Hawke’s Bay, 24 June 1840

Nga Wahi

24 June 1840Sheet 7 — The Herald (Bunbury) Sheet

On 24 June 1840, the chiefs Te Hāpuku, Waikato and Mahikai signed the Herald sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi. The official party, which included Edward Williams and Thomas Bunbury, arrived at the mouth of Tukituki River on the day. Hara, who had already signed the treaty, came with Te Hāpuku and also acted as a witness.

When Te Hāpuku refused to sign at first, Bunbury assured him that the British government ‘would not “lower the chiefs in the estimation of their tribes”; rather, Te Hapuku’s assent to the treaty “could only tend to increase his consequence”.’ [1] Bunbury also claimed that the treaty would reduce fighting between tribes. Despite these arguments, it was Hara who eventually convinced Te Hāpuku to sign the treaty.

 


[1] Claudia Orange, The Treaty of Waitangi, Allen & Unwin, Port Nicholson Press with assistance from the Historical Publications Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington, 1987, pp. 81–2

 

 


Signatories

Signature Numbersort descending Signed as Probable Name Tribe Hapū
25 Te Hapuku Te Hāpuku (Te Ikanui-o-te-moana) Ngāti Te Whatu-i-āpiti, Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Te Rangi-ko-ia-anake
26 Waikato Waikato Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Te Whatu-i-apiti
27 Mahikai Harawira Mahikai Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Te Whatu-i-apiti

Community contributions

No comments have been posted about Hawke’s Bay, 24 June 1840

What do you know?

Can you tell us more about the information on this page? Perhaps you have a related experience you would like to share?

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Comments will be reviewed prior to posting. Not all comments posted. Tell me more...