New Zealand memang dikenali sebagai destinasi pelancongan yang kebersihan dan keindahaannya tidak dapat dinafikan lagi. Kini, negara Kiwi itu kian menjadi pusat pendidikan pilihan di kalangan masyarakat antarabangsa. Malaysia juga tidak ketinggalan menghantar pelajar-pelajarnya untuk melanjutkan pelajaran terutamanya di institusi-institusi pengajian tinggi di negara itu yang juga bernama Aotearoa (bermaksud ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’).

Sejarah menarik mengenai New Zealand…

The Fish of Maui

Uneasy and suspicious because of Maui’s magical powers, his brothers were loathe to have him accompany them fishing. Notwithstanding, Maui hid himself in the bottom of their canoe armed with an enchanted hook which had been shaped by the famous jawbone. He did not emerge until they were well out to sea and then urged his companions to go yet further and still further. At length a halt was made, the fishing began, and soon the canoe was filled with the catch. The brothers now wished to return but Maui desired to try his luck. He had no bait and the others refused to give him any; however, undeterred, he struck his nose and smeared the blood which gushed over the magic hook. This hook caught the home of Tonga-nui, grandson of Tangaroa, god of the ocean, and the fish that was hanging from the line of Maui was no less than a portion of the earth. The canoe came aground and Maui left his brothers with strict instructions neither to eat nor cut up the fish until he had made appropriate prayers and offerings to the gods. But the brothers disregarded these warnings, with the result that the fish started to toss about – hence the unevenness of the land today. This is now known as the North Island of New Zealand or Te Ika a Maui, the fish of Maui. The fish hook, according to legend, became the cape which now forms the southernmost tip of Hawke’s Bay.

http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/MauiLegendsOf/TheFishOfMaui/en

Arriving in Aotearoa

According to Maori, the first explorer to reach New Zealand was Kupe. Using the stars and ocean currents as his navigational guides, he ventured across the Pacific on his waka hourua (voyaging canoe) from his ancestral Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki. It is thought that Kupe made landfall at the Hokianga Harbour in Northland, around 1000 years ago.

Tribal Waka

More waka hourua followed Kupe over the next few hundred years, landing at various parts of New Zealand. Today, many iwi (tribes) can trace their entire origins and whakapapa (genealogy) back to certain waka hourua.

Early Visitor

The first European to sight New Zealand was Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. He was on an expedition to discover a great Southern continent ‘Great South Land’ that was believed to be rich in minerals. In 1642, while searching for this continent, Tasman sighted a ‘large high-lying land’ off the West Coast of the South Island.

First Contact

First to discover New Zealand in 1642, Abel Tasman annexed the country for Holland under the name of ‘Staten Landt’ (later changed to ‘New Zealand’ by Dutch mapmakers). Sailing up the country’s West Coast, Tasman’s first contact with Maori was at the top of the South Island in what is now called Golden Bay. Two waka (canoes) full of Maori men sighted Tasman’s boat. Tasman sent out his men in a small boat, but various misunderstandings saw it rammed by one of the waka. In the resulting skirmish, four of Tasman’s men were killed.

European Migration

Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, but it was after Captain James Cook began his circumnavigation of the country in 1769 that European migration began. The first European migrants were whalers and missionaries.

One Nation

In 1839 there were only about 2000 Pakeha ( Europeans) in New Zealand. However the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, which saw New Zealand become a British colony, had an enormous effect on the New Zealand population. British migrants were offered a paid passage to New Zealand, and 40,000 arrived here between 1840 and 1860. By 1858 the Maori and Pakeha populations were nearly equal. The South Island gold rush of the 1860s saw even more migrants flood in from around the world, including English, Scots, Irish and Chinese.

http://www.newzealand.com/travel/about-nz/history/history-home.cfm