Birth of a Nation

At the Bay of Islands, in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the Maori chiefs and the British which meant that NZ became part of the British Empire.  By 1845, some of the Maori population had begun to realise that perhaps the Treaty was not all that they had been led to expect!  The Union Jack at  Kokorareka was cut down several times by Maori rebels and the township was virtually destroyed in fighting over the following years.

When the town was resettled, it was named after Lord John Russell, the radical leader of the House of Commons, but tension between cultures remained.  Towns have Maori names, but the street names could be anywhere in Britain.

This is the historic spot where the Maoris agreed to be part of the British Empire a major step to creating New Zealand as we know it today.