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Story: Te tango whenua – Māori land alienation

Wellington Harbour, 1841

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Wellington Harbour, 1841

The purchase of Wellington by the New Zealand Company was one of a number of pre-Treaty purchases confirmed by a special commissioner, William Spain. Pre-Treaty purchases had to be confirmed before a Crown grant was issued.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: C-025-009

by Charles Heaphy

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.

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How to cite this page

Richard Boast, Te tango whenua – Māori land alienation – Pre-treaty transactions, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/19514/wellington-harbour-1841 (accessed 8 June 2026).

Story by Richard Boast, published 1 March 2009, updated 1 July 2015.