Te Tii Waitangi marae is located to the north of Paihia, next to the Waitangi River mouth in the Bay of Islands. It is the only marae in Waitangi. The principal hāpu are Ngāti Rahiri and Ngāti Kawa, who have strong affiliations to Oromahoe marae and belong to the Ngāpuhi confederation.
The wharenui, named Te Tiriti o Waitangi, was opened in 1922, replacing the original 1881 building; the wharekai is Te Ngakau Aroha. Te Tii Waitangi marae was originally a nikau building and the first parliament of the tribes of Ngapuhi, well before the opening of the 1881 building.
The adjacent land is where He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga (Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand) was signed on 28 October 1835. Five years later, 300 chiefs sat on the same spot to debate Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi), and signed it on 6 February 1840 across the present-day bridge at the home of the British Resident James Busby, now known as the Waitangi National Trust.
Te Tii Waitangi links to the inland mountain pa of Pouerua, and claims descent from the waka Ngātokimatawhaorua.
The cache is a 200ml Sistema. Bring your own pen.