Story: Kāwanatanga – Māori engagement with the state

Māori settlement, Bay of Islands, about 1835

Māori settlement, Bay of Islands, about 1835

Traditional Māori society was governed at a local and tribal level. This was very different from the national and international systems of governance familiar to the British officials who drafted the Treaty of Waitangi.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-196-038

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Paul Meredith and Rawinia Higgins, 'Kāwanatanga – Māori engagement with the state - Defining kāwanatanga', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/37431/maori-settlement-bay-of-islands-about-1835 (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Paul Meredith and Rawinia Higgins, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 Aug 2016