Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand


The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand, 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.

Background and signing

In 1834, a document known as the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand was drafted by 34 northern Māori chiefs — including Tāmati Wāka Nene, Tītore and Bay of Islands brothers; Te Wharerahi, Rewa, and Moka Te Kainga-mataa — together with James Busby, the official British Resident in New Zealand. The document was initially signed at Waitangi on 28 October 1835. By 1839, 52 chiefs had signed..
In the process of signing, the chiefs established themselves as representing a confederation under the title of the "United Tribes of New Zealand". Missionaries Henry Williams and George Clarke translated the Declaration and signed as witnesses; merchants James Clendon and Gilbert Mair also signed as witnesses.
The Declaration arose in response to concerns over the lawlessness of British subjects in New Zealand, and in response to a fear that France would declare sovereignty over the islands. At this time a Frenchman, Charles de Thierry—who titled himself 'Charles, Baron de Tierry, Sovereign Chief of New Zealand and King of Nuku Hiva' —was seeking to establish a colony on a plot of land he claimed to have purchased in the Hokianga. The document also arose from movements in Māori society. From 1816 onwards, a number of Northern Māori chiefs had made visits to the colonies in New South Wales and Norfolk Island, as well as to England, leading to discussions about unifying the tribes and the formation of a Māori government. Māori had become involved in international trade and owned trading ships. In 1834, the chiefs had selected a flag for use on ships originating from New Zealand.
The need for a flag of New Zealand first became clear when the merchant ship the Sir George Murray, built in the Hokianga, was seized by customs officials in the port of Sydney. The ship had been sailing without a flag—a violation of British navigation laws. New Zealand was not a colony at the time and had no flag. The ship's detainment reportedly aroused indignation among the Māori population. Unless a flag was selected, ships would continue to be seized. The flag, amended slightly when officially gazetted, became the first distinctively New Zealand flag. As late as 1900 it was still being used to depict New Zealand, and it appeared on the South African War Medal which was issued to New Zealand soldiers of the Boer War and was inscribed with the phrase "Success to New Zealand Contingent 1899–1900". The unamended version of the flag, with eight-pointed stars and black fimbriation, is still widely used by Māori groups.
The Declaration is displayed at the National Library of New Zealand, as part of the He Tohu exhibition, along with the Treaty of Waitangi and the 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition.

The Declaration

The hereditary chiefs and heads of the tribes of the northern parts of New Zealand declared the constitution of an independent state. They agreed to meet in Waitangi each year to frame laws, and invited the southern tribes of New Zealand to "lay aside their private animosities" and join them.

Explanation of the Māori text

The Māori text of the Declaration was made by the tino rangatira of the northern part of New Zealand and uses the term Rangatiratanga to mean independence, declaring the country a whenua Rangatira to be known as The United Tribes of New Zealand.
The translation of the second paragraph is "that all sovereign power and authority in the land" should "reside entirely and exclusively in the hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes in their collective capacity", expressed as the United Tribes of New Zealand.
The terms Kingitanga and mana were used in claiming sovereignty of the state to the assembly of the hereditary chiefs, and it was also declared that no government would exist except by persons appointed by the assembly of hereditary chiefs.

The impacts of the Declaration

The signatories sent a copy of the document to King William IV, asking him to act as the protector of the new state. The King had previously acknowledged the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and now recognised the Declaration in a letter from Lord Glenelg, following consideration of the Declaration by the House of Lords, dated 25 May 1836.
It read, in part:
The Declaration was not well received by the Colonial Office, and it was decided that a new policy for New Zealand was needed as a corrective.
It is notable that the Treaty of Waitangi was made between the British Crown and "the chiefs of the United Tribes of New Zealand" in recognition of their independent sovereignty.

Legal effect

Pākehā writers have dismissed the significance of He Whakaputanga as an attempt by James Busby to establish a 'settled form of government', whereas Māori unity movements looked to the document as the basis for Māori claims to self-determination, and something that reaffirmed tikanga Māori and Māori concepts of power and decision-making. In 2010 the Ngāpuhi iwi in Northland requested that the Waitangi Tribunal rule on whether the tribe had in fact relinquished sovereignty in 1840 when they signed the Treaty.

Ngāpuhi Waitangi Tribunal claim (Te Paparahi o te Raki inquiry)

In 2010 the Waitangi Tribunal began hearing Ngāpuhi's claim that sovereignty was not ceded in their signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal, in their Te Paparahi o te Raki inquiry is in the process of considering the Māori and Crown understandings of the Declaration and the Treaty. This aspect of the inquiry raises issues as to the nature of sovereignty and whether the Māori signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi intended to transfer sovereignty.
Many of the arguments used are outlined in Paul Moon's book Te Ara Ki Te Tiriti: The Path to the Treaty of Waitangi, which argued that not only did the Māori signatories have no intention of transferring sovereignty, but that at the time the British government and James Busby did not wish to acquire it and that the developments and justifications leading to the present state were later developments. It is estimated that the hearings will last between 4 and 6 years, and may stand as a precedent for all iwi if the Tribunal recognises Ngāpuhi sovereignty. A common Ngāpuhi interpretation of the Declaration of the United Tribes is that the British government was simply recognising Māori independence and putting the world on notice, merely re-asserting sovereignty that had existed "from time immemorial".
The first stage of the report was released in November 2014, and found that Māori chiefs never agreed to give up their sovereignty when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Tribunal manager Julie Tangaere said at the report's release to the Ngapuhi claimants:
While final submissions were received in May 2018, the second stage of the report was still in the process of being written up as of June 2020.