Our Vision

TE PAE TAWHITI — OUR VISION

He Whenua Rangatira – An Enduring Symbol of Nationhood

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Our Mission

TE KAUPAPA — OUR MISSION

Titiro ki ngā Taumata o te Moana – To Illustrate the Ongoing Promise of Waitangi to the World

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Our Core Values

Whakamanawa / Reverence

Whakarite / Balance

Manaakitanga / Hospitality

Tika / Integrity

Kaitiakitanga / Custodians of the Kaupapa

Whakarerekē / Transformative

Rangatiratanga / Self Determination

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Forming the Waitangi National Trust

The Waitangi National Trust was set up by an Act of Parliament to administer the estate. Its Deed of Trust, drawn up in 1932, set out the objectives for the Trust Board and the Treaty Grounds. These included priority being given to the repair and restoration of the former Residency which, at Lord Bledisloe’s request, was now renamed the Treaty House.

On the Trust’s first Board were:

• the donors, Lord and Lady Bledisloe, as life members
• Vernon Reed
• the Prime Minister George Forbes
• Alfred Ransom, Minister in charge of the Scenery Preservation Act
• Sir Āpirana Ngata, the Native Minister
• Kenneth Williams, a member of the Williams missionary family
• Riri Maihi Kawiti representing the families of Hōne Heke, Maihi Kawiti, Tāmati Wāka Nene and Pōmare
• the Māori King, Te Rata Mahuta
• Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes, representing the people of the South Island
• Sir Francis Dillon Bell, representing the family of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, founder of the New Zealand Company
• Gordon Coates, a former Prime Minister.

The Board continues to be made up of descendants and representatives of people directly associated with this historic site. The incumbent Governor-General has the right to choose to be Patron of the Trust.

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As kaitiaki (guardians) the Waitangi National Trust Board takes responsibility to:

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• Maintain the Waitangi National Trust estate and its taonga as a place of belonging, a Tūrangawaewae, for all New Zealanders
• Oversee the sustainable development of the land and assets of the Trust through appropriate maintenance, conservation and management
• Preserve, protect and present taonga (treasures) in the Trust’s care
• Further the understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi, its significance as the nation’s founding document and its continuing relevance to our life as a nation
• Develop and apply its own tikanga (culture) governing access to and use of the site of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Te Whare Rūnanga (meeting house), and Ngātokimatawhaorua, the ceremonial canoe
• Ensure the Waitangi National Trust estate is used appropriately to commemorate the first signing of the Treaty

The Treaty Grounds founding: Bledisloe gift

After the signing of the Treaty in 1840, the Treaty House remained the property of the Busby family. The house and surrounding estate was sold in 1882 by Agnes Busby, ten years after her husband’s death. Over the years the Waitangi Estate gradually declined, becoming a typical piece of New Zealand marginal farmland. Only Māori, it seemed, remembered the significance of the place. In 1878 members of local tribes petitioned the government to help them set up a commemorative meeting house, but the Government refused.

In the early 20th century, local MP and lawyer Vernon Reed took up the cause for greater appreciation of Waitangi as an important site for all New Zealanders. He had many knock backs but in 1932, when the Governor-General and his wife, Lord and Lady Bledisloe, were holidaying in the Bay of Islands Reed encouraged them to visit Waitangi and see this historic place for themselves. The Bledisloes were enchanted by the site and, convinced that New Zealanders should appreciate its significance, they arranged to buy what is now the Waitangi National Trust Estate.

On 10 May 1932, following this visit, Lord Bledisloe informed the Prime Minister George Forbes by letter: ‘I desire formally, on behalf of Her Excellency and myself, to present, through you, to the nation, New Zealand’s most historic spot “Waitangi” together with 1000 acres of land belonging to the estate of which it forms part and which we have recently purchased with this object.’

Lord Bledisloe formally gifted Waitangi to the nation at a hui attended by thousands on 6 February 1934 – the first Waitangi Day, New Zealand’s national day.

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