[lettie]

On my last day in the Bay of Islands, I decided to take the short drive to what must be one of the most historically significant places in NZ, Waitangi. In 1840, concerned about increasing lawlessness and violence amongst rival Maori tribes, leading chiefs asked Queen Victoria to provide a framework for law in NZ. Concerned that the French or Americans would step in and lay claim to NZ the British did just that, and drew up the Treaty of Waitangi. This was signed on 6th Feb 1840 at James Busby's house (the British resident at that time) 50 Maori chiefs signed the treaty and it gave sovereignty of NZ to the British and allowed all Maori people to have rights as British citizens. In 1936 James Busby's house (the Treaty House) became a national landmark. This Treaty is heavily flawed, the translation into Maori lost some of the meaning that it has in English. The Maori had no concept of what sovereignty meant and therefore legal issues concerning Maori land rights are still raging to this day. Every year on 6th Feb, Government bigwigs and Maori chiefs visit Waitangi Treaty Grounds to celebrate Waitangi Day. At the Treaty House there is an audio visual presentation which is excellent. This tells you the story of how the Treaty came to be. James Busby's house is a small museum and depicts the life of the Busby family and locals at that time, a copy of the signed Treaty is there for you to see. You can walk round the grounds and see the large ceremonial canoe, carved out of the wood of 3 Kauri trees, and the flagstaff, which is supposed to be on the actual spot where the Treaty was signed. Just up the road from the Treaty house is a lovely little walk which takes you through the Mangrove forest to Haruru Falls, at the end of the Waitangi River. As it was a nice day, I did the walk. Some of the paths are good along the way, and some not so good. I didn't see another living soul during this walk and as part of the walk is through heavily forested area it was quite spooky at times. It's about 5km to the waterfall, and of course, I had to walk back too, as I'd left the car at Waitangi. All in all a great way to spend the day. Pics here of the Treaty House, the Maori Meeting House, the boardwalk over the mangrove swamp and Haruru falls.