Treaty House

The Treaty of Waitangi was a document between the Maori people and the British Crown.  It was signed on February 6, 1840.  The original document is now housed at the Archives of New Zealand in Wellington where we work.  This is located just outside of the town on Paihia which is the largest town in the bay.  The Maori people couldn't read or write very well so the document that they signed gave away a lot of their rights to the British.

This is one of the original Maori boats.

This is the house where the treaty was signed and where the Crown official James Busby lived.

This is the Te Whare Runanga (Meeting House) for the Maori people.  This is also called a Marae.

The Treaty House was too small so Busby had an addition and it then became a house within a house.

This is a show that is performed by the Maori people depicting their traditions.

December 28, 2012