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Aotearoa Interactive Timeline Project

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Aotearoa Interactive Timeline Project

Explore events in Aotearoa New Zealand’s past. Use the timeline and event cards to put events in order, notice connections, and plan a short presentation. Dates marked c. are approximate.

A timeline to explore

Read the dates from left to right. The events are shown in time order.

Event cards

Use these cards as evidence for your answers. Different events tell us about migration, exploration, agreements, rights, and change.

c. 1300 — Polynesian ancestors of Māori settled Aotearoa. The date is an estimate.

1642 — Dutch explorer Abel Tasman reached Aotearoa. Māori and his crew made contact.

1769 — British explorer James Cook arrived in Aotearoa during his first voyage here.

1840 — Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed at Waitangi. It was signed by rangatira and representatives of the British Crown.

1893 — New Zealand became the first self-governing country in which women won the right to vote in national elections.

1987 — The Māori Language Act recognised te reo Māori as an official language of New Zealand.

1.What does chronological order mean when we arrange events on a timeline?

Putting events in the order they happened
Putting events in order from most important to least important
Putting events in alphabetical order

2.Find 1642 and 1769 on the timeline. Which event happened first: Tasman reaching Aotearoa or Cook arriving?

3.Which event card gives an approximate date rather than an exact year? What does the c. tell you?

4.Which event happened closest to 1900: the first signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi, women winning the right to vote in national elections, or the Māori Language Act?

The first signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi
Women winning the right to vote in national elections
The Māori Language Act

5.True or false: The Māori Language Act was passed before women won the right to vote in national elections. Use the years to explain.

6.Choose one event from the cards. Write its year, what happened, and one reason it matters in Aotearoa’s history.

7.Put these three events in order from earliest to latest: the Māori Language Act; James Cook’s arrival; the first signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi.

8.Match each history word to its meaning.

Rangatira
Chronological
Estimate

Arranged in the order things happened
A careful guess when an exact answer is not known
Māori leader or chief

9.Plan a mini timeline of three events from the cards. Write the years and event names in order, then add a short caption explaining one connection or change you notice.

10.Prepare a short presentation about one event. Include when it happened, what happened, and why it is important. You may also include a question you would like to investigate further.