Story: Ngā whakataunga tiriti – Treaty of Waitangi settlement process

In May 2010 the Waitangi Tribunal's Te Paparahi o te Raki (Northland) inquiry began hearing around 400 treaty claims covering the Northland region. This shows the inquiry's first hearing, at Te Tii marae, Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands. Photographs of claimants' ancestors, a muzzle-loading musket and traditional fighting hatchets were among items placed on tables in front of the tribunal. The issues in this inquiry included the meanings of the English and Māori versions of the Treaty of Waitangi itself. The inquiry chair, Judge Craig Coxhead, noted that it could be the most challenging inquiry in the history of the Waitangi Tribunal.