The History of New Zealand

There is a lot of varied history about New Zealand, each race has a different story on how the history of New Zealand began, it is thought that New Zealand was explored before the birth of Christ! The Moiori, Whakapapa and European versions of the history of NZ are very mainstream views and there are also some radical views from other ethnic groups which are very interesting.

Pre European Explorers

Polynesians were the original settlers of New Zealand when they arrived between 1000 and 1300 CE but there is some evidence that there may have been earlier settlements. The descendants of the Polynesians became known as Maori, with a seperate settlement on the Chatham Islands a known as the Moriori people. They are thought to be mainland Maori who ventured eastward.

They quickly took advantage of the large game on the islands to feed themselves which have now become extinct. A large flightless bird called the Moa which was like an ostrich and were prey to the harpargornis, which was the largest bird of prey ever recorded. They brought to the island sweet potatoes and taro and cultivated the cabbage tree. Cannibalism played a small part in their diet.

The European Explorers

The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to reach New Zealand with his crew on board his ships the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen. Tasman anchored at the north of the South Island in 1642 but quickly moved to Tonga after a dispute with the local Maori.

Tasman called the two islands Staten Island, which Dutch cartographers changed to Nova Zeelandia in Latin which derived from Nieuw Zeeland in Dutch. It was then Anglicised as New Zealand. James Cook visited the islands 100 years later on the HM Bark Endeavour in 1769.

The Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty was signed on 6th February 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. It was signed by representatives of the British crown and Maori chiefs form the North Island. From the British point of view, the treaty justified making New Zealand a British colony. Now it is considered the founding point of New Zealand as a nation.

The English and Maori versions of the Treaty differ, which means it makes it difficult to interpret the meaning. The biggest difference is two words from the Maori interpretation, kawanatanga (sovereignty) and rangatiratanga (chieftainship). Few Maoris had any understanding of either of the words, which some historians see as the Maoris not fully understanding that they were ceding sovereignty to the British Crown.

Because the Treaty is short in length and has limited scope, it is not seen as a suitable document to be a constitution and is not recognised as such. But because it is New Zealand's founding myth it is seen as a vitally important document.

Current History

The current Labour party in succession now is run by Helen Clark, who has been there for three terms. She is the first Labour leader to do this since World War II. Labour has formed coalitions with the Alliance and then Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition and been supported by the United Future, New Zealand First and Green parties.

New Zealand was featured as "Middle-Earth" for the filming of the Lord of The Rings Trilogy which was filmed and directed by Peter Jackson, a New Zealand born and bred. This has been great for the additional interest in tourism for the nation.