Auckland founded as the capital
- When
- 18 September 1840
- Where
- Auckland · Tāmaki Makaurau
- Reach
- Several regions
Hobson moved the seat of government to the Waitematā, on land offered by Ngāti Whātua, who wanted the Crown close as protection and as a trading partner.
Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei had strong reasons to invite the Governor: Ngāpuhi raids were within living memory, and a capital meant commerce. The tuku whenua that established Auckland was understood by Ngāti Whātua as a reciprocal gift creating an ongoing relationship, not an outright sale — an understanding the Crown did not honour, and one that runs directly to the Bastion Point occupation of 1977.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.
Related
Settlers outnumber Māori
For the first time the European population passed the Māori population — about 59,000 settlers to 56,000 Māori, on a Māori population that had roughly halved since 1800.
New Zealand Company settlers land at Port Nicholson
The Aurora arrived at Petone weeks before the Treaty was signed. Flooding soon pushed the settlement across the harbour to Thorndon.
PetoneFrench settlers arrive at Akaroa
Sixty-three French and German settlers landed on Banks Peninsula, days after a British warship had raised the flag to forestall exactly that.
AkaroaThe New Zealand Company’s Tory arrives
Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s company sent a ship to buy land before Britain could annex the country, forcing the Crown’s hand.
Port Nicholson