History of New Zealand
Maori Discovery & Settlement
The famous Maori navigator Kupe is believed to have made landfall in New Zealand about 950AD. Legend has it that he and his wife first sighted the land wreathed in a long, white cloud, leading them to name it Aotearoa (Land of the long white cloud).
The Maori migration of seven canoes from Hawaiiki (now thought to be the Society Islands near Tahiti) arrived in New Zealand around 1350AD. Over the centuries, Maori established a tribal society that flourished in the bountiful environment of Aotearoa. It wasn't until 1642 that the first European, Abel Janszoon Tasman, spotted the Southern Alps, though he wasn't curious enough to send a landing party.
European exploration
British explorer Captain James Cook made the first of three visits to New Zealand in 1769, making landfall in
Gisborne, on the North Island’s east coast (
Eastland). Cook's importance in New Zealand history is paramount, not only because of his many discoveries and remarkably accurate maps, but also because of his observations of Maori traditions and culture. He made detailed notes on their animals, ornaments, tattooing, clothing, weapons, cannibalism, foods, musical instruments, rituals and ways of life.
Christian missionaries weren't far behind the sealers, whalers and rogues who came here in the 1700s, and by the early 1800s, European colonisation began in earnest. By the late 1830s, the British were keen to establish New Zealand as a colony. They wanted to better their abysmal record of their treatment of native peoples in other colonies but had already acknowledged New Zealand as independent.
The Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (so called because
Waitangi, in the
Bay of Islands, was where the first 43 of over 500 chiefs signed the treaty on 6 February, 1840) was designed to transfer Maori 'sovereignty' to the British crown. Waitangi celebrations are held annually on 6 February to celebrate the signing of the treaty and its place in New Zealand history, but it remains a contentious issue. Maori land claims are still in the process of being heard and settled by the Waitangi Tribunal. For more information, visit
www.treatyofwaitangi.govt.nzKingitangaThe Maori King movement (Kingitanga) is an important unifying force in Maoridom. The first Maori King was elected in 1858, and the current Maori King, Tuheitia, reigns from Ngaruawahia's Turangawaewae Marae. The former Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who died in 2006, is now buried at the sacred burial ground of
Taupiri Mountain just outside
Ngaruawahia.
