Memorial erected to commemorate the Treaty of Waitangi

The Waitangi Treaty Monument, also known as the Te Tii memorial, is registered with

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 ...

(formerly known as the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) as a Category I structure. The monument was built in circa 1880–1881. Its inscription shows the full text in its

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 ...

version of the

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

. The monument was registered as a Category I heritage item by the Historic Places Trust on 19 March 1987 with registration number 71. It is located on Te Karuwha Parade in

Paihia Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 60 kilometres north of Whangārei, located close to the historic towns of Russell and Kerikeri. Missionary Henry Williams ...

History

In mid-1880, members of

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 16 ...

commissioned the Auckland-based stonemason company of Buchanan to construct a memorial commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The memorial foundation base was constructed out of Sydney sandstone (described as 'Sydney freestone' in contemporary reports of the time period), the material used for the memorial itself was

Oamaru stone Oamaru stone, sometimes called whitestone, is a hard, compact limestone, quarried at Weston, near Oamaru in Otago, New Zealand. Oamaru stone was used on many of the grand public buildings in the towns and cities of the southern South Island, e ...

. It was constructed with a large base with a shaft, capital and frieze with a diminishing column with the entire structure reaching a total height of . Plaques bearing an inscription of the full text of the Treaty of Waitangi in Māori were placed on all four sides of the base as well as a further inscription that 512 chiefs had been signatories. The memorial was unveiled on 26 March 1881. More than 3,000 Maori nationwide arrived for the unveiling of the memorial and a substantial meeting house or runanga whare. There was also a hui (gathering) to discuss three clauses in the Treaty of Waitangi with a view to setting aside past intertribal conflicts. At the time of the unveiling, the Governor-General Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon had been asked to attend. However, the Minister of Native Affairs,

William Rolleston William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent. Early life Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby, Yorkshire as th ...

had come in his place. Ngāpuhi leaders, expressed their disappointment but were satisfied Rolleston had come as the Governor-General's representative.

References

{{coord, -35.27430, 174.07957, format=dms, type:landmark_region:NZ, display=title Far North District Treaty of Waitangi Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Northland Region Monuments and memorials in New Zealand History of the Bay of Islands Bay of Islands Obelisks