Te Ruki Kawiti

Te Ruki Kawiti, probably born in the 1770s in northern New Zealand, was a notable Nga Puhi chief and warrior and a skilled military tactician. In 1840, when William Hobson arrived in New Zealand, Kawiti vigorously resisted British rule. He did not agree to the Treaty on 6 February, when others signed at Waitangi, but his people pressed him to sign, which he did, albeit reluctantly, at a special meeting with Hobson in May 1840. His is the first Maori signature on the Waitangi Treaty sheet.

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