Having almost reached the end of our NZ tour and read/heard much along the way regarding the Maori and European settlers, we headed to the home of the Waitangi Treaty itself to see if we could put the disagreements to bed.
The Waitangi treaty was an agreement signed in 1840 between the crown and the Maori (all the chiefs) to set out the future governance and sovereignty of the people of the newly created country of New Zealand. However, there is still much debate around the interpretation of the agreement whether it be via mistranslation or misunderstanding, it is clear that the country is still resolving these issues, primarily around land ownership (despite it being many generations along and it being signed after long debate by the Maori chiefs at the time).
Indeed, there seems to be a fair amount of animosity towards the English by the Maori, which in some situations was a little uncomfortable for us, especially as we were visitors to the country and it was not our generation that the disagreements are with. In some instances (not all but a fair amount), where we had a Maori 'guide' (Maori guides were used wherever possible but were not as good to non Maori guides for information and enthusiasm) they focused more on their ancestors and rights to the land we were standing on rather than the subject of the tour itself and in most instances the land was being managed by the DOC or a wildlife charity... wouldn't it be better for the organisation doing the work to own it...
It seemed that the government and the people of NZ were a little awkward around the Maori thing probably due to it being positive discrimination and it seems that the endeavors of captain Cook and the colonization of New Zealand should be forgotten even though the culture and the majority of the population of NZ today is greatly derived from this.
Indeed, it seems that the importance and relevancy of the treaty waned in the mid 20th century and seems to have contributed to some of the issues which are now sorted by the Waitangi tribunal. However, some responsibility must be with the chiefs who originally signed the treaty and Henry Williams and his son Edward Marsh Williams who translated it into Maori (The Maori didn't have a written language until the British helped them make their own). It is seen by some that the treaty was very generous given what was generally happening with 'Empire creation' at the time of the agreement.
You can view all the ins and outs of the treaty on good old Wikipedia - its worth a look given that the crown and British government were "very aware that there had been a lot of criticism of the way in which it had dealt with the indigenous people in the other British colonies. It wanted to avoid making the same mistakes in New Zealand." (http://christchurchcitylibraries.com), and thus it is fairly unique in nature.
Copy of the signed Waitangi agreement (17th December 2013)
The Waitangi treaty was an agreement signed in 1840 between the crown and the Maori (all the chiefs) to set out the future governance and sovereignty of the people of the newly created country of New Zealand. However, there is still much debate around the interpretation of the agreement whether it be via mistranslation or misunderstanding, it is clear that the country is still resolving these issues, primarily around land ownership (despite it being many generations along and it being signed after long debate by the Maori chiefs at the time).
Maori Performance in the Wharenui at the Treaty Grounds (17th December 2013)
Indeed, there seems to be a fair amount of animosity towards the English by the Maori, which in some situations was a little uncomfortable for us, especially as we were visitors to the country and it was not our generation that the disagreements are with. In some instances (not all but a fair amount), where we had a Maori 'guide' (Maori guides were used wherever possible but were not as good to non Maori guides for information and enthusiasm) they focused more on their ancestors and rights to the land we were standing on rather than the subject of the tour itself and in most instances the land was being managed by the DOC or a wildlife charity... wouldn't it be better for the organisation doing the work to own it...
It seemed that the government and the people of NZ were a little awkward around the Maori thing probably due to it being positive discrimination and it seems that the endeavors of captain Cook and the colonization of New Zealand should be forgotten even though the culture and the majority of the population of NZ today is greatly derived from this.
Intricate Maori caving inside the Wharenui (17th December 2013)
Indeed, it seems that the importance and relevancy of the treaty waned in the mid 20th century and seems to have contributed to some of the issues which are now sorted by the Waitangi tribunal. However, some responsibility must be with the chiefs who originally signed the treaty and Henry Williams and his son Edward Marsh Williams who translated it into Maori (The Maori didn't have a written language until the British helped them make their own). It is seen by some that the treaty was very generous given what was generally happening with 'Empire creation' at the time of the agreement.
The British and the country's first flag fly together under the "New" Zealand flag,
on the site that the agreement was signed (17th December 2013)
on the site that the agreement was signed (17th December 2013)
You can view all the ins and outs of the treaty on good old Wikipedia - its worth a look given that the crown and British government were "very aware that there had been a lot of criticism of the way in which it had dealt with the indigenous people in the other British colonies. It wanted to avoid making the same mistakes in New Zealand." (http://christchurchcitylibraries.com), and thus it is fairly unique in nature.
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