Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand
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In 1835 James Busby, the official British Resident in New Zealand, drafted a document which he and 35 northern Māori chiefs signed as A Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand at Waitangi on October 28, 1835. The chiefs signed this declaration of independence and in the process established themselves as representing a proto-state under the title of the "United Tribes of New Zealand".
The document arose in response to concerns over the lawlessness of British subjects in New Zealand and to a fear that France would declare sovereignty over the islands. It also arose from a desire in Māori society to establish a form of Māori government.
The hereditary chiefs and heads of the tribes of the Northern parts of New Zealand declared the constitution of an independent state. They agreed to meet in Waitangi each year to frame laws, and invited the southern tribes of New Zealand to "lay aside their private animosities" and join them.
The signatories sent a copy of the document to King William IV of the United Kingdom, asking him to act as the protector of the new state.
Some commentators state that the claim to independence lasted only until the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) in 1840; others dispute this. Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi guarantees to the chiefs their continued chieftainship, and ownership of their lands and treasures (taonga). It also specifies that Māori could sell land only to the Crown. Most New Zealanders consider the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of the nation of New Zealand/Aotearoa, with formal sovereignty vested in the British crown, but the existence of different versions of this treaty, in both Māori and English, and its brevity, leave this subject to arguments over the preferred interpretation. De facto however, the federation of independent tribes became subsumed into a new political body after 1840, regardless of the legality or legitimacy of this process. The Treaty of Waitangi thus voided the "Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand" for all practical purposes; and the Treaty rather than the Declaration provides the legal foundation of claims for the redress of historical wrongs. For this reason, constitutional lawyers regard the Declaration of Independence as an historical document that no longer has legal force.
External links
Official Independence of New Zealand from Britain: Dominion Day?
On 26 September 1907 the United Kingdom granted New Zealand "Dominion" status within the British empire. New Zealand declared the date Dominion Day. As a potential 'National Day', Dominion Day never possessed any emotional appeal. To regard it as a national "Independence Day" seems very questionable. An alternative candidate date for a 'New Zealand Independence Day' exists: the day New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster Act on 25 November 1947. See discussion under Independence
Note that New Zealanders overall seem to have little interest in asserting a definitive independence break from Britain as a focus of national identity, preferring to stress ethnic co-operation and an independent foreign policy as markers of nationhood while maintaining a nostalgic respect or connection with the former metropolitan power. The concept of a national "Independence Day" seems foreign to the New Zealand psyche - and obsessing about the idea an Americanistic quirk. Compare Waitangi Day.