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A set of nine A3 size laminated copies of Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki Tauranga / The Treaty of Waitangi Tauranga sheet signed by twenty-one rangatira in Tauranga in 1840.
This set contains the articles of the Treaty written in Maori and twenty-one signatories. The document also carries the signatures of Governor William Hobson and witnesses Henry Taylor, James Stack and Hoani Aneta (Archdecon Brown's missionary assistant).
After William Hobson's stroke, various missionaries were authorised to act as official negotiators in order to gather signatures to the Treaty. By 1 April 1840, the CMS missionary in Tauranga, Alfred Brown, had received two copies of te Tiriti. One of these was a finely-written copy on paper with three wax seals, but it was never used and never returned. It is now in private ownership.
Brown’s diary mentions that 10 April was given up to trying to get signatures, and either that day or during the weeks that followed, 21 rangatira signed. Except for Te Kou-o-Rehua of Ngati Pukenga, all were from Ngāi Te Rangi. However Tupaea, the major Ngāi Te Rangi rangatira, and others, refused to sign.
Major Thomas Bunbury, Hobson’s second in command, arrived at Tauranga on 11 May to see how Brown was progressing. Bunbury then had the missionary James Stack produce two more copies of te Tiriti. One was sent inland to Rotorua and Taupō where local tribes Te Arawa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa refused to sign (this copy has since been lost). The second copy was the Bay of Plenty (Fedarb) Sheet: www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/12195488783
The Tauranga Sheet was finally returned to Hobson on 23 May 1840
Image of the Tauranga sheet of Te Tiriti and information sourced from Archives NZ >found here https://www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/12195654324/in/album-72157640803885745/
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Tauranga missionary Alfred Brown gathered 21 signatures on a Māori-language copy of the Treaty of Waitangi in April and May 1840. The copy has no seals, and it is thought that William Hobson’s signature is a forgery.
There was much fighting between iwi in Tauranga in early 1840, and Brown hesitated to discuss the treaty with local chiefs. Several missionaries gathered for a meeting on 10 April, and on that day or in the weeks following, 21 Tauranga chiefs signed this document. Major Thomas Bunbury arrived at Tauranga on 11 May to check on progress in gathering signatures. The going had been slow; Brown had an eye disease, and the presence of Roman Catholic Bishop Pompallier may not have been helpful.
Bunbury had missionary James Stack produce two more copies of the treaty. One was sent inland to Rotorua and Taupō, where Te Arawa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa refused to sign. This copy has since been lost. The second copy was given to James Fedarb to acquire signatures in Bay of Plenty.
Most of the treaty signings were witnessed by Europeans. The Tauranga signing was witnessed by Hoani Āneta, Brown’s mission assistant, who also signed the treaty. Alongside each name are the words ‘tana tohu’ (his mark or sign).
Information found here > https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/interactive/tauranga-treaty-copy
date: Replica of 1840 Treaty
maximum dimension: 420mm
subject area: Social Science, English & Languages, Maori & Pacifica
subject themes: Treaty of Waitangi, Treaties, Te Reo Māori
handling collection: HC201
