Ngāi Tahu signed a Deed of Settlement with the Crown in 1998. This completed almost 150 years of the tribe's struggle to have the Crown honour its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi.
The Waikato-Tainui people and the Crown signed a Deed of Settlement in 1995. It included a formal apology for Crown actions in the wars of the 1860s that had brought devastation to the iwi.
William Spain was an attorney from Hampshire appointed to head the
commission established to investigate all land purchases prior to
British annexation.
William Spain was a land commissioner who investigated the New Zealand Company's claims that it had purchased 20 million acres in 1839. The claims were not settled until several years after Spain's death
Robert FitzRoy, who first visited New Zealand as commander of the Beagle in 1835, was Governor from 1843, succeeding the late William Hobson. He served until 1845, when he was recalled to Britain and replaced by George Grey.
Te Rarawa leader and woman of mana, Dame Whina Cooper spent her whole life fighting for Maori land rights. As an 80-year old she led 5,000 Maori land protest marchers as they walked from Te Hapua (in the far north) to Parliament, arriving on 13 October 1975.
The Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 established the Waitangi Tribunal, which was to provide 'for the observance and confirmation of the principles' of the Treaty. It initially investigated claims dating from the passage of the Act, but in 1985 its jurisdiction was extended back to 1840.
