a native council be established, but this did not occur.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/treaty-timeline/treaty-events-1850-99 |title=Treaty events 1850–99 – Treaty timeline |date=17 May 2017 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=30 July 2018 |archive-date=31 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731031724/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/treaty-timeline/treaty-events-1850-99 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/36360/kohimarama-conference-1860 |title=Treaty of Waitangi – Dishonouring the Treaty – 1860 to 1880 – Kohimarama Conference, 1860 |last=Orange |first=Claudia |date=20 June 2012 |website=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=30 July 2018 |archive-date=31 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731031804/https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/36360/kohimarama-conference-1860 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Māori Land Court|Native Land Court]] (later renamed the Māori Land Court) was established under the [[Native Lands Act 1865]], which also finally abolished the Crown right to pre-emption. It was through this court that much Māori land was alienated, and the way in which it functioned is much criticised today.{{sfn|Walker|2004|p=143}} A single member of a tribal group could claim ownership of communal tribal land, which would trigger a court battle in which other tribal members were forced to participate in, or else lose out.{{sfn|Walker|2004}} The accumulation of court fees, lawyers fees, survey costs, and the cost of travelling to attend court proceedings resulted in mounting debts that could only be paid by the eventual sale of the land.{{sfn|Walker|2004}} In effect, Māori were safe from the court only until a single tribal member broke ranks and triggered a case, which would invariably result in the sale of the land.{{sfn|Walker|2004}} By the end of the century, nearly all of the highest quality Māori land had been sold, with only two million hectares remaining in Māori possession.{{sfn|Walker|2004}}

Although the treaty had never been directly incorporated into New Zealand law,{{sfn|Palmer|2008|p=19}} its provisions were first incorporated into specific legislation as early as the Land Claims Ordinance 1841 and the Native Rights Act 1865.<ref>{{cite web|title=Native Rights Act 1865|date=1865|publisher=[[New Zealand Legal Information Institute]] |url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/nra186529v1865n11281/|access-date=27 September 2019|archive-date=1 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201062645/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/nra186529v1865n11281/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jamieson|first=Nigel J.|date=2004|title=Talking Through the Treaty – Truly a Case of Pokarekare Ana or Troubled Waters|publisher=New Zealand Association for Comparative Law Yearbook 10}}</ref> However, in the 1877 ''[[Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington]]'' judgement, Judge Prendergast argued that the treaty was a "simple nullity" in terms of transferring sovereignty from Māori to the British Crown.<ref>[[Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington]] (1877) 3 NZ Jurist Reports (NS) Supreme Court, p72.</ref> This remained the legal orthodoxy until at least the 1970s.{{sfn|Robinson|2010|p=262}} Māori have since argued that Prendergast's decision, as well as laws later based on it were a politically convenient and deliberate ploy to legitimise the seizure of Māori land and other resources.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdhBAAAAYAAJ |title=Healing the Breach: One Maori's Perspective on the Treaty of Waitangi |last=Tauroa |first=Hiwi |date=1989 |publisher=Collins New Zealand |isbn=9781869500078 |pages=26, 27, 28 |url-status=live |archive-date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072248/https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=sdhBAAAAYAAJ&q=inauthor:%2522Hiwi+Tauroa%2522&dq=inauthor:%2522Hiwi+Tauroa%2522&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjeluD4zevYAhUIS7wKHYr5CikQ6AEIMjAC}}</ref>

[[File:Lord_Lord &_Lady_Bledisloe_announce_the_gift_of_land_and_Treaty_House_at_Waitangi_to_the_nation_1932_ Lady Bledisloe announce the gift of land and Treaty House at Waitangi to the nation 1932 (8724582742).jpg|thumb|upright|Lord and Lady Bledisloe announce the gift of land and Treaty House at Waitangi to the nation in 1932]]

As a response to the protest movement, the treaty finally received limited recognition in 1975 with the passage of the [[Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975]], which established the [[Waitangi Tribunal]], but this initially had very limited powers to make findings of facts and recommendations only.<ref name="NZhistory Treaty Debated">{{cite web | url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-practice/the-treaty-debated | title=The Treaty in practice: Page 6 – The Treaty Debated | work=NZHistory.net.nz | date=7 July 2014 | access-date=16 February 2015 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210135046/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-practice/the-treaty-debated | archive-date=10 February 2015}}</ref> The act was amended in 1985 to enable it to investigate treaty breaches of the [[Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi]] back to 1840,<ref name="NZhistory Treaty Debated" /> and also to increase the tribunal membership. The membership was further increased in another amendment in 1988.<ref name="Palmer Maori law review" />

Legislation after the State Owned Enterprises case has followed suit in giving the treaty an increased legal importance.<ref name="Palmer Maori law review" /> In ''New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney General'' (1990) the case concerned FM radio frequencies and found that the treaty could be relevant even concerning legislation which did not mention it and that even if references to the treaty were removed from legislation, the treaty may still be legally relevant.<ref name="Mason Durie">{{Cite book |title=Te mana te kāwanatanga = the Politics of Māori Self-Determination |last=Durie |first=Mason |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |isbn=9780195583670 |location=Auckland |pages=179, 84}}</ref><ref name="Waitangi Tribunal claim6">{{Cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/waitangi-tribunal-claim |title=Waitangi Tribunal claim |date=8 December 2016 |website=NZ History |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=26 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707215921/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/waitangi-tribunal-claim |archive-date=7 July 2017}}</ref> Examples include the ownership of the radio spectrum and the protection of the [[Māori language]].<ref name="Mason Durie"/><ref name="Waitangi Tribunal claim6"/> By 2021, the Treaty of Waitangi or its principles are referred to in over thirty five principal Acts.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/public-law/publications/nz-journal-of-public-and-international-law/previous-issues/volume-19-issue-1-2021/01-winkelmann-pdf |title=Picking up the threads : the story of the common law in Aotearoa New Zealand |author= Dame Helen Winkelmann |date =2 December 2020 |work=Robin Cooke Lecture |publisher =Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington}}</ref>

During the 1990s there was broad agreement between major political parties that the settlement of historical claims was appropriate. Some disagreed however, and claims of a "Treaty of Waitangi Grievance Industry", which profits from making frivolous claims of violations of the Treaty of Waitangi, were made by a number of political figures in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including former National Party leader [[Don Brash]] in his 2004 "[[Orewa Speech]]".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aORaAwAAQBAJ |title=The Treaty of Waitangi Companion: Maori and Pakeha from Tasman to Today |last=O'Malley |first=Vincent |publisher=Auckland University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781869406813 |pages=391–398 |url-status=live |archive-date=24 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124195702/https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=aORaAwAAQBAJ&dq}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0401/S00220.htm |title=NATIONHOOD – Don Brash Speech Orewa Rotary Club |last=Dr [[Donald Brash]] |date=27 January 2004 |access-date=20 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514103621/http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0401/S00220.htm |archive-date=14 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Herald">{{Cite news |last=Cumming |first=Geoff |date=4 February 2004 |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3550487 |title=Non-Maori say they've had enough |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=29 April 2011 |archive-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025045158/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3550487 |url-status=live }}</ref> The "Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill" was introduced in the [[New Zealand Parliament]] in 2005 as a [[private member's bill]] by [[New Zealand First]] MP [[Doug Woolerton]]. [[Winston Peters]], the 13th [[Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand]], and others supported the bill, which was designed to remove references to the treaty from New Zealand law. The bill failed to pass its second reading in November 2007.<ref name="Herald Winston Peters">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10332036 |title=Peters unveils NZ First treaty policy |date=22 June 2005 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=25 July 2017 |archive-date=29 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929092528/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10332036 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/feature/?i=27|publisher=[[New Zealand First]]|title=Doug Woolerton's Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill|access-date=13 June 2007 |archive-date=1 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701035301/http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/feature/?i=27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20050608_00001017/principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-deletion-bill-%E2%80%94-first |title=Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill – First Reading |work=New Zealand Parliament |access-date=6 February 2015 |url-status=live |archive-date=6 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206032244/http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20050608_00001017/principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-deletion-bill-%E2%80%94-first}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Zealand Parliament – Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill |publisher=Parliament.nz |date=7 November 2007 |url=http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/8/2/b/00DBHOH_BILL7417_1-Principles-of-the-Treaty-of-Waitangi-Deletion-Bill.htm |access-date=1 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-date=21 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121100605/http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/8/2/b/00DBHOH_BILL7417_1-Principles-of-the-Treaty-of-Waitangi-Deletion-Bill.htm}}</ref>

In terms of public opinion, a study in 2008 found that among the 2,700 voting age New Zealanders surveyed, 37.4% wanted the treaty removed from New Zealand law, 19.7% were neutral, and 36.8% wanted the treaty kept in law; additionally, 39.7% agreed Māori deserved compensation, 15.7% were neutral, and 41.2% disagreed.<ref name="nzes_treaty">{{cite web|url=http://www.nzes.org/exec/show/freq_2008d|title=Part D – What are Your Opinions?|publisher=New Zealand Election Study|year=2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100824062305/http://www.nzes.org/exec/show/freq_2008d|archive-date=24 August 2010}}</ref> In 2017, the same study found that among the 3,336 voting age New Zealanders surveyed, 32.99% wanted the treaty removed from New Zealand law, 14.45% were neutral and 42.58% disagreed, and 9.98% didn't know.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jackvowles.com/SectionC2017.html|title=Part C – Your Opinions C10b|publisher=New Zealand Election Study|access-date=23 March 2019|archive-date=23 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323041049/http://www.jackvowles.com/SectionC2017.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Today, the treaty is still not specifically part of New Zealand domestic law, but has been adopted into various acts of parliament ad hoc.{{sfn|Palmer|2008|p=292}} It is nevertheless regarded as thea founding document of New Zealand.<ref name="NZ const" /><ref name="NZ CCOB" />{{sfn|Palmer|2008|p=2324}}

During the early 1990s, the government began to negotiate settlements of historical (pre-1992) claims. {{As of|2008|September}}, there were 23 such settlements of various sizes, totalling approximately $950&nbsp;million.<ref name="QuarterlyReport">{{Cite web |title=Four Monthly Report March–June 2008 |url=http://nz01.terabyte.co.nz/ots/DocumentLibrary/FourMonthlyReportMarch-June2008.pdf |last=Office of Treaty Settlements |access-date=25 September 2008 |url-status=live |archive-date=18 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018025424/http://nz01.terabyte.co.nz/ots/DocumentLibrary/FourMonthlyReportMarch-June2008.pdf}}</ref> Settlements generally include financial redress, a formal Crown apology for breaches of the treaty, and recognition of the group's cultural associations with various sites.<ref name="Settlements">{{Cite book |title=Treaty of Waitangi Settlements |publisher=Bridget Williams Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3WmaviHki4C&q=treaty+of+waitangi+settlements |title=Treaty of Waitangi Settlements |publisher=Bridget Williams Books |year=2012 |isbn=9781927131381 |editor-last=Wheen |editor-first=Nicola |editor-link=Nicola Wheen |location=Wellington |editor-last2=Hayward |editor-first2=Janine |urleditor-statuslink2=liveJanine |archive-date=22 December 2017Hayward |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051508/https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=O3WmaviHki4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=treaty+of+waitangi+settlements&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiit-bDo5_VAhWDzbwKHenPCJYQ6AEIIzAA#v=onepage&q=treaty%20of%20waitangi%20settlements&f=false |archive-date=22 December 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The tribunal has, in some cases, established that the claimants had not given up sovereignty,<ref name="WT14">{{cite web| title=Report on Stage 1 of the Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry Released| publisher=Waitangi Tribunal| year=2014| url=https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/news/report-on-stage-1-of-the-te-paparahi-o-te-raki-inquiry-released-2/| access-date=25 July 2015| url-status=live| archive-date=6 April 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406120852/https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/news/report-on-stage-1-of-the-te-paparahi-o-te-raki-inquiry-released-2/}}</ref> and there are ongoing discussions with regards to the applicability of land seized in conflicts and obtained through Crown pre-emption.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/inquiries/district-inquiries/te-paparahi-o-te-raki-northland/ |title=Te Paparahi o Te Raki (Northland) |date=5 December 2017 |website=www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz |access-date=13 January 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123203340/https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/inquiries/district-inquiries/te-paparahi-o-te-raki-northland/ |archive-date=23 January 2018}}</ref> However, the tribunal's findings do not establish that the Crown does not have sovereignty today, since the [[Monarchy of New Zealand|Crown]] has ''de facto'' sovereignty in New Zealand regardless and the tribunal has no authority to rule otherwise. Treaty Settlements minister [[Chris Finlayson]] emphasised that: "The Tribunal doesn't reach any conclusion regarding the sovereignty the Crown exercises in New Zealand. Nor does it address the other events considered part of the Crown's acquisition of sovereignty or how the Treaty relationship should operate today".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503402&objectid=11360308 |title=Ngapuhi 'never gave up sovereignty' |work=The Northland Age |date=18 November 2014 |access-date=16 February 2015 |archive-date=16 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216014830/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503402&objectid=11360308 |url-status=live }}</ref> Recommendations of the tribunal are not binding on the Crown, but have often been followed.<ref name="Settlements" />

The anniversary of the signing of the treaty – 6 February – is the New Zealand [[national day]], [[Waitangi Day]]. The day was first commemorated in 1934,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day|title=Waitangi Day – Introduction|publisher=New Zealand History – nzhistory.govt.nz|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-date=10 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210033650/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day|url-status=live}}</ref> when the site of the original signing, [[Treaty House]], was made a public reserve (along with its grounds).<ref name="treaty house" /> However, it was not until 1974 that the date was made a [[Public holidays in New Zealand|public holiday]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day|access-date=9 February 2017|title=Waitangi Day – Introduction|publisher=New Zealand History – nzhistory.govt.nz|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210033650/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day|archive-date=10 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day/waitangi-day-1940s-50s|access-date=8 February 2017|title=Waitangi Day 1940s–1950s|publisher=New Zealand History – nzhistory.govt.nz|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208134029/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day/waitangi-day-1940s-50s|archive-date=8 February 2017}}</ref> The [[Waitangi crown]], a 1935 commemorative coin, was issued in honour of the treaty.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Stocker |first=Mark |date=2010 |title=The New Zealand 'Waitangi' Crown of 1935 |url=https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/2010_BNJ_80_10.pdf |journal=[[British Numismatic Journal]] |volume=80 |pages=176–188 |access-date=30 October 2023 |archive-date=24 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324123229/https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/2010_BNJ_80_10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Waitangi Day has been the focus of [[Māori protest movement|protest by Māori]] (as was particularly the case from the 1970s through to the 1990s), but today the day is often used as an opportunity to discuss the history and lasting effects of the treaty.<ref name="Waitangi Day 1970s">{{Cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day/waitangi-day-1970s |title=Waitangi Day 1970s |date=5 July 2014 |website=NZ History |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=26 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008080132/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day/waitangi-day-1970s |archive-date=8 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="Waitangi Day 21sts">{{Cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day/21st-century-waitangi-day |title=Waitangi Day in the 21st century |date=5 July 2014 |website=NZ History |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=14 January 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014133138/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day/21st-century-waitangi-day |archive-date=14 October 2017}}</ref> The anniversary is officially commemorated at the [[Treaty House]] at [[Waitangi, Northland|Waitangi]], where it was first signed.<ref name="treaty house"/>

[[New Zealand Post]] issued a [[miniature sheet]] of two stamps in 1990 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the treaty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Treaty of Waitangi |url=https://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/new-zealand/1990/treaty-waitangi |website=New Zealand Post |access-date=22 October 2018 |archive-date=22 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022234148/https://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/new-zealand/1990/treaty-waitangi |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another miniature sheet was issued in 2015 to mark the 175th anniversary. The $2.50 sheet showed the figures of [[Tamati Waka Nene]] and [[William Hobson]] shaking hands.<ref>{{cite web |title=New stamp for 175th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi |url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1502/S00095/new-stamp-for-175th-anniversary-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi.htm |website=Scoop Independent News |access-date=22 October 2018 |archive-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023034720/http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1502/S00095/new-stamp-for-175th-anniversary-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

* [[Constitution of New Zealand]]

* [[Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993]] / Māori Land Act 1993

* [[Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand|Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand / He Whakaputanga]]

* {{cite book |last=Adams |first=Peter |title=Fatal Necessity: British Intervention in New Zealand 1830–1847 |year=1977 |publisher=[[Auckland University Press]] |location=Auckland |isbn=0-19-647950-9}}

* {{cite book|last=Buick |first=T. Lindsay |year=2011 |title=The Treaty of Waitangi: or How New Zealand Became a British Colony |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge|isbn=978-1108039963}}

* {{cite book |last=Durie |first=Mason |title=Te Mana, Te Kāwanatanga; The Politics of Māori Self-Determination |year=1998 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Auckland |isbn=0-19-558367-1}}

* {{cite book|last=O'Malley|first=Vincent|title=The New Zealand Wars Ngā Pakanga O Aotearoa|publisher=Bridget Williams Books|date=2019|isbn=9781988545998|location=Wellington}}

* {{cite book |first=Gavin |last=McLean |title=The Governors: New Zealand's Governors and Governors-General |date=2006 |publisher=Otago University Press |location=Dunedin |url=http://www.otago.ac.nz/press/booksauthors/2006/governors.html |isbn= 1-877372-25-0 |access-date=23 May 2020 |archive-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624194345/http://www.otago.ac.nz/press/booksauthors/2006/governors.html |url-status=dead }}

* {{cite book |last=Moon |first=Paul |title=Te ara kī te Tiriti (The Path to the Treaty of Waitangi) |year=2002 |publisher=David Ling |location =Auckland |isbn=0-908990-83-9}}

* {{cite book|title=New Zealand Birth Certificates – 50 of New Zealand's Founding Documents|editor-last=Moon|editor-first=Paul|editor-link=Paul Moon|year=2010|publisher=AUT Media|isbn=978-0-9582997-1-8}}

* {{cite book |last=Orange |first=Claudia |author-link=Claudia Orange|title=The Treaty of Waitangi|year=1987|publisher=[[Bridget Williams Books|Allen & Unwin]]|location= Wellington |isbn=9781877242489|url=https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/the-treaty-of-waitangi|edition=Second|access-date=27 May 2020|archive-date=4 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504212028/https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/the-treaty-of-waitangi|url-status=live}}

* {{cite book |last=Orange |first=Claudia |title=The Story of a Treaty |year=1989 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=Wellington |isbn=0-04-641053-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/storyoftreaty0000oran }}

* {{cite book |last=Orange |first=Claudia |title=An Illustrated History of the Treaty of Waitangi |year=1990|edition=2003|url=https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/an-illustrated-history-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi|publisher=[[Bridget Williams Books|Allen & Unwin]]|location= Wellington |isbn=0-04-442169-9|access-date=1 June 2020|archive-date=4 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504211945/https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/an-illustrated-history-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi|url-status=live}}

* {{cite book |last=Orange |first=Claudia |title=The Treaty of Waitangi|year=2013 |publisher=[[Bridget Williams Books]] |location=Wellington |isbn=9781927131213 |edition=eBook}}{{vn|date=March 2022|reason=This appears to be the missing source for "Orange 2013" but it has not been verified.}}

* {{cite book|first=Matthew|last=Palmer|author-link=Matthew Palmer|date=2008|title=The Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand's Law and Constitution|publisher=[[Victoria University of Wellington|Victoria University of Wellington Press]]|isbn=978-0-86473-579-9}}

* {{cite book |author-link1=Alison Quentin-Baxter |last1=Quentin-Baxter |first1=Alison |last2=McLean |first2=Janet |title=This Realm of New Zealand: The Sovereign, the Governor-General, the Crown |date=2017 |url=http://www.press.auckland.ac.nz/en/browse-books/all-books/books-2017/this-realm-of-new-zealand--the-sovereign--the-governor-general--.html |publisher=Auckland University Press |isbn=978-1-869-40875-6 |access-date=5 June 2020 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415123301/http://www.press.auckland.ac.nz/en/browse-books/all-books/books-2017/this-realm-of-new-zealand--the-sovereign--the-governor-general--.html |url-status=live }}

* {{cite journal|url=http://www.nzulr.com/archives/vol24no2.htm|journal=New Zealand Universities Law Review|first=Helen|last=Robinson|date=December 2010|volume=24|number=2|title=Simple Nullity or Birth of Law and Order? The Treaty of Waitangi in Legal and Historiographical Discourse from 1877 to 1970|access-date=5 June 2020|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809145704/http://www.nzulr.com/archives/vol24no2.htm|url-status=live}}

* {{cite book |last=Scott |first=Dick |title=Ask That Mountain: The Story of Parihaka |year=1975 |publisher=Heinemann |location=Auckland |isbn=0-7900-0190-X}}

* {{cite book|last=Simpson |first=Miria |year=1990 |title=Nga Tohu O Te Tiriti/Making a Mark: The signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi |place= Wellington |publisher=[[National Library of New Zealand]]}}

* {{cite book |last=Walker |first=Ranginui |title=Ka whawhai tonu matou (Struggle without End) |year=2004 |edition=rev. |publisher=Penguin | location=Auckland |isbn=0-14-301945-7}}

* [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/category/tid/133 Information about the treaty] at nzhistory.net.nz

* [http://archives.govt.nz/exhibitions/treaty Treaty of Waitangi site] at archives New Zealand

* [https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/06-02-2019/te-tiriti-o-waitangi-the-comic-book-2/ Comic book explaining the treaty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429044302/https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/06-02-2019/te-tiriti-o-waitangi-the-comic-book-2/ |date=29 April 2019 }} used in New Zealand schools

[[Category:Memory of the World Register in New Zealand]]