Carrying the Treaty to Te Tauihu
Following the gathering at Waitangi on 6 February 1840, Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson dispatched copies of Te Tiriti o Waitangi across New Zealand.1,2 Securing agreement in Te Tauihu-o-te-Waka, the northern South Island, was a strategic priority for the Crown. The Cook Strait region served as a major centre of Māori population, trade, and whaling activity, while European land speculators were already attempting illegal land purchases across the Wairau Plain.
Two distinct missions visited Marlborough in mid-1840.3 The initial mission was led by Church Missionary Society translator Reverend Henry Williams, followed weeks later by a military expedition commanded by Major Thomas Bunbury of the 58th Regiment.4,5
Henry Williams in Tōtaranui
Reverend Henry Williams arrived in Tōtaranui / Queen Charlotte Sound on 4 May 1840 aboard the schooner Ariel.6,7 Williams held discussions with local iwi leaders, presenting the Māori text of Te Tiriti and explaining its provisions regarding protection and chieftainship.8,9
Several rangatira placed their marks on the document before Williams sailed westward to Rangitoto Island (D'Urville Island) on 11 May.10,11 These meetings secured the initial South Island treaty signatures, establishing a formal relationship between local hapū and the British Crown.12
Bunbury, Nohorua, and the Sovereignty Proclamation
On 16 June 1840, Major Thomas Bunbury arrived at Port Underwood aboard the 26-gun warship HMS Herald, accompanied by interpreter Edward Williams.13 The following day at Kākāpō Bay, Bunbury met with Nohorua, a respected Ngāti Toa rangatira and elder brother of Te Rauparaha.14 Nohorua deliberated extensively, expressing deep concern that signing might endanger ancestral tribal lands.15
To safeguard his people's heritage, Nohorua insisted that his English son-in-law, whaler Joseph Thoms, also sign the treaty sheet so that European family members shared responsibility for land protection.16 Following Thoms' signature, Nohorua, Waitohi, Te Kanae, and Te Wharepōuri added their marks.17
On 18 June 1840, Major Thomas Bunbury took it upon himself to formally declare British sovereignty over the South Island by right of discovery.18 Landing marines on the islet of Horahora Kākahu, Bunbury raised the Union Jack and ordered a 21-gun salute from HMS Herald, proclaiming Crown authority over Te Waipounamu before full consultation across the island was complete.19
A Complex Constitutional Legacy
The signings at Tōtaranui and Port Underwood established the foundational constitutional presence of the Crown in Marlborough.20 While British officials viewed the Herald sheet as a complete transfer of sovereignty, local rangatira signed Te Tiriti understanding that their chieftainship (rangatiratanga) and land authority remained intact.21
This fundamental contradiction in interpretation created immediate friction. Within three years, unverified New Zealand Company land surveys on the Wairau Plain sparked the tragic 1843 Wairau Incident, underscoring the severe consequences of ignored treaty guarantees in the Marlborough district.