On the morning of 28 April 1840, the HMS Herald, under the command of Captain Joseph Nias, left the Bay of Islands. Aboard was Major Thomas Bunbury, Edward Williams (son of Henry Williams), a small company of marines, and a te re Māori sheet of te Tiriti (the Herald Sheet: www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/12195648904).

Bunbury had arrived in the Bay of Islands on 16 April to aid or replace William Hobson, who had suffered a stroke. Hobson was recovering but not well enough to travel south, so Bunbury was commissioned to accept the signatures of southern rangatira, including those in the South and Stewart Islands. Edward Williams, who had helped translate the Treaty into te reo Māori, was the interpreter.

Their first stop was the Coromandel Harbour, where they anchored on 30 April after sailing through a savage lightning storm. Bunbury and Williams went ashore and landed at the house of American trader, William Webster, and organised for a Treaty hui to take place there on 4 May. Messengers were then despatched to the various surrounding pā, inviting rangatira to attend.

This is an 1851 harbour chart of the Coromandel Harbour, published by the British admiralty. Surveyed by Capt. J.L. Stokes 1850.

Zoom or download to enlarge.

Archives Reference: ADOE 16621 MW676 Box 1/2J 2035 archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=21488151

This record is part of #Waitangi175, celebrating 175 years since the signing of of te Tiriti o Waitangi. You can see other real time tweets on Twitter (twitter.com/ArchivesNZ), or explore the Waitangi 175 album here on Flickr.

Material from Archives New Zealand