Notes

First published in 1922.

An opinion essay.

The Treaty of Waitangi is said to be our nation's
founding document. As such, it should be a document
that unites all New Zealanders. Regrettably it has
become a document of division, becoming grounds for
an increasingly litigious grievance industry.
The question remains - what was the intent of the
Treaty?
The acclaimed Maori Leader Sir Apirana Ngata
explains the intent in the pages of this book, the
"Treaty of Waitangi". He concludes with the words:
"The Treaty made the one law for the Maori and
Pakeha. If you think these things are wrong and bad
then blame our ancestors who gave away their rights
in the days when they were powerful".

LIANZA asked Historian Dr Vincent O’Malley to advise us on this and he responds
As I understand it, Ngata wrote the 1922 pamphlet in an attempt to counter the growing influence of T.W. Ratana and his movement calling for the Treaty of Waitangi to be honoured. Ngata was deeply suspicious of Ratana’s grass roots movement.



Ngata’s views on the Treaty were strongly rejected by many other Māori at the time but also reflective of his position within a mainstream political system dominated by Pākehā. He could not have survived long in the Liberal party (or later Reform and National) had he espoused views similar to those held by Ratana.



In terms of how the document should be regarded, the first important point to note is that it is a secondary source – that is, Ngata wasn’t at Waitangi (or anywhere else) in 1840 and so it is not a first-hand account of what was agreed at the time.



Secondly, relying solely on a single (and secondary) source for something as complex as the Treaty of Waitangi would be shoddy historical practice. There are a range of other sources that need to be taken into account in order to form a fuller picture of the Treaty, what it meant and the context in which it was signed.



I would recommend that schools that do stock the 1922 pamphlet should also have on hand Professor Carwyn Jones piece on it from the Spinoff