In 1840 more than 500 chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document. Ngā Tohu, when complete, will contain a biographical sketch of each signatory.
| Signature | Sheet | Signed as | Probable name | Tribe | Hapū | Signing Occasion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Sheet 8 — The Cook Strait (Henry Williams) Sheet | Kopiri | Hōhepa Kōpiri | Te Āti Awa | Te Matehou | Port Nicholson, 29 April 1840 |
Hōhepa Kōpiri signed Te Tiriti at Port Nicholson on 29 April 1840. According to Ngā Tūpuna o Te Whanganui-a-Tara:
It is said by whānau that Joseph Phillips arrived in New Zealand during the early 1800s and that he lived with, and was adopted by, a local Māori family, changing his name to Hōhepa Kōpiri … He is mentioned in the book The Taranaki Wars, during the battle against Tainui, in 1832.
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