Governor Bourke of New South Wales referred to the Declaration as ‘a paper pellet fired off at Baron de Thierry.' Although a Colonial Office official called it ‘silly and unauthorised’, Lord Glenelg, the secretary of state for the colonies, was more enthusiastic, advising the King that it showed ‘a due regard to the just rights of others and to the interests of His Majesty’s subjects.' The Declaration in practice Reactions to the Declarationīusby sent the English text to both the New South Wales government and the Colonial Office in London. For Ngāpuhi, He Whakaputanga emerged out of the meetings of Te Whakaminenga, rather than Te Whakaminenga emerging from He Whakaputanga. In contrast to Busby, the signatories saw He Whakaputanga as a way to address the challenges posed by European contact, to strengthen an alliance with Great Britain, and to assert their authority to the wider world. Northern Māori had been meeting in the Bay of Islands, Hokianga, Whangaroa, and Whangārei before 1835 to manage their relationships with Europeans. The rangatira who signed He Whakaputanga were continuing a tradition of safeguarding their people in the face of rapid change. Māori intentions were somewhat different. For Busby, the Declaration was an opportunity to reassert himself at the expense of McDonnell. Against the wishes of Busby, McDonnell had encouraged rangatira to ban liquor sales in the Hokianga. He believed it would ‘be the most effectual mode of making the Country a dependency of the British Empire in everything but the name.' Busby was also locked in a bitter dispute with Thomas McDonnell, the Hokianga-based Additional British Resident. By 22 July 1839 another 18 chiefs had signed, including Te Hāpuku of Hawke’s Bay, and Te Wherowhero, the Waikato Tainui ariki who was to become the first Māori king in 1858.īusby saw the Declaration as a step towards making New Zealand a British possession. Busby sent it to the King, and it was formally acknowledged by the Crown in May 1836.
Thirty-four northern chiefs signed He Whakaputanga on 28 October 1835. They also thanked the King for acknowledging their flag. It asserted that sovereign power and authority in the land (‘Ko te Kingitanga ko te mana i te wenua’) resided with Te Whakaminenga, the Confederation of United Tribes, and that no foreigners could make laws. Te Whakaminenga was to meet at Waitangi each autumn to frame laws, and in return for their protection of British subjects in their territory, they sought King William's protection against threats to their mana. He Whakaputanga (which can be translated as 'an emergence' or 'declaration') consisted of four articles.
There are two versions of the Declaration: the English text created by Busby, and the te reo Māori document that was signed. The self-declared nobleman’s claims were in the end easily dismissed, but the fact remained that if Britain did not intervene in New Zealand, another country might do so. Coat of Arms by Charles Philippe de Thierryīusby had acted partly in response to Frenchman Charles Philippe de Thierry, who had announced plans to proclaim an independent state in Hokianga.
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