william hobson

Personal details

Full Name:

  • William Hobson

Lifetime:

  • 26 Sep 179210 Sep 1842
Biography

After a lengthy Royal Navy career in which he saw action in the Napoleonic Wars and was twice captured by pirates in the Caribbean, William Hobson (1792-1842) became New Zealand's first Governor.

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Events In History

Articles

Treaty timeline

The Treaty in brief

  • The Treaty in brief

    The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document. It takes its name from the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed, on 6 February 1840. The Treaty is an agreement, in Māori and English, that was made between the British Crown and about 540 Māori rangatira (chiefs).

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  • Page 1 - The Treaty in briefThe Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document. It takes its name from the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed, on 6 February 1840. The Treaty is an

History of the Governor-General

  • History of the Governor-General

    New Zealand has had a governor or (from 1917) a governor-general since 1840. The work of these men and women has reflected the constitutional and political history of New Zealand in many ways.

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  • Page 3 - Crown colony eraNew Zealand became a British colony in 1840, legitimised by the Treaty of Waitangi and Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson's 21 May declaration of

Treaty signatories and signing locations

  • Treaty signatories and signing locations

    The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on nine separate sheets by more than 500 Māori. Find out more about the sheets, the signatories and the signing locations

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  • Page 5 – Signing the treaty

    By the end of 1840 about 540 Māori, including 13 women, had signed the Treaty of Waitangi; all but 39 signed the Māori text. While some had clear expectations about what their

  • Page 6 – Preserving the documents

    The Treaty of Waitangi is currently on display in the He Tohu exhibition at the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington. It has not always been so secure. Water, time and

Taming the frontier

  • Taming the frontier

    In 1832 James Busby was appointed as the official British Resident to New Zealand. After arriving in the Bay of Islands in May 1833 he took steps to tame what he saw as a chaotic frontier society.

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  • Page 5 - A separate Crown colonyProtecting Māori, regulating land purchases, controlling the activities of settlers and dealing with the potential influx of migrants underpinned British policy in 1839. New
  • Main image: William Hobson

    William Hobson was lieutenant-governor from 1840 to 1841 and governor from 1841 to 1842

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