In 1840 more than 500 chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document. Ngā Tohu, when complete, will contain a biographical sketch of each signatory.
| Signature | Sheet | Signed as | Probable name | Tribe | Hapū | Signing Occasion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | Sheet 8 — The Cook Strait (Henry Williams) Sheet | Rewa | Tāmati Wairuakīngi Ngārewa | Te Āti Awa | Ngāti Hinetuhi | Queen Charlotte Sound, 4-5 May 1840 |
Tāmati Ngārewa signed Te Tiriti at Queen Charlotte Sound on 4 May 1840. He was described on the Treaty sheet by Henry Williams as a ‘principal rangatira’. He led the hapū of Ngāti Hinetuhi, who came originally from Urenui, in North Taranaki.
At the time of the Treaty he was living at Anahou in Queen Charlotte Sound. In the mid 1850s the hapū shifted to a reserve at Port Gore, a bay close to the northern tip of the Marlborough Sounds.
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