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Early New Zealand History

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Early New Zealand History

Read the short accounts to investigate how people reached, lived in and shaped Aotearoa New Zealand. Māori oral traditions and historical evidence are both important sources.

Voyaging and settlement

Māori ancestors travelled across the Pacific in ocean-going waka. Navigators drew on knowledge of stars, winds, ocean swells, birds and other signs to guide their journeys. Māori oral traditions tell of ancestral voyagers, including Kupe; accounts differ between iwi and hapū. Archaeological evidence indicates Polynesian settlement of Aotearoa by about the 13th century. Over generations, communities developed distinct relationships with their rohe and the environment.

1.Give two different clues that Pacific navigators could use to guide a waka across the ocean.

2.Why should a historian avoid treating one account of Kupe's voyage as the only version? Give one reason based on the passage.

3.Which statement is supported by archaeological evidence described in the passage?

Polynesian settlement of Aotearoa happened by about the 13th century.
Every iwi tells exactly the same story about Kupe.
Navigators travelled without using environmental knowledge.
All communities lived in the same rohe.

A changing coastline

In 1769, British naval officer James Cook arrived in Aotearoa during a Pacific voyage. His expedition made contact with Māori, but encounters varied and included both conflict and exchange. In 1840, representatives of the British Crown and many Māori rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Māori and English texts differ in important ways, and debate about their meanings and effects continues. Te Tiriti is a foundational document in Aotearoa New Zealand's history.

4.Write these events from earliest to latest: the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi; Polynesian settlement by about the 13th century; Cook's arrival in 1769.

5.How many years passed between Cook's arrival in 1769 and the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840? Show your calculation.

6.True or false: Every encounter between Cook's expedition and Māori was peaceful.

TrueFalse

7.Match each term to its meaning: waka; rangatira; rohe; kaitiaki.

waka
rangatira
rohe
kaitiaki

chief or leader
guardian or protector
area or territory associated with a group
canoe or vessel

8.The passage mentions oral traditions and archaeological evidence. Explain one kind of information each source could provide about early settlement.

9.The Māori and English texts of Te Tiriti o Waitangi differ in important ways. What is one reason historians should compare both texts and consider Māori perspectives when studying the agreement?