Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Reading Worksheet (Grade 5)
Free printable reading worksheet for Grade 5 (NZ Year 6). An original passage on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the 6 February 1840 signing, the two texts and why they differ, with comprehension questions.
Reading: Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Read the passage carefully, then answer the questions in full sentences.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi, is an agreement between Māori rangatira (chiefs) and the British Crown. It was first signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands, where about 40 rangatira signed after a long day of debate. Copies then travelled around the country, and by the end of the signing meetings in 1840 about 540 rangatira had signed. New Zealand's national day, Waitangi Day, marks the first signing every 6 February.
The treaty was written in two languages, and the two texts do not say the same thing. In the English text, the rangatira ceded sovereignty, full ruling power, to the Queen. In the Māori text, which nearly all rangatira signed, they gave the Queen kāwanatanga, governance, while keeping tino rangatiratanga, their full chieftainship, over their lands, villages and taonga. Because the texts differ, Māori and the Crown have understood the agreement differently ever since, and working out what it means has been a major part of New Zealand's history.
In 1975 the government created the Waitangi Tribunal, a commission of inquiry that investigates claims that the Crown has breached the treaty. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is often described as a founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand, and it still shapes law, government and daily life today.
- 1.When and where was Te Tiriti o Waitangi first signed?
- 2.About how many rangatira signed on the first day, and about how many had signed by the end of 1840's signing meetings?
- 3.In the Māori text, what did the rangatira give the Queen, and what did they keep?
- 4.Why have Māori and the Crown understood the treaty differently?
- 5.What does the Waitangi Tribunal, created in 1975, do?
Accuracy and sources
These references support the historical wording and answer key on this worksheet.
- NZ History: The Treaty in brief — supports the 6 February 1840 signing at Waitangi, the roughly 40 signatures that day and about 540 across 1840, nearly all on the Māori text
- NZ History: Differences between the texts — explains that the English text ceded sovereignty while the Māori text used kāwanatanga and guaranteed tino rangatiratanga, so the two texts differ
- Waitangi Tribunal: Māori and English texts — the official body confirming the texts differ, and documenting the Tribunal's 1975 creation to investigate Crown breaches