A private collector outbid three of the country's libraries to take home a rare document of national significance from New Zealand's early pioneer history at an auction in Auckland yesterday.
The one-page paper artifact is believed to be the only remaining proof copy of Governor William Hobson's original Treaty of Waitangi proclamation of sovereignty.
Collector Spencer Scoular bought the document for $31,000 and says he plans to loan it to a museum for the public to view.
RNZ reporter Amy Williams was at the auction.
