Declaration of Independence (New Zealand)

Where can I find information about He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga | The Declaration of Independence?

(Years 11-13)

Colour illustration of the flag of the Independent Tribes of New Zealand. — Image: United Tribes Ensign by James Laurenson. Collection: Alexander Turnbull Library. Ref: MS-Papers-0009-09-01. Image cropped.

Entry last updated: 8/09/26

Introduction

He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni | The Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand was signed on 28 October 1835 by 34 northern rangatira (Māori chiefs). The document said that rangatira had sovereignty, or leadership, over Nu Tireni (New Zealand) under the rule of Te Whakaminenga (The United Tribes of New Zealand or the Confederation of United Tribes).

The signing of the Declaration

Use these websites to discover why the declaration was needed, who drafted the document, the contents of He Whakaputanga, and the rangatira who signed it.

NZ History

NZ History is a great website for information about Aotearoa New Zealand. It comes from the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable. It explains what the Declaration was about and what it meant for Māori.

From the homepage, choose Culture and Society.
Look under the heading Pre-1840 contact to find the article He Whakaputanga — Declaration of Independence.
From this page, select the image He Whakaputanga document for an image of the Declaration. It has transcripts of the te reo Māori and English versions.
Then select 34 rangatira to read the signatories of He Whakaputanga.

Tips: Sites that have .govt.nz or .ac.nz are from NZ government or educational organisations. We like sites like this because they’re reliable and relevant to us.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is another excellent website for information about Aotearoa New Zealand. It also belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage.

Enter the keywords 'He Whakaputanga' or 'Declaration of Independence' into the search.
Choose He Whakaputanga — Declaration of Independence.
This story leads to information on the background of the Declaration, its contents, and the aftermath.

Tips: Search words are sometimes called keywords. We can leave out small words like ‘the’ and ‘of’ and choose the main ones like 'Declaration Independence'. We can change our keywords or add more if we need to.

Hōpara kaupapa | Topic Explorer

Topic Explorer is from the National Library of New Zealand. Each topic has carefully chosen resources, including images, articles, videos, and more.

Use the link Explore all topics to find He Whakaputanga 1835.
This topic has a selection of different media and primary sources.

Waitangi Tribunal

This is the official website of the Waitangi Tribunal. It has information about how the Tribunal works and how it interacts with the Treaty of Waitangi and the Declaration of Independence.

Select Publications to bring up a menu.
Under Tribunal Reports, choose By Wai number.
Look down the list to Wai 1040.
Select He Whakaputanga me to Tiriti | The Declaration and the Treaty: The Report on Stage 1 of the Te Paparahi o te Raki Inquiry.
Read Chapter 4, He Whakaputanga and the Declaration of Independence.
Chapters 6 and 7 explain The British move towards annexation and The Negotiation and signing of Te Tiriti.

Treaty of Waitangi Collection (BWB)

This is a collection from Bridget Williams Books (BWB) that is part of the EPIC databases. It has eBooks about the Treaty and the Declaration of Independence.

Look for He Whakaputanga/The Declaration of Independence, 1835.
Select Read Now to read the book, or choose a chapter from the Contents. It has information about the history of the document, images of the document, and the signatories.
Or go to An illustrated history of the Treaty of Waitangi. Read Chapter 1: An independent land - New Zealand to 1840. This chapter covers the history of New Zealand leading up to the Declaration of Independence.

Tips: To use the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians. Your public library may have some EPIC databases too.

What the Declaration achieved

These websites will help you find information on discussions and interpretations of He Whakaputanga, and its recognition as a significant moment in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga | Archives New Zealand

This is the website of Aotearoa New Zealand's national archive. It has over 6 million records created by the government and public institutions since 1840.

Go down the page to find the heading New Zealand's constitutional documents.
Select He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni | Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand.
This has a short history of the document, as well as the original Te reo Māori text and English translation.
Look down to the end of the page and explore the links.

Māori Law Review

This website publishes monthly reviews of law affecting Māori. If you look back through the years, you will find reviews about the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Waitangi.

Select Previous Issues from the menu on the right-hand side of the page.
Find the November 2014 issue to read He Whakaputanga me te Tiriti: the Declaration and the Treaty - sovereignty in February 1840 - comme.

Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. At the bottom of the page you can see that this website is supported by Victoria University of Wellington, which is a reliable organisation.

Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Ngā Mahara o te Ao

UNESCO launched the Memory of the World programme in 1992. This site is part of the New Zealand Memory of the World Programme. Its vision is to protect, preserve, recognise and make available heritage documents to the world.

Go to the New Zealand Register and search for 'He Whakaputanga' or 'Declaration Independence' into the search box.
You will find a link to He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni.
Find out who signed the Declaration and who officially recognised this document when it was first signed.

Tips: Some websites have .au, .nz, .uk or other codes in their web address. This tells you which country the site is from. For example .au is from Australia or .nz is from New Zealand. You can check the About Us link on the website for more information.

The Declaration today

There continues to be some debate about what the Declaration means for Aotearoa New Zealand now, and what it will mean in the future. Have a look at these links to find out more.

New Zealand Geographic Online

New Zealand Geographic Online is a part of EPIC, a collection of reliable databases covering lots of different topics. It’s put together especially for New Zealand school students and helps to answer questions like this.

Enter the keywords ‘Declaration Independence’ into the search.
Select the article A Sovereign Act.
This article is based on Ngāpuhi’s view on whether or not sovereignty was surrendered by Māori in the Treaty of Waitangi, and if the Declaration was more important.

Tips: To use the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians. Your public library may have some EPIC databases too.

He Tohu

He Tohu, meaning ‘the signs’ is a permanent exhibition of 3 iconic documents that shaped New Zealand. The exhibition was created in partnership between the Crown and Māori. Students can visit the exhibition in person, but there is also information available online.

Look for the heading The story of the documents and choose 1835 He Whakaputanga.
Find out about who signed He Whakaputanga and who came up with the words.

E-Tangata

This is an online Sunday magazine about expressing Māori and Pacific views in New Zealand media.