The Treaty of Waitangi

Today the Treaty has come to signify what both joins and divides the people of this country.

It had different meanings also to those present at the 1840 signing - the new arrivals and the tangatawhenuathen occupying the land. To the British, it was the means by which they gained sovereignty over the country; for Maori, it represented something closer to partnership.

That these distinct meanings were conveyed in texts written in different languages only added to the complexities now woven around this crucial agreement. Claudia Orange's remarkable history was first published in 1987.

Winning the Goodman Fielder Wattie Award it went on to sell over 40,000 copies. As Dr Orange wrote at the time, 'Maori are still affected by the terms of the Treaty, often adversely'.

For many Pakeha New Zealanders, this was a new idea - and even more surprising was the force with which Maoridom welcomed (and drove forward) the government's initiatives -particularly the newly formed Waitangi Tribunal. The Treaty of Waitangi is a comprehensive study, looking at the place of the Treaty in New Zealand history from its making in the early nineteenth century through to the renewed engagement of the late twentieth century.

The story is told of the early negotiations that led to Treaty signings around the country. Land rights were debated before the Treaty was signed - and continuously thereafter.

Settler governments were determined to circumvent Treaty guarantees; wars of sovereignty were fought in the 1860s and sporadically thereafter. The longstanding Maori struggle to retain a degree of autonomy and control over resources has continued to the present day.

In a new introduction, Claudia Orange brings the history up to date - covering the dramatic shifts of political allegiance, the impact of the major settlements on iwi (and on the economy), the place of the Treaty in legislation, and legislation such as the Foreshore and Seabed Act of 2004. Maori and Pakehaare all affected now by the terms of the Treaty - and few can be unaware of its significance, however each of us may view its role.