after getting settled, Rob decided that he wanted to go and buy a piece of fish so off we went again back into town. After the fish purchase we decided to go and check out the area where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.

This was the treaty that is the founding document of modern New Zealand. The treaty was motivated by the vast expansion of the French in the Pacific area. The Maori thought that by asking Britain for help, it would save Aotearoa (the land of the long white cloud), the Maori name for New Zealand from being invaded by the French and therefore protecting their land from land-grabbing foreigners - what fools they were or more likely how naive were they to think that Britain would honour its word! The British drew up the treaty and then translated it into Maori, bearing in mind Maori was only ever a spoken language until Europeans arrived and insisted that there become a written

version. Personally I think Britain were rubbing their hands at the thought of adding yet another country to its vast empire, and as long as they could get through the formalities then in no time at all, New Zealand would be theirs to claim and exploit in any way they wanted. Before all copies of the Treaty had been signed by the relevant people who were spread over both islands, Britain had already claimed authority over parts of the Northern Island but claimed the whole of South Island by right of Cook’s discovery as it was considered by Britain to be without owners, even though their was already a significant Maori population and had been for a very long time. How snide is that?! One thing travelling the world has definitely taught me is how dodgy British history really is, you get such a watered down version from your education, that it is still a constant eye opener to see how unsound it really is. Rule Britannia - hmmm that great old song! It maybe have been great for Britain but is certainly