Should be holiday in Wellington today

Post date: Apr 29, 2016 10:51:44 AM

Waitangi Day is a public holiday - we mark the signing of the Treaty on 6 February. But of course in the days before Mark's IT career was even conceived the reality was little happened on a day, or even a week, that required multiple people in

This map of missionary settlements in the region gives a good indication of where people were living. Not a lot in Palmerston North (some would say that is still true)

multiple locations. At one level I knew that the Treaty was signed over the course of the 1840 year. I did only find out today that on 29 April 1840 around 34 Maori leaders ( unusually women as well as men) signed the Henry Williams version of the Treaty in Wellington. Henry and his copy of the Treaty had arrived in Wellington 10 days earlier but unlike at Waitangi, where Busby expected long discussions and negotiations but the Chiefs signed immediately, in Wellington it took over a week of discussion for the signatures. Apparently this was in part because the iwi in this area were negotiating effective land deals already so it was said.From Wellington the next major signing spot was Stephens Island in the middle of Queen Charlotte Sound - half way to Picton.