1. Department of Māori Studies, Te Wānanga o Waipapa Māori 230 Lecture 1 - 2014
“The Declaration of Independence has been one of the best-kept historical secrets. People in our workshops are often excited when they see it, and rightly so, because until you do it is really hard to understand the Treaty of Waitangi”.
Mitzi Nairn (1995)

2. Timeline of events leading up to 1840
1066 Norman invasion of Britain
First arrivals in Aotearoa
1219 Magna Carta – King John forced to give power to parliament
Maori have adapted to changed circumstance
1642 Able Tasman ‘discovers’ New Zealand

3. Timeline of events leading up to 1835
1769 Cook lands at Poverty Bay and circumnavigates both islands
1770’s Whalers & Sealers
1772 Marion Du Fresne killed Bay of
Islands transgression of tapu
1776 American declaration of Independence

4. Timeline of events leading up to 1835
1788 Britain establishes penal colony in
Australia in NSW
1793 Britain declares war with France
1796 Britain at war with Spain
1798 Britain fiercely engaged in fighting
with Irish patriots

5. Timeline of events leading up to 1835
1815 Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
1814 Samuel Marsden – Church Missionary Society
First Christian Service at Oihi, Bay of Islands
Interpreter Ruatara
Marsden Cross Memorial

9. NGĀPUHI SPEAKS
“The focus of this report is the Ngāpuhi and Crown understandings of He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni (1815) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840).” (p.9)

10. Ngāpuhi
Ngāpuhi did not cede their sovereignty/mana to the Crown, nor to any other entity
Ceding or giving away their sovereignty/mana would be unthinkable
Deny one’s existence
Loss of identity
Whakapapa
whenua
tikanga

11. He Wakaputanga which stated very clearly that “all sovereign power and authority reside(s) entirely and exclusively in the hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes in their collective capacity” ko te mana i te whenua o te wakaminenga … kei ngā Tino Rangatira anake …

12. Erima Henare evidence
“pattern of forming alliances within networks of whakapapa connections was a strategic means of protecting and enhancing [their] authority and its effectiveness. The thriving economy and wealth of resources of Ngāpuhi was the outward expression of the mana of Ngāpuhi during the early 1800s.
The power of Ngāpuhi’s mana was evident in a number of ways:
they were able to sustain their own economy
successful trade especially to Port Jackson (Sydney) and Port Phillip (Melbourne)
success in war with almost all other iwi in the land.

13. British attempts to rein in Pākehā miscreants
Kendall – missionary made Magistrate
Acts in British Parliament
South Seas Bill
These Acts nor the South Seas Bill “did not apply in another’s sovereign domain”
Here we have acknowledgement of NZ as a sovereign nation in British eyes

14. Foundation of Ngāpuhi’s (He Wakaminenga’s) relationship with the British Crown.
1820 Hongi Hika and Waikato
1831 Letter to King George seeking aid
1833 Busby’s arrival
1834 Maori Flag – Te kara
1835 He Wakaminenga

15. Reasons for He Wakaputanga
Māori
Need for control over unruly element of seamen/settlers
Control of (unscrupulous) land sales
Pakeha
Wary of French and American interests

16. Signed at Waitangi October 28th 1835
He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni / Declaration of Independence 1835
Signed at Waitangi October 28th 1835
Signed by 34 northern chiefs (1839 : 52 signatories) and acknowledged by the British Crown prior to 1840

17. DECLARATION of the INDEPENDENCE of NEW ZEALAND
1. We, the hereditary chiefs and heads of the tribes of the Northern parts of New Zealand,
being assembled at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands on this 28th day of October, 1835,
declare the Independence of our country, which is hereby constituted and declared to
be an Independent State, under the designation of the United Tribes of New Zealand.
2. All sovereign power and authority within the territories of the United Tribes of New
Zealand is hereby declared to reside entirely and exclusively in the hereditary chiefs and
heads of tribes in their collective capacity, who also declare that they will not permit any
legislative authority separate from themselves in their collective capacity to exist, nor
any function of government to be exercised within the said territories, unless by persons
appointed by them, and acting under the authority of laws regularly enacted by them in
Congress assembled.
3. The hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes agree to meet in congress at Waitangi in the
autumn of each year, for the purpose of framing laws for the dispensation of justice,
the preservation of peace and good order, and the regulation of trade; and they cordially
invite the Southern tribes to lay aside their private animosities and to consult the safety
and welfare of our common country, by joining the Confederation of the United Tribes.
4. They also agree to send a copy of this Declaration to His Majesty the King of England,
to thank him for his acknowledgement of their flag; and in return for the friendship and
protection they have shown, and are prepared to show, to such of his subjects as have
settled in their country, or resorted to its shores for the purposes of trade, they entreat
that he will continue to be the parent of their infant State, and that he will become its
Protector from all attempts upon its independence.
Agreed to unanimously on this 28th day of October, 1835, in the presence of His Brittanic Majesty's Resident.
 {Signatures or signs of 35 chiefs, from North Cape to the  Hauraki Gulf}
 Witnessed by:
(Signed) Henry Williams, Missionary, C.M.S.;  George Clarke, C.M.S.; 
James C. Clendon, Merchant;  Gilbert Mair, Merchant
I certify that the above is a correct copy of the Declaration of the Chiefs, according to the translation of Missionaries who have resided ten years and upwards in the country; and it is transmitted to His Most Gracious Majesty the King of England, at the unanimous request of the chiefs.
(Signed) JAMES BUSBY
British Resident of New Zealand

18. declare the independence of our country
He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni / Declaration of Independence 1835
Ka w(h)akaputa i te Rangatiratanga o to matou w(h)enua
translated as
declare the independence of our country
… ko te mana i te whenua o te wakaminenga … kei nga Tino Rangatira anake ...
… all sovereign power and authority … reside(s) entirely and exclusively in the hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes in their collective capacity,

19. Understandings of He Wakaputanga
Ngāpuhi
* Proclaim their sovereignty
* Assert their status
* Declare Unity
* Build on alliance with British Crown
* Affirm Covenant tūpuna with King George III and William IV

20. British Understandings
Britain
* Rely on Busby’s translation
* Understood Māori Dec. of Sovereignty and Independence
* Formed own views around Māori intent to meet annually and form laws
* Understood Māori would protect Brits
(tikanga and manaakitanga)

21. Ngapuhi Speaks p.122 Points of agreement between Claimants and Crown
He Whakaputanga declared sovereignty
HW expressed rangatira aspirations for developing a fully functioning state
HW included rangatira desire for strengthened relationships with Britain
From early 19th Century Maori had hui and debated new arrivals and changed environment
HW did not alter autonomy of hapu
Pre 1840 Maori, in this region, exercised a form of sovereignty consistent with hapu autonomy.

22. Continues to be acknowledged and upheld by Māori as confirming Māori sovereignty – “Ngāpuhi Speaks”
The British Crown has never accorded it recognition in New Zealand law and hence it has no legal effect
No court of law or New Zealand government will accept it as basis for any legal rights or duties
Is acknowledged and hence confirmed by both the Māori and English versions of the Treaty of Waitangi

23. “The Declaration of Independence has been one of the best-kept historical secrets. People in our workshops are often excited when they see it, and rightly so, because until you do it is really hard to understand the Treaty of Waitangi”.
Mitzi Nairn (1995)