Charles de Thierry

Charles de Thierry was an adventurer of French émigré family who claimed to have bought land at Hokianga in New Zealand in 1820 and in 1835 announced his intention to make himself sovereign chief of the country. His claim alarmed the British Resident James Busby, who responded by gathering northern chiefs to sign the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand. De Thierry arrived in 1837, but his settlement failed and he later lived in Auckland.