The First New Zealanders

Although there may be evidence of 'visitors' to the New Zealand Islands, it is generally

accepted that the first to settle the islands were the Polynesians, also known as the

Māori people. The first inhabitants of New Zealand arrived from Eastern Polynesia

during 600 AD and 1300 AD. According to the Maori people, the first explorer to reach

New Zealand was Kupe (Polynesian discoverer).

 

Before the British arrived and colonised the country, New Zealand was like Australia.

There was only land to be seen: there were no buildings and viaducts or any other

infrastructure. Sacred green land was in sight everywhere you looked. Like the

Indigenous Australians, the Māori people never cut down any land and took well care of

the nature because of the same reason as the Indigenous Australians: it provided food

and agriculture. However, they were not as depended on the land as the Indigenous

Australian's were.         

 

The Māori men were expert in hunting and fishing. The women wove fish nets from a

plant called harakeke (flax has played an important cultural and economic part of the

Māori people and later the European settlers). The women even carved fishhooks from

bones and stones. The men used the tools to catch fish and hunt for birds and other

edible goods. The women harvested the vegetables and berries that they grew. Weaved harakeke baskets were used to carry food and other needs. The Māori were strong and fearless and the men were great warriors and war fighters, they had their death spear. 

 

The two main tribes in New Zealand were the Māori and the Moriori. The Māori mainly lived throughout the North and South Islands. The Moriori (another Polynesian tribe) lived on the Cayman Islands. The Moriori are believed to have migrated from the South Islands of New Zealand. At that time, there were about 2000 Morioris living peacefully on the Cayman Islands.   

 

British Settlement

The first European colonisor that had contact with the Indigenous New Zealanders was the Dutch sailor Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1642, however, he himself did not go ashore. More than a century later, Captain James Cook makes his voyage to the Islands. This inspires other Europeans to explore New Zealand. The first British fleet arrived in New Zealand the 22nd of January 1840, decades after the colonisation of Australia.  

 

Within days of settlement, the British established their own society and way of living. The Māori couldn't do anything but stand and watch as their land was robbed away inch by inch. Like the British in Australia, the settlement began to spread all over New Zealand, finally reaching down to the other tribe who called themselves the Moriori. By the end of the settlement, the Māori were forced to assimilate into British society and culture, eventually living like them.       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conflic Arises

In the mid 1840s, violence broke out between Māori people and the British. They were mainly fighting about the land and the authory. As the settlers hoped to gain more land for a growing population, the result of the conflict became more severe in the 1860s. Even though the Māori fought indomitably for their land, they eventually lost millions acres (square meters), and like the Indigenous Australians, they were forced to live in poverty and starve on what was once all theirs. 

 

Effects of Colonisation

Before European contact, the life expectancy for the Māori people were 30 (higher than the average British live expectancy), and after British contact, the life expectancy of these people dropped drastically. By 1891, the life expectancy for men were 25, and the women were just 23. 

 

The population also declined steadily. Before contact, the Indigenous population was estimated to be well over 100 000, however, the population dropped to between 40 000 and 70 000. From the period 1810 and 1840, there were around 120 000 deaths caused by various illnesses normal amongst the British people. The diseases introduced were mainly the reason why the population of Māori dropped. 

 

More importantly, the Māori also lost their land. Within days of British arrival, they declared the land as theirs. Without their land, the Indigenous Māoris were forced to live in poverty and lost access to their traditional food sources. Lack of food and poor diet was also a reason why the Māori population steadily fell. 

 

Culture Differences

Like the Indigenous Australians and the British, the Māori and the British had vast cultural differences, and this also had a huge impact on the colonisation of New Zealand.

 

The Māori's Culture:

• Harmonious and peaceful area to live in

• No war

• Dependet on the land

• Sea and land were sacred

 

The British Culture:

• Civilised 

• More superiour culture than the Māori's culture

• More modern tools and technology

 

New Zealand Today

Today, Māori make up New Zealand's 15% of the population.. The Māori now live across the whole of New Zealand and some still live in their traditional tribal areas. For those who don't, they moved into urban centers. Aside from English, the Māori language is also an official language in New Zealand.