The Treaty House ( mi, Whare Tiriti) at Waitangi in Northland,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, is the former house of the

British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

in New Zealand,

James Busby James Busby (7 February 1802 – 15 July 1871) was the British Resident in New Zealand from 1833 to 1840. He was involved in drafting the 1835 Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand and the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. As British Resident, ...

. The

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

, the document that established the British Colony of New Zealand, was signed in the grounds of the Treaty House on 6 February 1840. The grounds had previously been the site of other important events, such as the signing of the

Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand ( mi, He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni), signed by a number of Māori chiefs in 1835, proclaimed the sovereign independence of New Zealand prior to the signing of the Treaty of ...

in 1835. The house and grounds remained in private hands until 1932, when they were purchased by Governor-General

Viscount Bledisloe Viscount Bledisloe, of Lydney in the County of Gloucestershire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for the Conservative politician Charles Bathurst, 1st Baron Bledisloe, upon his retirement as Governor-Gen ...

and donated to the nation. They were dedicated as a national reserve in 1934, in a ceremony attended by thousands of people, both

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, and including the

Māori King Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. It was the site of another major event in 1940, when the centenary of the Treaty signing was celebrated. From 1947 the grounds became the site of annual

Waitangi Day Waitangi Day ( mi, Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing – on 6 February 1840 – of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation. The first Wait ...

celebrations.

Architectural history

The Treaty House was built in 1833–34 for Busby and his family. It is one of New Zealand's oldest surviving buildings. Originally the building consisted of two main rooms, plus an entrance hallway,

verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

, and a detached rear block containing a kitchen and servants' room. Busby considered the house to be too small for someone of his standing, but for 1830s New Zealand it was a large house. It was expanded in the 1830s and 1840s with the addition of a lean-to and two wings. The property remained in the Busby family until 1882, when it was sold to a local farmer. For at least some of the next few years it was used for agricultural purposes, including shearing sheep. It fell into disrepair, despite some efforts to bring it into public ownership. These were successful in 1932, when Bledisloe made his purchase, and the house was subsequently restored by leading architect

William Henry Gummer William Henry Gummer (7 December 1884 – 13 December 1966) was a New Zealand architect. Gummer was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1884. He studied architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1909 to 1912 and during that time worked ...

. This was one of the earliest major state restorations of a historic building in New Zealand. In preparation for the 1990

sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...

of the Treaty signing, the house was modified to more accurately reflect what it would have been like in 1840.

Heritage site and grounds

The Treaty House has been a

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

Category I listed building since 1983. It contains a museum devoted to the Treaty and to life in the house in the mid nineteenth century. The grounds contain a carved whare runanga (meeting house) and the large

waka taua Waka () are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes (''waka tīwai'') used for fishing and river travel to large, decorated war canoes (''waka taua'') up to long. The earliest remains of a canoe in New ...

(war canoe) ''

Ngā Toki Matawhaorua Ngā Toki Matawhaorua of Pewhairangi, often simply known as Ngā Toki, is the name of a New Zealand waka taua (large, ornately carved Māori war canoe). It is named after Matawhaorua, the canoe of Kupe, the Polynesian discoverer of the islands n ...

'', both built for the 1940 celebrations. A flagstaff stands on the spot where the Treaty was signed. The original flagstaff was erected by the

New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy also known as the New Zealand Station was formed in 1921 and remained in existence until 1941. It was the precursor to the Royal New Zealand Navy. Originally, the Royal Navy was solely responsible for ...

just prior to the Waitangi Day celebrations of 1934. The

Waitangi Treaty Monument The Waitangi Treaty Monument, also known as the Te Tii memorial, is registered with Heritage New Zealand (formerly known as the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) as a Category I structure. The monument was built in circa 1880–1881. Its inscri ...

, built in circa 1880–1881 and also registered as a Category 1 heritage item, is located nearby. File:Treaty House from the back.jpg, Treaty House from the back, showing the two wings added in the 1840s File:Courtyard of Treaty House.jpg, Courtyard at the back of the Treaty House File:NZL-waitangi-im treaty house.JPG, Recreation of the 19th-century interior of the house

References

External links

{{Commons category, Treaty House
Waitangi National Trust websiteListing
on

website Far North District Treaty of Waitangi NZHPT Category I listings in the Northland Region Houses in New Zealand History of the Northland Region Museums in the Northland Region History museums in New Zealand Historic house museums in New Zealand Bay of Islands 1830s architecture in New Zealand Historic homes in New Zealand Treaty signing historic sites