 By the mid-eighteenth century, a rich, complex
society had grown throughout the country, linked as one people
with myths and legends telling tales of the arrival of their
ancestors and of the formation of Aotearoa - The Land of the
Long White Cloud.
The first of the European voyagers arrived in 1642, a Dutch
explorer, Abel Tasman quickly left after four crewmembers were
killed and eaten by the Maori in Golden Bay. Over 100 years
later, Captain James Cook sailed south from Tahiti in the
Endeavour, successfully charting the coastline and establishing
workable relations with many of the Maori people he encountered
during his six-month stay. Although few Europeans arrived in New
Zealand over the 70 years that followed Cooks rediscovery, the
exploitation of the country’s natural resources began almost
immediately, as did the introduction of animals and manmade items
that saw Maori shift overnight from the stone to the iron age.
 The first European settlers were the
temporary sealers and whalers, who reduced the population of
these ocean mammals almost to extinction in a very short time.
They introduced disease, prostitution and firearms and developed
an unhealthy demand for shrunken heads - so much so that
Maori Chiefs began decapitating their own slaves, instead of
preserving only those who had been defeated in war. The Maori
people soon embarked on wholesale slaughter of one another and by
1830 the Maori population was reduced by a quarter. Alcohol,
tobacco tuberculoses, measles, venereal diseases and overcrowding
played a huge part in the demise of the indigenous people.
 The lawlessness problem, most prolific in Kororareka (now called
Russell), the unethical ‘purchases’ of Maori land and
the threat of French colonisation sparked the British to seek
annexation of New Zealand. A treaty was drawn up and read at
Waitangi on February 5 1840. With some Maori objections the
treaty was amended and signed by 45 chiefs and the British
resident, Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson the following day. Over 500
chiefs throughout the country signed the treaty over the next
seven months, and Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty,
establishing his capital in Kororareka.
The treaty seemed to promise benefits for
both Maori and Europeans, but discrepancies in translation and
misunderstanding of the concept of ‘sale’ resulted in
conflict. Many land sales were disputed, some land belonging to
whole tribes or local chiefs causing new tribal conflicts selling
that of other tribes. The Maori people became more and more
reluctant to sell, and known collectively as the Maori Wars,
fighting took place in many parts of the country during the
1860’s. Racism was rife with the Europeans abhorring the
‘savage practices’ and equally, the Maori’s
dislike of Pakeha material greed and social arrogance. While
development of the North Island temporarily faltered because of
the disputes, the South Island prospered with new farming and the
discovery of gold.
As the European population escalated at an alarming rate through
continual immigration, the Maori population declined, and with it
their mana. By 1900 the Maori population had dwindled to an
estimated 42,000 and today, not one fully blooded Maori exists -
but thankfully the culture and heritage continues with passion
amongst their descendants.
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