Taming the pre-1840 frontier

The British Resident

In 1833 James Busby was appointed as the official British Resident to New Zealand. Busby set about taming what he believed to be the 'frontier chaos' that afflicted New Zealand. In March 1834 he orchestrated the selection of New Zealand's first official flag and the following year he was instrumental in getting 34 northern chiefs to sign A Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand. In this Declaration they called upon King William IV of Britain to become their 'father and protector'.

Britain's response after appointing Busby was rather tentative and in many ways uniquely British. He was given very little official support and was provided with no means of enforcing his authority. The power of his word as an Englishman, and an official one at that, was supposed to be enough. Keen to keep costs down, Britain refused to station a warship in New Zealand, and as a civilian, Busby was not entitled to troops.

Maori nicknamed Busby 'Man-o-war without guns' due to his lack of real power. Despite this, his appointment represented the first step towards Britain's decision to formally annex New Zealand via the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.