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Story: Premiers and prime ministers

Ties of empire: the pen of peace

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Ties of empire: the pen of peace

New Zealand Prime Minister Wiliam Massey signed the Treaty of Versailles (the peace settlement at the end of the First World War) on behalf of New Zealand. The pen Massey used on that occasion is preserved in this elaborate stand in Parliament Buildings.

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How to cite this page

Gavin McLean, Premiers and prime ministers – Party leadership, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/object/33194/ties-of-empire-the-pen-of-peace (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Gavin McLean, published 7 May 2012, updated 1 December 2016.