Who was James Busby and How did he Play a Role in the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi?

General Overview

James Busby (born 1802 and died 1817) was a British Resident in New Zealand for seven years starting from 1833. James Busby was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and worked as a British Representative and a British Resident in New Zealand.

Busby’s Job

Busby’s main job was to p
rotect settlers from harming the Maori. These incidents were common at the time as most people thought of Maori as “low-class”. Busby was given little support to achieve these goals. Though he was also supposed to catch escaped convicts, he had no right to make arrests. Additionally, he had no troops or police. Therefore, his nickname given to him by the Maori was “Man-o-War without guns”. Busby was aware of these issues and was later assisted by Lieutenant Thomas McDonnell.

Contributions to the Treaty

In 1840, Busby co-wrote the draft for the Treaty of Waitangi with William Hobson and James Freeman (William Hobson’s secretary) which was debated at his house or what is now known as the “Treaty House.” According to Tepapa, Busby was unimpressed with Hobson writing the treaty as he had no legal training. Therefore, he redrafted the treaty and added an important promise: that the Maori would keep their lands.