WILLIAM LUDBROOK: The Treaty – Drowning in a sea of misinformation in 2026

I write this as a descendant of Henry Williams, who arrived here in 1823 as an ex Royal

Navy officer and Head of the Church Missionary Society of New Zealand. He translated the Treaty of Waitangi into te reo Maori in 1840. The document he prepared with his eldest son Edward, on the evening of February 4th in 1840 has become a defining mark or “moko” on the face of the nation. However, in recent years, there have been increasing interventions about what the Treaty actually means, and also the motivation and the integrity of my great-great grandfather Archdeacon Henry Williams.

Photograph of Archdeacon Henry Williams taken in 1858 at his retirement home in Pakaraka inland Bay of Islands nine years before his death in 1867

Over many generations, my family have preserved and studied copious letters, documents, and artifacts that provide insight into the translation process and the events surrounding the Treaty's signing. It is from this privileged position of historical access that I feel compelled to address persistent misconceptions about both the Treaty's meaning and my ancestor's lifelong dedication to the welfare of the Maori people he loved and served. From the family letters and records passed down through our family, several facts emerge clearly.

First: History has recorded repeatedly that Henry Williams was revered by Maori across New Zealand and that he was fearless in his peacemaking role. He was often away from his family home at Paihia on lengthy journeys visiting Maori throughout the country. He learnt te reo Maori to a high level of fluency, and built relationships based on genuine respect and affection. These were not relationships of convenience, they were deep, lasting bonds.

Secondly: throughout his life, Henry Williams was a strong advocate for Maori rights and interests. He often placed himself in opposition to colonial authorities and settlers who sought to exploit Maori. Indeed, after the Treaty signing, Henry Williams and other

missionaries protested to the Crown's violations pertaining to the Treaty.

And thirdly: it is clear that Henry Williams approached the Treaty translation with utmost seriousness. He understood the gravity of the task, and aimed to preserve entirely his belief he described as the “the spirit and tenor of the Treaty” text which Hobson had given him.

He worked with his eldest son Edward, who had grown up in New Zealand speaking te reo Maori as a first language alongside English. Together they sought the most accurate possible rendering of te Tiriti.

Today, on the basis of rather convoluted logic and a fixation on linguistic technicalities, we are told the chiefs did not agree to come under Crown authority. Instead, they understood they would retain full independent sovereignty and some form of partnership? This would come as a surprise to my great, great grandfather and more than 500 Rangatira Maori who understood, agreed, and signed Te Tiriti - It does not reflect the essence of his translation. Neither does it reflect his verbal “clause by clause” explanation noting that Maori would now “become one people with the English… under one Sovereign, and one Law.”

Let it be known what “partnership” entails. While it sounds benign, it is not. A

Treaty “partnership” would mean tribal totalitarianism, veto rights and race-based rule. A lot more power would ultimately be in the hands of an unelected and unaccountable Maori elite. It hardly needs stating, but the consequences of this would be devastating.

Meanwhile New Zealand’s coalition government in spite of their pathetic utterances, that they are committed to equal rights and opposed to race-based law, is not doing nearly enough to protect New Zealand from the threat of tribal-rule law. Unless the coalition does a lot more, and soon, this “partnership lie” will become an “accepted lie” and our democracy will ultimately descend into darkness drowning in a sea of misinformation along with the Treaty itself.

The definitive proof of the chiefs’ comprehension comes not from post-hoc linguistic

analysis, but from the words of the chiefs themselves following Henry Williams verbal

explanation. William Colenso's eyewitness written account of the signing by the chiefs at Waitangi recorded this: “As each chief signed the Treaty, the Governor shook him by

the hand , saying in maori, ‘He iwi tahi tatou’ – We are now one people - The Natives

were greatly pleased”.

It demonstrated unequivocally that the chiefs understood Te Tiriti would establish an

authority above their own. They grasped that signing meant accepting British law and

justice, including the possibility of being "hung by the neck" for crimes, if they committed them. They understood the hierarchy: the Governor would be "up" and the chiefs "down."

Yet despite this clear understanding, and some initial reluctance, more than 500 chiefs

signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the months that followed. They made a pragmatic decision that the benefits of Crown protection, law and order, and regulation of European settlers outweighed the costs of not accepting Crown sovereignty.

The reality was at the time there was significant numbers of foreign settlers arriving in

New Zealand, and without any law and order there were too many opportunities for these settlers to evade accountability from wrongdoing. This threat would quickly become untenable as the numbers of foreign settlers and escaped convicts continued to increase.

The Treaty promised protection of Maori lands, forests, and fisheries, and the equal rights and privileges of British subjects. What happened instead was increasingly dubious land purchasing practices, followed by war, followed by illegal land confiscations. The Crown, which promised protection, instead became the primary agent of dispossession. The genuine tragedy of New Zealand's colonial history lies not in any ambiguity about what was agreed in 1840, but in the systematic violation of that agreement by the British Crown and settlers over the following decades.

The British government was fully aware of the British owned company referred to as “The New Zealand company” which had wholesale intentions of buying up as much Maori land as possible. As a start, by its own reckoning, it had purchased some 20 million acres in Wellington, Taranaki, and Nelson with goods which included tools, muskets, and gunpowder.

It is these violations that demand acknowledgment and redress. Over the last three

decades progress has been made in this regard. But there is a lot more that needs to

be done; Like ensuring an earnest and honest endeavour to honour te Tiriti o’

Waitangi every single day well into the future, “as it was written, understood, agreed,

and signed by rangatira Maori in 1840”. Not instead how it has been changed and

amended by the Courts, the Waitangi Tribunal, and others, which has been

responsible for the confusion and much vexatious controversy that surrounds treaty

issues today in 2026!

At Te Tii Marae the Te Tiriti o’ Waitangi wharenui includes a carved figure of my ancestor Henry Williams at the base of the poutuarongo – beneath Hone Heke, Hongi Hika and Rahiri. It is the only carving of Pakeha in any marae in New Zealand, and is woven into the hapu’s own story. And in the beautiful Henry Williams memorial stone church grounds at Paihia, there is a Maori memorial to Henry Williams which reads “He was indeed a Father to all the Tribes” This honour reminds me that Maori and Pakeha are inextricably woven together in this land. As such we need to accept the path forward lies in the honest acknowledgment, not only of how the Treaty was betrayed, but also the truth about what was actually agreed and signed “One sovereignty over all in these islands”. And to answer what are the differences between both versions of the Treaty? - There are none! They were written for different audiences – Te Tiriti o’ Waitangi was for Maori and the Treaty of Waitangi was for the Colonial office and the English settlers.

References:

• Fitzgerald, Caroline (ed), Te Wiremu – Henry Williams: Early Years in the North, Huia

Publishers, Wellington, 2011, pages 317, 324, 327.

• McQueen, Ewen, One Sun in the Sky: the untold story of sovereignty and the Treaty of

Waitangi, Galatas NZ Ltd, Auckland, 2020, page 41

• Colenso, William, The Authentic and Genuine History of the Signing of the Treaty of

Waitangi, Government Printer, Wellington, 1890

• Proceedings of the Kohimarama Conference, Comprising Nos. 13 to 18 of the Maori

Messenger, Auckland, 1860.

• Prof of History Paul Moon Video interview by Dr Nina Su - January 2025, Did Maori

cede Sovereignty? Please refer to the Introduction herein.