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The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand (Māori: He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni), 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.
One of the foundational examples of Māori assertions of sovereignty is He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (The Declaration of Independence, 1835). Signed by northern Māori chiefs, this document affirmed Māori sovereignty over New Zealand and continues to be referenced, particularly by Ngāpuhi, as a basis for Māori independence.
By 1839, the Declaration of the United Tribes had 52 signatories from Northland and a few signatories from other parts, notably from the ariki of the Waikato Tainui, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero. [2] In February 1840, a number of chiefs of the United Tribes convened at Waitangi to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. [3]
Williams avoided using any English words that had no expression in Māori "thereby preserving entire the spirit and tenor" of the treaty. He added a note to the copy Hobson sent to Gibbs stating, "I certify that the above is as literal a translation of the Treaty of Waitangi as the idiom of the language will allow."
The treaty entered into by the rangatira and the Crown — Te Tiriti o Waitangi — followed on from He Whakaputanga, establishing the role of the British Crown with respect to Pākeha. The treaty delegated to Queen Victoria ’s governor the authority to exercise control over hitherto lawless Pākeha in areas of hapū land allocated to the Queen.
The following day, a number of chiefs including Te Wharerahi, decided to sign the Treaty and although Rewa held reservations, eventually he too signed. Although Moka's name appears on the Tiriti o Waitangi (in well-developed English cursive) and the claim by academics and historians that he signed this document, his "mark" is notably absent. [20]
He stated his understanding of the Treaty as, "Ko te atarau o te whenua i riro i a te kuini, ko te tinana o te whenua i waiho ki ngā Māori", meaning; "The shadow of the land will go to the Queen [of the United Kingdom], but the substance of the land will remain with us".
Ngāpuhi, like most iwi, trace their pre-history back to the land of Hawaiki, most likely from Raiatea.The name Ngāpuhi has many stories about its origin, [a] but the most commonly known version is related to a story of an ariki in Hawaiki who lived many generations before Kupe, known as Kareroaiki.