THE CROWN, THE TREATY, AND THE HAURAKI TRIBES, 1800–1885

The Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi

Reaction amongst Hauraki to the propositions contained in the Treaty was mixed, reflecting on the one side, the long and prosperous contact with Pakeha, particularly at Waiheke and Coromandel; and on the other, the continuing power of Maori whose leadership saw no reason to relinquish their authority to the British Government. Thus, while Hauraki rangatira signed the Treaty at a number of locations (at Waitemata on 4 March 1840, Coromandel on 4 May, off the Mercury Islands three days later on 7 May, and at Tamaki on 9 July), many others withheld their consent.43

Major Bunbury, to whom responsibility for the extension of British sovereignty over the South Island and the completion of negotiations in the North Island had been delegated, held his first meeting at Coromandel on 4 May 1840. Discussions extended over two days. The interpreter, Edward Williams (who had assisted his father Henry Williams in the translation of the draft text into Maori), explained the reasons for the Treaty: that the influx of European made it desirable and that Maori should be protected in their land rights. Maori were told that the Government wished to 'check their imprudently selling their lands, without sufficiently benefiting themselves or obtaining a fair equivalent.' Preemption was 'intended equally for their benefit'.44 Williams believed that it was better for Maori to sell their lands to the Crown 'at a juster valuation', encouraging 'industrious white men to settle amongst them' to share in their skills and knowledge, than to sell large areas to absentee speculators from which they would benefit little.45

Hauraki Maori did not automatically accept the new power structure behind the offer of the Treaty, nor the new legal usages that flowed from its adoption. After a 'great deal of discussion' and 'a deal of trouble' only four of the six principal chiefs present were prepared to sign. One of the signatories, Te Horeta, was an elderly rangatira, long accustomed to European contact. According to Orange, Te Horeta, like other chiefs based near the northern harbours, had been drawn into a 'direct, personal relationship with the Crown through visiting British naval vessels.' The chief was 'apparently delighted by Bunbury's visit, [and] had satisfied himself about the Treaty and the new governor as soon as the Herald had anchored on 30 April.'46 By contrast, Piko and an unnamed chief (possibly Taraia) refused to sign, apparently influenced against the Treaty by the news of an arrest of a Maori offender in the Bay of Islands; this incident being seen as a practical demonstration of the consequences of the establishment of British sovereignty. Gunboat tactics had been employed already at the Thames in the late 1830s,

43 A total of 29 chiefs signed from the western side of the Hauraki gulf, the islands, and its hinterland. Induded here were, however, non-Hauraki people, for example, Ngati Whatua. See C. Orange, The Treaty of Waitangi, Wellington, 1987, pp. 62, 67.

44 Bunbury to Hobson, 6 May 1840, encl. 3 in Hobson to Russell, 15 October 1840. GBPP, 1841 (311), p. 100. Doc. 1, p. 1.

45 This statement was made to Maori at Tauranga a few days after the Coromandel meeting. See Bunbury to Hobson, 15 May 1840, end. 6 in ibid. p. 103. Doc. I, p. 4.

46 Orange, The Treaty of Waitangi, pp. 11, 87.

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