1835 – 40 Concern over Māori welfare

In the late 1830s, following on from the report of the Select Committee on Aborigines (1836–1837) and the House of Lords inquiry into the 'present state of the islands of New Zealand' (1838), many humanitarians became concerned about the harmful effects on Māori of exposure to the various types of Europeans that arrived here. Missionaries intervened to discourage land sales, sometimes buying land themselves, at least partly in the role of trustees, to enable Māori to continue to retain access. They and others from New Zealand, Australia and England pressured the British Government to prevent the spread of immoral behaviour as well as the introduced diseases that were causing the population to markedly decline. Given Busby's inability to act, the preference was eventually for annexation and direct government.