Ngā Whāinga Ako | Learning Intentions
- Read both Treaty texts as separate primary sources.
- Compare the exact words each text uses for the same article.
- Write a claim about the difference that keeps its limits visible.
Decolonised Aotearoa History · Lesson 2 · Source analysis
Ngā Tuhinga e Rua Source Lab
One signing at Waitangi. Two texts. What exactly did each text say — and how far can the words take a claim?
Ngā Tuhinga e Rua Source Lab
The two texts of te Tiriti · Provenance · Word-work · Evidence and limits
Ingoa | Name:
Akomanga | Class:
Paearu Angitu | Success Criteria
- I quote the exact phrase, not a paraphrase from memory.
- I identify what each text gives and what each text keeps.
- I state what the words alone cannot prove about 1840.
Kawa for this lab: te Tiriti is a living constitutional document, not a museum piece. Some ākonga whakapapa to rangatira who signed; no one in this room is required to speak for them. Our job is disciplined: read what each text says, quote it exactly, and refuse to put words into the mouths of people in 1840.
Te Huinga Mātāpuna | Source Set
Source A · Primary evidence
Te Tiriti o Waitangi — the text in te reo Māori, 1840
The three articles, letter for letter as the statute reproduces them. The 1840 text uses early mission-era spelling — you will see wenua where modern te reo writes whenua. That is the document, not a typo.
Ko te Tuatahi
Ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa hoki ki hai i uru ki taua wakaminenga ka tuku rawa atu ki te Kuini o Ingarani ake tonu atu-te Kawanatanga katoa o o ratou wenua.
Ko te Tuarua
Ko te Kuini o Ingarani ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangatira ki nga hapu-ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa. Otiia ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa atu ka tuku ki te Kuini te hokonga o era wahi wenua e pai ai te tangata nona te Wenua-ki te ritenga o te utu e wakaritea ai e ratou ko te kai hoko e meatia nei e te Kuini hei kai hoko mona.
Ko te Tuatoru
Hei wakaritenga mai hoki tenei mo te wakaaetanga ki te Kawanatanga o te Kuini-Ka tiakina e te Kuini o Ingarani nga tangata maori katoa o Nu Tirani ka tukua ki a ratou nga tikanga katoa rite tahi ki ana mea ki nga tangata o Ingarani.
Use this source for: the exact words most rangatira heard and signed — especially which word appears in Article 1 and which appears in Article 2.
Limit: the words on the page are evidence of what the text says, not of everything each signatory understood, intended, or debated at the time. The full text also has an opening section and an attestation — read them at the link.
Open Schedule 1 in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 ↗Source B · Primary evidence
The Treaty of Waitangi — the text in English, 1840
The three articles, letter for letter as the statute reproduces them.
Article the First
The Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand and the separate and independent Chiefs who have not become members of the Confederation cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England absolutely and without reservation all the rights and powers of Sovereignty which the said Confederation or Individual Chiefs respectively exercise or possess, or may be supposed to exercise or to possess over their respective Territories as the sole Sovereigns thereof.
Article the Second
Her Majesty the Queen of England confirms and guarantees to the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand and to the respective families and individuals thereof the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess so long as it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their possession; but the Chiefs of the United Tribes and the individual Chiefs yield to Her Majesty the exclusive right of Preemption over such lands as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to alienate at such prices as may be agreed upon between the respective Proprietors and persons appointed by Her Majesty to treat with them in that behalf.
Article the Third
In consideration thereof Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand Her royal protection and imparts to them all the Rights and Privileges of British Subjects.
Use this source for: the exact words of the English text — especially what Article 1 takes and what Article 2 promises to protect.
Limit: an English text cannot tell you what a te reo Māori text says. Neither text explains how it was translated, presented, or understood at each signing hui.
Open Schedule 1 in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 ↗Source C · Later interpretation — Parliament, 1975
Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 — long title and preamble
The Act that created the Waitangi Tribunal opens by stating, in law, why a tribunal is needed:
Preamble
Whereas on 6 February 1840 a Treaty was entered into at Waitangi between Her late Majesty Queen Victoria and the Maori people of New Zealand:
And whereas the text of the Treaty in the English language differs from the text of the Treaty in the Maori language:
And whereas it is desirable that a Tribunal be established to make recommendations on claims relating to the practical application of the principles of the Treaty and, for that purpose, to determine its meaning and effect and whether certain matters are inconsistent with those principles.
Use this source for: evidence that the difference between the texts is not a classroom theory — it is acknowledged in statute, and an institution exists because of it.
Limit: a 1975 Act tells you how Parliament responded 135 years later. It is not evidence of what anyone said, heard, or intended in 1840, and “the principles of the Treaty” is Parliament’s phrase, not either text’s.
Open the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 ↗1 · Provenance grid | Nō hea te mātāpuna?
Careful: Sources A and B were created in 1840 but reproduced in a 1975 statute. Record both dates where they matter.
| Source | Creator / date / type | Purpose or audience | Strength created by provenance | Limit created by provenance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | ||||
| B | ||||
| C |
2 · Same article, different words | He kupu rerekē
For each article, copy the exact phrase that does the main work in each text. Quote — do not translate from memory.
| Article | The te reo text (exact phrase) | The English text (exact phrase) | What shifted between them? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · What is given to the Queen? | |||
| 2 · What is protected or guaranteed? | |||
| 3 · What do Māori receive? |
🪶 Kupu under pressure: what kāwanatanga and tino rangatiratanga meant to rangatira in 1840 is a real historical question that scholars, iwi, and the Waitangi Tribunal continue to examine — it is not settled by a dictionary line, and this lab does not settle it either. Your evidence here is narrower and stronger: the two texts use different words, and you can quote them.
3 · What did 1975 concede?
- Quote the sentence in Source C that states the relationship between the two texts.
- Parliament responded to that difference by creating a tribunal to determine the Treaty’s “meaning and effect”. What does needing such a body concede about the texts on their own?
- “The principles of the Treaty” appears in Source C but in neither Source A nor Source B. Whose words are the “principles”, and what job are they doing?
4 · Scope test
Tick every reach this source set genuinely supports. Cross out any reach that overclaims. Add a note explaining your hardest call.
☐ The wordsWhat each text says, exactly
☐ The differenceThat the two texts differ
☐ The 1975 responseHow Parliament reacted
☐ 1840 understandingsWhat each signer meant
5 · Evidence-and-limit claim
Claim shape: The two texts differ in Article… where the te reo text says “…” and the English text says “…”. Source C shows that this difference… This evidence does not prove…
Curriculum alignment | Hononga marautanga
This lab teaches the statement directly — the main articles are the evidence on the page:
Main articles of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi | te Tiriti o Waitangi
Kaiako note | Before you teach
Resources already provided: both texts’ articles verbatim, the 1975 preamble, provenance grid, comparison table, scope test, claim frame, and writing spaces are the complete student packet for Lesson 2.
The excerpts are reproduced letter-for-letter from Schedule 1 of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, including 1840 orthography and punctuation. For interpretation beyond the words — how the texts were made, presented, and understood — preview the Waitangi Tribunal’s page on the Māori and English versions, and use Te Aka for kupu glosses rather than asserting a single translation. Do not stage a debate about whether the difference matters: Parliament conceded that in 1975. The open questions are what the difference means and for whom — keep those tied to sources.