Turanga 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.

East Coast copy of the treaty

Missionary William Williams had the task of getting chiefs from East Cape to Ahuriri (Napier) to sign the Treaty. At his mission station at Turanga (Gisborne), 24 chiefs signed between 5 and 12 May 1840. In Williams's view, this was almost the whole leadership of the district. By early June, 41 chiefs had signed. Williams had not got the agreement of the great chief, Te Kani-a-Takirau, whose house at Tolaga Bay Williams used as a place of assembly.

The Turanga (Gisborne) copy is one of two handwritten Maori-language copies that Henry Williams circulated for signing. He carried the other himself for signing in the Wellington region. The Turanga copy has a ruled double border and a genuine but shaky signature by Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson, who was recovering from a stroke. William Williams referred to the document as a 'draft of [a] Treaty', indicating that he expected a subsequent confirmation or ratification. He is the only missionary to suggest this. On 25 April Hobson had stated that all signatures taken after 6 February were merely testimonials of adherence.