1839: Sale of land to the New Zealand Company
The London-based New Zealand Company ship, Tory, arrived in Tara's harbour in September 1839. Aboard the Tory, the Port Nicholson Purchase deed was signed by 16 Māori chiefs and New Zealand Company representatives, led by Colonel William Wakefield.
The deed allocated one-tenth of the purchased land to the signatory chiefs and their families. The rest was to be sold to British settlers, including those who, at the time, were already sailing through the Pacific en route to New Zealand.
At the time the deed was signed, Waiwhetu chief Wiremu Puwhakaawe (Puakawa) warned "What will you say when many, many white men come here and drive you all away into the mountains?".