NEW ZEALAND

History of New Zealand, the Youngest Country

New Zealand is the youngest country on earth - the last major landmass to be discovered. It has a rich and fascinating history, reflecting both our Maori and European heritage. Amazing Maori historic sites and taonga (treasures), some dating back almost a thousand years, are a contrast to many beautiful colonial buildings. A walk around any New Zealand city today shows what a culturally diverse and fascinating country we have become.

New Zealand, the Youngest Country Legend has it that New Zealand was fished from the sea. Fact has it that New Zealand was the last land mass on earth to be discovered, making New Zealand the youngest country on earth. Nation of Migrants The first New Zealanders, the Maori, migrated here from their ancestral Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki. This was followed about 800 years later by extensive European migration. The influence of Pacific Island and Asian immigrants during the 20th century has helped shape New Zealand into an even more vibrant and diverse multicultural society. From Hawaiki to Aotearoa Maori first landed in Aotearoa (New Zealand — literally ‘Land of the Long White Cloud) on waka hourua (voyaging canoes) from their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki probably over 1,000 years ago. They settled throughout the land, surviving by farming and hunting. By 1800 there were believed to be over 100,000 Maori in New Zealand. European Migration Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, but it was after Captain James Cook began his circumnavigation of the country in 1769 that European migration began. The first European migrants were whalers and missionaries. One Nation In 1839 there were only about 2000 Pakeha ( Europeans) in New Zealand. However the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, which saw New Zealand become a British colony, had an enormous effect on the New Zealand population. British migrants were offered a paid passage to New Zealand, and 40,000 arrived here between 1840 and 1860. By 1858 the Maori and Pakeha populations were nearly equal. The South Island gold rush of the 1860s saw even more migrants flood in from around the world, including English, Scots, Irish and Chinese. A labour shortage here in the late 19th century saw even more migrants from the British Isles and Europe come to New Zealand. Most came with assistance from the New Zealand Government. Local Maori guides continue the tradition of passing knowledge through story telling. More about this image Feature story THE LEGEND OF NEW ZEALAND Legend has it that New Zealand was fished from the sea. Read more about the legend and Maui, the gifted, daring, supernatural demigod of Polynesian mythology. Photo credit: Ministry of Education Read More ›  Wine and Gum From the 1890s over 5000 migrants from Dalmatia (now in Croatia) settled in the far north. Most Dalmatians worked in the gumfields, digging for gum from the giant kauri tree. When gumdigging ceased, many Dalmatians become involved with farming, intermarrying with locals and becoming part of the rural community. Dalmatian immigrants also established vineyards in West Auckland in the early 1900s. Today, some of New Zealand’s best-known wines, including Babich and Pleasant Valley, come from vineyards established by Dalmatians in this area.