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[edit] New Zealand
The retored Treaty House at Waitangi
In New Zealand, the Treaty House refers to the house of the British Resident in New Zealand, James Busby. The Treaty of Waitangi, the document that established the British Colony of New Zealand was signed in the grounds of the Treaty House on 6 February 1840. Subsequently it was used for agricultural purposes, storing hay, and then became derelict. However it was extensively restored in 1940 for the centenary of the original signing and is now a part of the Waitangi National Monument. A further restoration using modern techniques was conducted in the 1990s. Part of the Treaty house holds a museum devoted to the treaty, and part to recreating life in the house in the mid 19th century[1]. A meeting house and a waka or carved war canoe, both made for the 1940 centenary is housed nearby, and a boardwark leads through an area of native bush. A further complex of buildings on the site is aimed at tourists and presents Maori cultural performances and a audiovisual presentation providing a contemporary Maori persepctive of the treaty. The marae of Te Tii is located nearby.
the 1940 Treaty centenary waka
In Japan a specially built treaty house in Yokohama was the site of the negotiation and signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa (or The Treaty of Amity and Friendship) signed on March 31, 1854, which established "a perfect, permanent, and universal peace" between the United States of America and the Empire of Japan. The treaty, secured largely on the strength of plenipotentiary Commodore Perry's gunships, led to the Harris Treaty which opened commercial trade between the two nations.
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