After gathering further signatures at the Waimate mission station on 10 February, William Hobson and his party – without Henry Williams and Charles Baker, but now joined by Richard Taylor and George Clarke – set out for Hokianga on the morning of 11 February. The journey took them across cultivated land and through dense bush until they reached the settlement of Waihou, from where they travelled onwards in a flotilla of waka and brightly decorated boats provided by the local settlers and Wesleyan missionaries.

As they passed the house of Thomas McDonnell, the Additional British Resident, at Hōreke, the group were given a 13-gun salute. At four o’clock, they reached Mangungu, where Hobson addressed the local Pākehā and invited them all to attend the next day’s meeting.

This 1851 marine chart of the upper Hokianga shows the sites passed by the group on their journey. Waihou River begins at the extreme top right, while the Mission Station is located at the centre of the chart. Also shown are the lands of local Māori iwi or hapū, as well as the home of trader and anti-Treaty advocate, John Marmon.

Zoom or download to enlarge.

Archives Reference: ADOE 16621 W676 Box 1/ 1C/ 1091B archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=21488179

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Material supplied by Archives New Zealand