the first Governor of New Zealand. Hobson was dispatched from London in August 1839 with instructions to take the constitutional steps needed to establish a British colony in New Zealand; he was instructed to negotiate a voluntary transfer of sovereignty from Maori to the British Crown. He was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor in Sydney and arrived in New Zealand on 29 January 1840. Hobson was one of the co-authors of the Treaty of Waitangi. In May 1840, Hobson proclaimed sovereignty over the whole country, and New Zealand was constituted as a colony on November 16, 1840.
