is a locality on the north side of the Waitangi River in the Bay of Islands, north of Whangārei, on the North Island of New Zealand. Here, two documents pivotal to New Zealand history were signed: the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand, on 28 October 1835, and the Treaty of Waitangi, on 6 February 1840.
Waitangi is close to the town of Paihia, to which it is connected by a bridge near the mouth of the Waitangi River estuary. While Statistics New Zealand and NZ Post consider the southern boundary of Waitangi to be the river and estuary, with the area further south being part of Paihia, the area by Te Tī Bay, immediately south of the river, is sometimes referred to as part of Waitangi.
Etymology
"Waitangi" is a Māori-language name meaning "noisy waters" or "weeping waters", probably referring to the Haruru Falls on the Waitangi River.
History
Signing of Treaty of Waitangi
thumb|[[Elizabeth II in Waitangi, December 1953]]
The Treaty of Waitangi proper began on 5 February 1840 when a public meeting was held on the grounds in front of James Busby's residence. Lieutenant Governor Hobson read a proposed document to the 300 or so European and Māori who were in attendance and then provided the Māori chiefs an opportunity to speak. Initially, a large number of chiefs (including Te Kemara, Rewa and Moka Te Kainga-mataa) spoke against accepting the Crown's proposition to rule over Aotearoa. Later in the proceedings a few chiefs began to entertain the idea; amongst the more notable chiefs to support the Crown were Te Wharerahi, Pumuka, and the two Hokianga chiefs, Tāmati Wāka Nene and his brother Eruera Maihi Patuone.
Treaty Grounds
thumb|right|[[James Busby's house at Waitangi]]
Waitangi Treaty Grounds has been open to the public since 1934. What is now called the 'Treaty House' was first occupied by James Busby, who acted as the British resident in New Zealand from 1832 until the arrival of William Hobson, and his wife Agnes Busby. The Treaty House was restored in the 1930s, in preparation for New Zealand Centenary in 1940, sparking the first emergence of the Treaty into Pākehā attention since the 19th century.
Te Whare Rūnanga, a carved Māori meeting house, was built near the Treaty House in 1939 and opened on 6 February 1940. The area of the whare is sometimes used as if it is a marae and referred to as the "upper marae", although it is not a true marae. There is a marae, Te Tii Waitangi, in Te Tī Bay on the south side of the Waitangi River that is sometimes referred to as the "lower marae".
Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi opened on the grounds in 2015.
Wharf
The Waitangi Wharf is at the mouth of the Waitangi River estuary, and is used by passenger ferry services between Russell and Paihia. In 1990, artist Selwyn Muru requisitioned copper from the historic wharf piles, and incorporated these into Waharoa, a sculpture located in Aotea Square, Auckland.
Demographics
Statistics New Zealand describes Waitangi as a rural settlement. It covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km<sup>2</sup>. The settlement is part of the larger Puketona-Waitangi statistical area.