page_title: William Hobson
section_title: Treaty of Waitangi
hierarchical_section_title: William Hobson / New Zealand / Treaty of Waitangi
caption_attribution_description: Captain William Hobson was officially appointed as Lieutenant Governor General of New Zealand in June 1939, while still stationed in England. On 24 December 1839, he arrived in Sydney on the HMS Druid, finally reaching the Bay of Islands on January 29. Hobson was instructed to obtain sovereignty over all or part of New Zealand with the consent of a sufficient number of chiefs. He was tasked with negotiating with Māori rangatira (chiefs) the ceding of sovereignty to the British Crown. This would lead to the creation of te Tiriti o Waitangi and its initial signing on February 6, 1840. On March 1st, while te Tiriti sheets were still being circulated for signing, Hobson suffered a stroke. Although he survived and continued to work, Hobson never fully recovered. On 10 September 1842, he had another stroke and died that day. This photo is from Archives New Zealand's National Publicity Studio's collection. Taken in 1949, it shows Hobson’s grave, which is located beside the Grafton Bridge, Auckland. The National Publicity Studio was established in 1945, but its beginnings can be traced back to the establishment in 1924 of a Publicity Office - part of the Department of Internal Affairs. The emphasis of this Publicity Office was on films, photographs and booklets. The purpose of the National Publicity Studio was to provide advice to government departments and state agencies on the provision of photographic, art, and display services and in particular to assist in the production of publicity material aimed at conveying a favourable image of New Zealand. Caption information from: NZ History: www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/documents/The_Story_Part_1.pdf Te Ara Encyclopaedia of New Zealand: www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1h29/hobson-william Description: Founder of Auckland - Grave of Captain William Hobson R. N. who in 1840 selected the site of Auckland and set up the capital of the colony there. Hobson died two years afterwards and is buried beside Grafton Bridge near the heart of the city. Photographer: E.P. Christensen Date: 1949 Archives New Zealand Reference: AAQT 6539 A15795 For more information email Research.Archives@dia.govt.nz For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/ArchivesNZ
context_page_description: Captain William Hobson was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.
  Hobson was dispatched from London in July 1839, with instructions to take the constitutional steps needed to establish a British colony in New Zealand. He was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor in Sydney and arrived in New Zealand on 29 January 1840.
  On 5 February 1840, Hobson met with Māori chiefs at Waitangi, and the following morning they signed a treaty by which the chiefs purportedly voluntarily transferred sovereignty to the British Crown in return for guarantees respecting their lands and possessions and their rights as British subjects. Three months later, Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over the islands of New Zealand. He also selected the site for a new capital, which he named Auckland.
  In May 1841, New Zealand was constituted as a separate Crown colony, with Hobson promoted to Governor and Commander in Chief. In his final months Hobson was dogged by poor health which left him detached from political affairs. He died in office in September 1842.
context_section_description: The Treaty of Waitangi was first proposed by Hobson on his return to Britain from his first visit to New Zealand. Upon arrival in New Zealand, Hobson almost immediately drafted the Treaty of Waitangi together with his secretary James Freeman and James Busby. Busby had previously drafted the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand.
  Hobson headed the British signatories. Of the 40 or so Māori chiefs, the Ngapuhi chief Hōne Heke was the first to sign the treaty. As each chief signed, Hobson said "He iwi tahi tātou", meaning "We are [now] one people". To enhance the authority of the treaty eight further copies were made and sent around the country to gather additional signatures. After obtaining signatures to the Treaty at the Bay of Islands (6 February 1840), he travelled to Waitematā Harbour to obtain more signatures and to survey a suitable location for a new capital (he also sent the Deputy Surveyor-General, William Cornwallis Symonds, to other areas to obtain more signatures). After suffering a stroke on 1 March 1840, he was taken back to the Bay of Islands, where he recovered sufficiently to continue work.
  On 21 May 1840, in response to the creation of a "republic" by the New Zealand Company settlers of Port Nicholson, who were laying out a new town under the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, Hobson asserted British sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand, despite the incompleteness of the treaty signing. He sent Willoughby Shortland and some soldiers to Port Nicholson on 25 May 1840, and the council of the settlers was disbanded. Their leader, William Wakefield, later travelled to the Bay of Islands to pledge allegiance to the Crown. His suggestion to make Port Nicholson the capital was rejected in favour of Hobson's plan for a new town on Waitematā Harbour, to be named Auckland after the Earl of Auckland.
  On 11 July 1840, the French frigate L'Aube arrived at the Bay of Islands on its way to Banks Peninsula as part of the settlement plan of the Nanto-Bordelaise Company. Hobson immediately sent two magistrates to Akaroa to establish the British claim to sovereignty by holding courts. Near the end of 1840, the Port Nicholson settlers sent a petition to Queen Victoria calling for Hobson's dismissal over his treatment of them. Hobson responded on 26 May 1841 to the Foreign Secretary.
caption: Grave of Captain William Hobson
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