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The first arrivals
Debate about where and when the first arrivals in New Zealand came from continues. Evidence
of early artefacts and fossil pollen from forest fires most solidly points to these brave travellers
originating from the islands of East Polynesia, probably reaching our shores in the 1200s. While
it is difficult to be sure just where the first landings were made, there are clusters of sites on the
north-east of the North Island, both sides of Cook Strait and the south-east of the South Island.
Mäori waka (canoe) traditions have their own stories, with descendants of at least four waka
(Tainui, Mataatua, Horouta and Nukutere) generally claiming the eastern Bay of Plenty as their
landfall. Another three tell of arrival on the eastern side of North Cape and two
off the northern Coromandel Peninsula.
The new settlers didn’t stay in one place for long periods.
As their exploration and establishment
within New Zealand spread, so did
their discoveries further afield. Bone
fish hooks and chert (a flint-like form of
quartz) found in the Auckland Islands
and Enderby Island show Polynesians
visited there about 1350. Similar carbon
dates and fragments of Tühua (Mayor
Island) obsidian, link Kermadec and
Norfolk Island sites to New Zealand
about the same time. At some stage
in the 14th or 15th century a group
of staunch New Zealand Polynesian
descendants sailed all the way to the
Chatham Islands to establish their own
population.
This pattern of travel, exploration
and settlement covered the next four
centuries.
The cultural context
Moa-hunter flake
Photo: B. McKinley
Like colonisers elsewhere, the East Polynesian explorers and their Mäori descendants learned by
trial and error. Initially they learned to move through the bush, hunt, and establish cultivation. Moa
and other giant birds, e.g. the Haast eagle, were an important source of protein along with fur
seals, sealions and elephant seals. Local minerals such as obsidian, basalt, serpentine and chert
made knives and adzes. Cultivation of kümara (sweet
potato), which they brought with them, and other plants
sourced from within New Zealand was important. It
became more so when, less than 200 years later,
many of the big game birds were already hunted out.
Consequently smaller birds such as kererü, weka and
kiwi became significant and lead Mäori to develop new
hunting techniques.
The number of settlements, käinga (villages) and pä
(fortified villages) increased along with competition
for food. In the North Island and mid to upper areas
of the South Island people travelled less, choosing to
preserve what supplies and resources they had. As
well, the look and style of art changed from Polynesian
to what we now understand as Mäori .
This adaptive stage lead to the development of a much
more tribal culture. Stories and memories of East
Polynesia receded and were replaced by those created
in Aotearoa. They became tangata whenua.
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Cultures collide
A positive bonus was
Cook’s cartography.
The charts he produced
defined New Zealand’s
major islands so accurately
they continued to be used
through the19th century and
into the 20th.
James Cook called the
archipelago New Zealand,
a slight corruption, as
Zealand is not an alternative
spelling of Zeeland.
Other explorers soon
followed. In 1769 Jean de
Surville passed within
80 km of the Endeavour
to spend a fortnight in
Northland’s Doubtless
Bay where he conducted
the first Christian service
in New Zealand waters on
Christmas Day. Another
Frenchman, Marion du
Fresne, who brought two
vessels to Northland in 1772
experienced a different
outcome. Relations were
initially friendly between the
French sailors and local
Mäori, but after several
weeks, Marion du Fresne
and 25 of his crew were
killed, probably the result
of a breach of tapu (sacred
values) by the French. Julien
Crozet took over command
of the expedition and, in
retaliation, destroyed a
village killing up to 300
Mäori .
In 1791 a two-vessel
expedition en route for
America accidentally
discovered the Chatham
Islands. Commanded
by Lieutenant William
Broughton the Chatham was
blown off course, revealing
the north-west corner of the
main island which would
later take the brig’s name.
A misunderstanding over an
attempt to barter led to an
island inhabitant being shot
by Broughton’s men. This
incident was still part of the
island’s oral history when
more Europeans arrived in
the 19th century.
The Dutch East India Company’s commercial explorations of the 1600s sent explorer Abel Tasman
deep into the South Pacific. His first sighting of new land was the mountainous west coast of
the South Island, in December 1642. His two-vessel expedition sailed north and five days later
anchored in Golden Bay, near Nelson. Dutch journals describe the sad events surrounding the
first meeting between Mäori and European. A skirmish on the water between Mäori warriors and
Tasman’s men resulted in the death of three Dutch sailors. One of the locals may also have been
wounded or killed, there are no records of the encounter from the inhabitants, Ngäti Tumatakokiri.
The incident prompted Tasman to depart without delay, without setting foot on land. He returned to
what is now Indonesia, naming the new country Staten Landt, the name was later changed to Nova
Zeelandia by Dutch cartographers after Zeeland a province in the Netherlands.
James Cook’s arrival 126 years later in 1769, after a tragic and confusing beginning (see Cooks
Landing National Historic Reserve fact sheet), recorded a quite different contact between Mäori
and Europeans. Cook’s visit involved meetings with Mäori around the country held on shore and
aboard the Endeavour. They were facilitated by a Tahitian high priest, who spoke some English,
and boarded the Endeavour in Tahiti as Cook’s guest. During the Endeavour’s initial six month
circumnavigation and his subsequent voyages, Cook made it his business to get to know Mäori
and learn of their culture. The later engagements involved bartering of Mäori traditional foods
and artefacts for European cloth, iron tools and other items. Cook also introduced new plants
and animals including potatoes, turnips and pigs. Detrimental impacts were the introduction of
influenza and venereal disease and the escape to shore of ship rats. Cook’s encounters with Mäori
involved casualties on both sides. Despite such incidents, the overall impact of Cook’s voyages
seems to have established good relations between Mäori and future Päkehä visitors.
A new conflict
Cook may not have left any of the firearms he introduced to Mäori behind, but it wasn’t long before
other providers arrived. Sydney-based merchants found muskets made easy bartering material for
flax and timber. The musket was to have a profound effect on Mäori society, rapidly changing the
nature of inter-tribal warfare.
Despite possessing some muskets a Ngä Puhi force was defeated by traditionally armed Ngäti
Whatua forces in 1807. Revenge for this defeat was one of the motives behind Ngä Puhi’s largescale acquisition of muskets. From late 1810 onwards Ngä Puki commenced large-scale musket
raids on other tribes which sparked off a massive round of armament, revenge and destruction.
The fighting continued during the 1820s and 30s, and thousands of Mäori were killed, displaced or
enslaved by other tribes. Some small tribes were nearly exterminated and others were displaced.
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Technological and social changes
The demand for muskets
instigated a trade of its
own. It meant long periods
of harvesting flax or
producing potatoes and
pigs as payment.
In 1822, in the Bay of
Islands, it cost 70 buckets
of potatoes and two pigs
for a single musket.
In total at least 20,000
Mäori died during the
musket wars. It is thought
these battles finally
diminished due to the
growing European interest
in acquiring tribal land
and the gradual spread of
Christianity.
Running concurrently with the musket wars the following changes of practice and understanding
had a profound influence on Mäori society.
•
Pigs and potatoes changed Mäori economy. The ease of growing and storing potatoes made it
possible to carry out large-scale musket war expeditions. By 1849, in Northland at least, Mäori
had adopted many Päkehä crops, animals and farming techniques.
•
The settlement of shore whalers and traders meant there was a constant influx of new ideas
and technologies. It was the beginning of intermarriage and the ‘sale’ of land to Päkehä. Also,
the presence of British subjects in New Zealand created a potential ‘law and order’ jurisdiction
problem for the British Empire – one of the factors leading to the Treaty.
•
In 1815 missionaries began to arrive and although it took 15 years before any major conversion
of Mäori to Christianity, the missionaries had important impacts before this. They acted as
intermediaries between Mäori and traders, helped negotiate peace settlements between tribes,
and along with whalers and traders, introduced new technologies and farming practices.
Perhaps their biggest impact on Mäori culture was the development of a written form of te reo
Mäori. Literacy became a prized achievement. By 1840 many Mäori were literate and a great
many professed to have adopted some form of Christianity.
•
Unfamiliar diseases were having a major effect on Mäori health and mortality, as well as
causing them to question their traditional beliefs.
The Treaty of Waitangi
The musket wars, a growth in trading,
missionary activity, land purchases
and general lawlessness began to
attract attention and concern in Britain.
Consequently, James Busby was
appointed as New Zealand’s first British
Resident, arriving in the Bay of Islands in
May 1833.
His mandate focused on protecting New
Zealand’s trade with Australia, the safety
of the growing number of British subjects
living here, and encouraging Mäori to a
more stable form of government. Busby
set to work and by 1835 had persuaded
34 chiefs to sign a Declaration of the
Independence of New Zealand, and to
ask the Crown for protection. Further
signatures brought the total to 52. The
signatories pledged to assemble at an
annual Waitangi congress to frame laws.
The Declaration was also designed to
thwart the plans of French adventurer,
Baron de Thierry, who was planning to
establish ‘a sovereign and independent
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Busby’s main duties,
outlined in instructions from
Governor Richard Bourke
(Australia), were to protect
‘well disposed settlers and
traders’, to prevent outrages
by Europeans against Mäori
and to apprehend escaped
convicts. However, apart
from the occasional naval visit,
Busby was provided
with no means of enforcing
his authority. The British
government refused to
station a warship in New
Zealand; as a civilian, Busby
was not entitled to troops.
His appointment to an
independent territory
precluded his holding
magisterial office; he had
no powers of arrest and
was unable to take sworn
testimony. His role was
limited to that of a mediator
in matters affecting British
subjects alone, and a kind
of race relations conciliator
in disputes between Mäori
and Päkehä. Not surprisingly
his record in both areas was
unimpressive. New Zealand
dictionary of Biography, Vol. 1
state in Hokianga’. The document declared New Zealand to be an independent state under the
protection of the British Crown and established the chiefs as a legislative authority which was to
meet annually at Waitangi, although it had no constitutional status. Nothing came of the congress,
but the declaration, acknowledged by the British government, provided one reason for making a
treaty of cession in 1840. The declaration would later be significant as a mark of Mäori national
identity.
Despite these efforts, concern in England continued to grow about the volatile state of New
Zealand society. At the same time a private firm, the British-based New Zealand Company, was
planning to formally colonise New Zealand and set up its own government. Missionaries asked the
British government to intervene to protect British and Mäori interests. The New Zealand Company
settlers were generally not in favour of the Treaty and believed that the British Government was too
pro-Mäori. Consequently Capt. William Hobson was appointed as Her Majesty, Queen Victoria’s
Consul to New Zealand.
Hobson arrived in the Bay of Islands on 29 January 1840, with instructions to negotiate a willing
transfer of sovereignty from Mäori to the Crown. Over four days, with the help of his secretary and
Busby, he produced a document to implement the transfer – the Treaty of Waitangi. The missionary
Rev. Henry Williams provided a Mäori translation, which he wrote overnight on 4 February. Both
versions were presented at a major hui (meeting) of northern chiefs at Waitangi the next day.
While both versions were presented, the chiefs understood only the Mäori version which was not a
direct translation of the English. Concepts such as chieftainship, sovereignty and rights to taonga
(special or valued possessions) were particularly difficult to agree upon and after five hours no
consensus was reached. Talks carried on late into the night before several chiefs were prepared
to sign the Mäori version on 6 February. Between then and 3 September the Treaty travelled the
length and breadth of New Zealand with 480 chiefs signing the Mäori version and 32, from a tribe
at Port Waikato, the English version. Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over the whole country
on
21 May 1840, making it a dependency of New South Wales. A year later New Zealand’s own
charter took effect, making it a separate colony of Great Britain.
Industry evolves
Sealing and whaling
In the early 1790s fur seals were the first European commercial operation in New Zealand,
providing skins to the Chinese as payment for English tea consumption. By the early 1800s a
demand for New Zealand commodities was growing. Wars created the need for timber and flax,
European cities and
machines needed
marine-mammal oil
for lubrication and
lighting and seal
fur made popular
clothing. Going on
Cook’s reports of
seal abundance,
the first, Australianbased, fur-sealing
team set up in Dusky
Sound in 1792. They
collected 4,500 seal
skins over a year.
Thousands more
followed with an
estimated reduction
in New Zealand’s fur
seal populations of
up to half a million,
bringing them
close to extinction
between 1804 and
1809.
As the sealing
declined, whaling
gained strength,
with both ocean
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and shore whaling production peaking in the 1830s. Shore-based whaling employed many Mäori
around the east coast of both islands. Sperm whales were the principal target of ship-based
whaling and southern right whales were mainly pursued from shore. It is estimated that more than
80% of all whaling voyages to the South Pacific occurred during 1830–1850 with about 6,600
sperm whales taken in New Zealand up until 1913. About 14,000 right whales were killed and they
were nearly exterminated by 1842. Once these stocks were diminished, humpbacks were targeted
with more than 3,740 taken between 1911 and 1962 by whaling stations in Cook Strait.
Timber and flax
New Zealand timber was popular due to its suitability for spars and hulls. In the 1790s ships
from the British East India Company started using wood from Hauraki for spars and masts but it
was during the 1820s that the industry flourished. Kauri particularly, sourced from Northland and
Coromandel, was sought for ship building. The maritime industry also used flax to make ropes,
nets, sacks and sails and there was a thriving export market from flax harvests around New
Zealand during the 1820s–30s.
Gold
Although traces of gold were found near Coromandel as early as 1842, serious efforts to remove
it 10 years later proved unsuccessful. There was a small, but significant, gold rush in Golden Bay
in the South Island in 1857–60, which brought over 2,000 prospectors to the district. Otago was,
however, the first really big alluvial gold rush in the early 1860s, notably Gabriel Read’s find at
Tuapeka, which lead to others around the region and attracted many Chinese. Discoveries on the
west coast of the South Island followed, which were a mix of quartz and alluvial deposits and in the
Hauraki area later that decade. By 1871 there were 693 stamper batteries crushing quartz around
Thames. The Martha Mine in Waihi produced four billion dollars worth of gold between 1879 and
1952.
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Kauri gum
A different kind of gold featured in the mid 1800s until about 1925. Kauri gum became important
particularly around Auckland and Northland and provided a source of income for Dalmatian
communities, originally from Croatia. The digging process was highly labour-intensive, especially
once the more accessible surface deposits had been taken. Long steel ‘spears’ were used to
probe deeply into the ground and if gum was detected it had to be dug out by hand. By the
end of the 19th century an estimated 8,000 men were gum digging before the industry became
uneconomic.
Coal
If gold and gum pursuits were driven by dreams of wealth, coal kept the country
going. Early coal removal was small-scale and worked by hand at sites such as
north-west Nelson. From the 1860s onwards coal mining came into its own at sites
on the South Island’s west coast and Huntly in the Waikato. The Brunner Mine near
Greymouth was the most productive in the late 1880s with others opening up as it
eventually closed. Blackball came on stream in 1893, removing 5.5 million tons of coal
in its 71 years of operation. Old mining relics on the original sites are a stark reminder
of the dangerous, dust-ridden efforts of hundreds of men.
Agriculture
New Zealand’s rural economy fame began with sheep. From the mid-1800s.South Island tussock
lands and North Island forests were extensively cleared for grass to feed them. Their wool was
readily transported and exported, and they were much cheaper to feed than cattle. The first
shipment of frozen meat to Britain was made on the Dunedin in 1882, up until then meat and dairy
products could only be sold locally. The country’s first dairy factory opened in Edendale in 1882
with Taranaki and Waikato soon joining Southland as major butter and cheese producers. The early
meat trade after 1882 was almost entirely mutton and lamb. With a steady British demand, New
Zealand’s place in the rural market was becoming well established by the early 1900s. Once meat
and dairy products could be sent to Britain, New Zealand became much more tied to the British
economy. Beef and veal became significant as exports around 1912.
New Zealanders
The number of non-Mäori living in New Zealand in 1830 was just over 300. Within 10 years that
number had grown to more than 2,000, by 1858 to 59,000 and by 1881 there were about 500,000
European residents. Drawn by promises of a better life and escape from over-population, class
systems and poverty, new settlers flocked primarily from England, but also Scotland, Ireland and
Wales along with parts of Europe. Many settlements were established, mostly with the assistance
of organised immigration programmes. The New Zealand Company brought more than 15,500
people into the country, followed by highly successful central government immigration campaigns
in the 1870s and 1880s.
Gender imbalance
In 1871 there were 89,000 men and just 46,000 women aged over 20, meaning hundreds of men
had little prospect of a settled family life or children. Absorbed into the developing industries
of timber milling, shearing or mining, they often lived in remote camps with only other men for
company. Attracting more women to New Zealand was the focus of Prime Minister, Julius Vogel’s
‘Vogel scheme’ in an effort to redress the imbalance. Offering free passages to single British
women, generally enticing them to domestic work paid at a higher rate than in England, the
scheme achieved its aim – by 1891 the adult sex ratio was 56% male to 44% female.
People and development
Of the 400,000 immigrants who came to New Zealand from the 1830s to early 1880s, 300,000
remained and there were a further 250,000 births. In contrast, the Mäori population had been
declining since 1769 when there were between 100–110,000. In 1840 there remained about 70,000
Mäori, by 1881 the figure had reduced to 46,000 and continued to decline as a result of disease
and low fertility for the next two decades.
The influx of people lead to developments which established New Zealand trade and industry
as well as its political framework. Transport and evolving technologies such as refrigeration and
communications entered a new era. Under the administrations of Julius Vogel and then Harry
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Atkinson, provincial governments were abolished and replaced by a system that is the basis of
modern local and central government.
New Zealand today
In the 21st century New Zealand has a diverse, multi-cultural population of over four million people.
Most New Zealanders are of British descent while Mäori make up around 15%. Other important
ethnic groups include Polynesians and Asians, whose numbers continue to rise.
The country attracts a growing number of visitors from around the world.
References
Department of Conservation. Te Pukenga Atawhai – Te Kete a te Rito.
Jones, K. (1994) Ngä Tohuwhenua Mai Te Rangi : a New Zealand archaeology in aerial
photographs. Victoria University Press.
King, M., (2003). The Penguin History of New Zealand. Viking.
Smith, N. (2001) Heritage of Industry: discovering New Zealand’s industrial history. Reed.
Young, D. (2004). Our Islands, Our Selves. University of Otago Press.
www.doc.govt.nz
www.historic.org.nz
www.dnzb.govt.nz
Photo: R. Henderson
Photo: C. Rudge
www.stats.govt.nz
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