Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson and between 43 and 46 Māori rangatira signed te Tiriti o Waitangi at Waitangi (Bay of Islands), beginning the nationwide signing process across multiple treaty sheets.
Hobson travelled inland to Waimate North, where six Ngāpuhi rangatira signed the Waitangi sheet on 9–10 February, demonstrating early follow-on signings beyond Waitangi itself.
At Mangungu (Hokianga), 64 signatures were added to the Waitangi sheet during a large gathering, the biggest single signing event for that sheet and a pivotal moment in quickly expanding adherence in the north.
Seventeen rangatira, mostly from Ngāti Pāoa and Ngāti Maru, signed the Waitangi sheet at Karaka Bay (Waitematā Harbour), extending treaty signings into the Auckland region.
At Manukau, key Ngāti Whātua rangatira were the first to sign the Manukau–Kāwhia sheet, one of the main treaty sheets used to gather signatures around the country.
A large meeting at Waikato Heads in late March/early April produced 32 signatures on the Waikato–Manukau sheet (the only treaty sheet in English), reflecting both rapid collection efforts and significant translation/meaning issues between versions.
At Port Nicholson (Wellington), 32 rangatira (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Toa) signed the Cook Strait (Henry Williams) sheet, bringing major treaty activity to the lower North Island.
Henry Williams gathered 13 signatures at Rangitoto ki te Tonga (D’Urville Island) on the Cook Strait sheet, part of the coastal campaign to secure signatories across many communities.
At Waikanae, 20 signatories added their marks to the Cook Strait sheet, continuing the west-coast North Island signings and including at least one signatory (Ngā-raurekau) considered likely to have been a woman.
While signatures were still being collected, Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over all of New Zealand—North Island by treaty cession and South/Stewart Islands by discovery—marking a decisive step in early colonial implementation.
In a key South Island event, two Ngāi Tahu rangatira (Iwikau and Hone Tīkao/“John Love”) signed the Herald (Bunbury) sheet at Akaroa (Ōnuku), amid wider reluctance by some local leaders to meet the British party.
Two Ngāi Tahu rangatira signed the Herald (Bunbury) sheet at Otago Heads, part of the limited South Island itinerary for treaty signings.
Letters Patent created New Zealand as a separate British colony, formally severing its administrative link to New South Wales and structuring the colony into provinces—an important institutional step following sovereignty claims and treaty signings.
The UK Parliament’s New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 received Royal Assent, establishing a representative constitutional framework that reshaped colonial governance in the post-Treaty period.
Treaty of Waitangi signings and early colonial implementation (1840–1852)
