In a letter to Prime Minister George Forbes, he gifted the property to the nation. With the gift came the provision for how the property should be run and income with which to run it. It is the highest profile board of New Zealand and one that Bledisloe thought fitting for the status of the property. Bledisloe wanted the place to never be a burden on the people of New Zealand, so he established the Waitangi Endorsement Forest in the 1930s as a means of revenue to assist in the costs of the Waitangi National Trust Board and as a splendid scenic backdrop to the Waitangi National Trust land. Sea, sky and space are the striking aspects of the Waitangi National Reserve site.
Grassed ground falls down rock cliffs to the sea.
Around the reserve are stands of regenerating native bush alive with bird calls of tui and fantails. There is a coastal walkway, and a bush track to Haruru Falls that crosses a board walk through a mangrove forest and estuary. A huge flag staff erected in 1934 to mark the spot of the signing of the treaty, stands sentinel to the Treaty House and grounds and once a year, on the 6th of February, the site is host to a formal national ceremony to commemorate the signing of the Treaty here in 1840. But all year, specific features within the reserve speak of the humanness of the story of the site and bring its past into the present. Visitor's Centre Entry through the Visitors Centre set amongst regenerating bush.