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Nov 11, 1280
Polynesian Settlement
Polynesians in the South Pacific were the first to discover the land mass of New Zealand -
French
Several other explorers, many of them French, visited New Zealand in the years after Cook’s first visit -
THE START OF NEW ZEALAND
In 1642, the coastline of South Island was sighted by the Dutch East India Company explorer, Abel Tasman. There were brief encounters with the Maori as his crew tried to come ashore. A few of his sailors were killed, but the Captain himself never set foot on land. -
Arvial of the european ship
but it was probably not until 1642 that a European sighted New Zealand. -
Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville
Several other explorers, many of them French, visited New Zealand in the years after Cook’s first visit. The most important of these was Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville. He sailed through the dangerous French Pass in the Marlborough Sounds and investigated the east coast of the North Island. -
BRITISH EXPLORER
In 1769, the legendary British explorer, James Cook, sailed into New Zealand waters and mapped most of the shoreline. After news of these unspoiled islands spread across the far-reaches of the globe, a hardy group of traders and whalers were quick to arrive. -
first sighting by english
The English navigator Captain James Cook sighted New Zealand on 6 October 1769, and landed at Poverty Bay two days later. -
Marc Joseph Marion
Another French explorer who reached New Zealand was Marc Joseph Marion du Fresne. His ships anchored in the Bay of Islands in mid-1772. But Māori tribal groups in the area were at war, and the presence of the French made matters worse. Marion du Fresne and 24 others were killed. -
British Settlement
The number of non-Maori living in NZ began to rise. -
HOBSEN
n 1840, Hobson, in his new role, arrived on North Island. Subsequently, Maori chieftains entered into a compact with Britain called the "Treaty of Waitangi." They ceded sovereignty to Britain's Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights - at least on paper. -
MAORI
With the British in charge, scores of settlers from the British Isles arrived and organized colonial settlements were built. At first the Maori welcomed them, but the inevitable conflicts over land rights brought land wars to New Zealand in 1843 and 1872. As a result, the Maori people were pushed out of their ancestral lands.