Hare Hongi Hika of Ngapuhi organised a petition to the Government asking for money to build a meeting hall at Te Tii marae, near the grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed nearly 40 years previously. The aim was to formalise Te Tii as place for discussions about the Treaty.
"The house should be used as a place where the Governor might explain the instructions of the Queen in regard to the Maori people," said the petition, "and where Native chiefs could return thanks for the benefits they have received from Her Majesty."
In the end, the petitioners had to raise the money themselves but within a year they succeeded not only in erecting their meeting house but also a monument commemorating the Treaty with the Maori text inscribed on the base.
Although the building has long since been replaced, the monument still stands.
And Te Tii remains a focal point of the political calendar with Treaty discussions - and protests - taking place every year on the eve of Waitangi Day.
