Tauranga Treaty copy

Use the tool bar at the bottom of this interactive to zoom in and navigate. The drop down menu at the top lists the names of those who signed - choosing a name takes you to their signature on the document.

The Tauranga copy of the Treaty

Tauranga missionary Alfred Brown gathered 21 signatures on a Maori-language copy of the Treaty of Waitangi between April and May 1840. The copy has no seals, and it is thought that William Hobson's signature is forged.

There was much intertribal fighting 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 the document. Major Thomas Bunbury arrived at Tauranga on 11 May to check the progress of gathering signatures. It was slow going: Brown had an eye disease, and the presence of Roman Catholic Bishop Pompallier, who arrived in the area on 7 March, may have affected progress.

Bunbury had missionary James Stack produce two more copies of the Treaty. One was sent inland to Rotorua and Taupo where local tribes Te Arawa and Ngati Tuwharetoa refused to sign. This copy has since been lost. The second copy was given to James Fedarb to obtain signatures in the Bay of Plenty region.

Most of the Treaty signings were witnessed by Europeans. The Tauranga signing was witnessed by Hoani Aneta, who also signed; he was Brown's mission assistant. With each name are the words 'tana tohu' (his mark or sign).