european discovery

Events In History

Articles

Exploring New Zealand's interior

  • Exploring New Zealand's interior

    After charting the coastline, European surveying and exploration of the interior were a fundamental part of the settlement process, defining the boundaries of ownership and identifying resources, useable land and access routes.

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  • Page 1 - Exploring New Zealand's interior After charting the coastline, European surveying and exploration of the interior were a fundamental part of the settlement process, defining the boundaries of ownership and

A frontier of chaos?

  • A frontier of chaos?

    In the years before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, relations between Māori and Europeans were marred by a number of high-profile incidents.

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  • Page 2 - OverviewThe experiences of the explorers Abel Tasman, James Cook and Marion du Fresne convinced many Europeans that New Zealand was a dangerous

Biographies

  • Tasman, Abel Janszoon

    The dutch explorer Abel Tasman is officially recognised as the first European to ‘discover’ New Zealand in 1642. His men were the first Europeans to have a confirmed encounter with Māori.

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  • Cook, James

    Captain James Cook, the first European to define the outline of New Zealand, has left a permanent imprint on the consciousness of New Zealanders.

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  • Brunner, Thomas

    Thomas Brunner’s exploits in the north and west of the South Island between 1846 and 1848 were the greatest single piece of overland exploration in New Zealand's European history.

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  • Main image: James Cook

    Photolithographic portrait of James Cook, 1784.