New Zealand Tourist Guides — History

New Zealand saw its first human settlers less than a thousand years ago. The Polynesian navigator, Chief Kupe, was, according to Maori legend, the first man to arrive in New Zealand in about 950 AD. Legend gives Hine-te-aparangi, his wife the honor of naming New Zealand 'Aotearoa', the Land of the Long White Cloud.

This initiated a trickle of Maori settlers over the next two hundred years, culminating in great fleets of Polynesians arriving in 1350. It is presumed that the Maori left their original homelands due to food shortages; however, in their new lands they found very few mammals for hunting, as New Zealand has no native mammals. They had to turn to seafood, rats and dogs, and learned to grow kumara (sweet potato), taro and yam. They also resorted to the practice of cannibalism, displaying the shrunken heads of their victims treasured as trophies. Maori society was tribal and hierarchical in nature, and many wars were fought over territory.

The first European to sight New Zealand was the Dutch explorer, Able Tasman in 1642. While anchoring in Golden Bay he was attacked savagely by the Maori, he returned to Europe without setting foot on New Zealand soil. His aborted experiences probably discouraged other explorers; it was only in 1769, 127 years later, that Captain Cook finally arrived in New Zealand. In spite of various bloody encounters with the Maori, Captain Cook finally initiated trade with them, and established a British colony. The 19th century saw many Europeans making their way to New Zealand and establishing Pakeha (white settler) settlements, and 1840 saw Britain establish supremacy over the islands with the historic Treaty of Waitangi, where the Maori acceded sovereignty to the British Crown in return for protection and guaranteed possession of their lands. Unfortunately, matters did not run smoothly, and the 1860's saw many battles between the Pakeha and the Maori - these were known as the New Zealand land wars.

The later part of the 19th century saw temporary peace and social reform in the spheres of education, political rights, women's rights, social security and labor reforms Large scale sheep farming and gold mining saw New Zealand becoming a prosperous nation.

Heavy casualties in both the World Wars affected New Zealand, with probably the world's highest per capita casualty rate during World War II. In 1947, New Zealand was formally proclaimed as an independent nation, and continued to grow in economic and international stature. It became one of the founder members of the United Nations, joined the EEC in 1973, took part in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and more recently, staunchly proclaimed its anti-nuclear status by refusing to let American warships enter its territorial waters.

There have been many efforts to protect Maori interests - in 1975 the Waitangi Tribunal was established to ensure reclamation of their lost lands and treasures. In 1992 a commission was set up to protect Maori fishing rights, and the Sealord Agreement was signed to transfer one-third of all commercial fishing quotas to the Maori. Major compensation and a formal apology by the Queen marked the Waikato Raupatu settlement. Today, the Maori population is overtaking the white population, and New Zealand society is making deliberate efforts towards an integration of both cultures. However, land rights and financial reparation issues are still issues that are not fully solved, causing militant Maori factions to periodically raise their voices.

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