Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use New Zealand EnglishTemplate:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox document The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand (Template:Langx), sometimes referred to as He Whakaputanga, is a document signed by a number of Māori chiefs in 1835, proclaimed the sovereign independence of New Zealand prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
Background
Template:Contradicts other Template:Main On 28 October 1835, with James Busby, the British Resident in New Zealand, the declaration was signed by 34 northern Māori chiefs, including Tāmati Wāka Nene, Tītore, Te Wharerahi and Moka Te Kainga-mataa. Further signatures followed and by 1839, a total of 52 chiefs had signed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the process of signing, the chiefs established themselves as representing a confederation under the title of the "United Tribes of New Zealand". Missionaries Henry Williams and George Clarke translated the declaration and signed as witnesses.<ref name="Fitzgerald">Template:Cite book 261</ref> Merchants James Clendon and Gilbert Mair also signed as witnesses.<ref name="nzhistory">Template:Cite web</ref>
The declaration arose in response to concerns over the lawlessness of British subjects in New Zealand and in response to a fear that France would declare sovereignty over the islands. A Frenchman, Charles de Thierry,<ref name="dnzb">Template:Cite web</ref> who titled himself 'Charles, Baron de Tierry, Sovereign Chief of New Zealand and King of Nuku Hiva' (in the Marquesas Islands), sought to establish a colony on a Template:Convert plot of land that he claimed to have purchased in the Hokianga.<ref name="Fitzgerald" />
In 1834, some chiefs selected a flag now known as the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand for use on ships originating from New Zealand.
The need for a flag of New Zealand first became clear when the merchant ship Sir George Murray, built in the Hokianga, was seized by customs officials in the port of Sydney. The ship had sailed without a flag, a violation of British navigation laws. New Zealand was then not a colony and had no flag. The ship's detention reportedly aroused indignation among the Māori population. Unless a flag were selected, ships would continue to be seized.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The flag, amended slightly when officially gazetted, became the first distinctive flag of New Zealand. As late as 1900, it was still being used to depict New Zealand, and it appeared on the South African War Medal that was issued to New Zealand soldiers of the Second Boer War.<ref>Caption to photo, Alexander Turnbull Library, retrieved 15 January 2012</ref> The original version of the flag, with eight-pointed stars and black fimbriation, is still used by some Māori groups.
The declaration is displayed at the National Library of New Zealand, as part of the He Tohu exhibition, along with the Treaty of Waitangi and the 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition.
Text
The hereditary chiefs and heads of the tribes of the northern parts of New Zealand declared the constitution of an independent state. They agreed to meet in Waitangi each year to frame laws and invited the southern tribes of New Zealand to "lay aside their private animosities" and join them. Template:Verse translation
The original English text, as was drafted by James Busby and sent to the New South Wales government and the Colonial Office in Britain is as follows:
Explanation of Māori text
The Māori text of the declaration was made by the tino rangatira (hereditary chiefs) of the northern part of New Zealand. It uses the term Rangatiratanga to mean independence and declares the country a whenua Rangatira (independent state) that is to be known as the United Tribes of New Zealand (Template:Lang).
The translation of the second paragraph is "that all sovereign power and authority in the land" ("Ko te Kingitanga ko te mana i te wenua")<ref name="nzhistory" /> should "reside entirely and exclusively in the hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes in their collective capacity", expressed as the United Tribes of New Zealand.<ref name="nzhistory" />
The terms Template:Lang and Template:Lang are used in claiming sovereignty of the state to the assembly of the hereditary chiefs, and it is declared that no government (kawanatanga) would exist except by persons appointed by the assembly of hereditary chiefs.
Impact
The signatories sent a copy of the document to King William IV (who reigned from 1830 to 1837), asking him to act as the protector of the new state. The King had acknowledged the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand and now recognised the declaration in a letter from Lord Glenelg (British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies), following consideration of the declaration by the House of Lords, dated 25 May 1836.<ref name=glenelgletter>Template:Citation</ref>Template:Sfn
It read, in part:
The declaration was not well received by the Colonial Office, and it was decided that a new policy for New Zealand was needed as a corrective.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
It is notable that the Treaty of Waitangi was made between the British Crown and "the chiefs of the United Tribes of New Zealand" in recognition of their independent sovereignty.
Legal effects
Some historians agree Template:Cn the declaration had limited significance and was primarily an attempt by James Busby to portray a settled form of government, one that did not then exist. Michael King said the declaration "had no reality, since there was...no national indigenous power structure",Template:Cn and Claudia Orange noted that "there was no indigenous power structure...upon which to base a national congress".Template:Cn Matthew Wright argues that the declaration and the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi "were expedients cooked up by local officials - particularly signatories James Busby and William Hobson - to meet immediate British imperial needs."Template:Cn<ref name="nzh">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Māori unity movements have looked to the document as the basis for Māori claims to self-determination that reaffirmed tikanga Māori and Māori concepts of power and decision-making.Template:Cn
Ngāpuhi Waitangi Tribunal claim (Te Paparahi o te Raki inquiry)
In 2010, the Waitangi Tribunal began hearing Ngāpuhi's claim that sovereignty was not ceded in their signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Tribunal, in their Te Paparahi o Te Raki inquiry (Wai 1040),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is in the process of considering the Māori and Crown understandings of the declaration and the treaty. That aspect of the inquiry raises issues as to the nature of sovereignty and whether the Māori signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi intended to transfer sovereignty.<ref>Moon, Paul (2002). Te Ara Ki Te Tiriti: The Path to the Treaty of Waitangi.</ref>
The first stage of the report was released in November 2014,<ref name="WT14">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="tm67">Template:Cite web</ref> and found that Māori chiefs never agreed to give up their sovereignty when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.<ref name="Wai1040v1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Wai1040v2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tribunal manager Julie Tangaere said at the report's release to the Ngapuhi claimants:
Final submissions were received in May 2018, but the second stage of the report was still in the process of being written up Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Update inline
Memory of the World
The physical sheets of the 1835 handwritten declaration and 1837 print copy are held by Archives New Zealand. In 2015, the documents were added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Ngā Mahara o te Ao register.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Template:Commons category Template:Wikisource
- A declaration: He Whakaputanga, information about the declaration on the website for He Tohu, the National Library's permanent exhibition of constitutional documents
- More information on the declaration on the Archives New Zealand website
- Text and images of the declaration at NZ History
- Biography of chief Moka Te Kainga-mataa, signatory to the declaration
- Advocacy website