pre-1840 contact

A frontier of chaos?

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  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 – Overview

  The experiences of the explorers Abel Tasman, James Cook and Marion du Fresne convinced many Europeans that New Zealand was a dangerous place.

• Page 3 – Māori values and practices

  Māori responses in the early contact period were determined by well-established customs and practices.

• Page 4 – The Boyd incident

  In December 1809 the sailing ship Boyd was anchored in Whangaroa Harbour. It was attacked by a group of Māori who killed most of its crew and passengers in retaliation for the

• Page 5 – Captain Stewart and the Elizabeth

  In 1830 Captain William Stewart of the brig Elizabeth made an arrangement with the Ngāti Toa leader Te Rauparaha to ferry a taua (war party) of 100 warriors from his base on

• Page 6 – The Harriet affair

  The rescue of Betty Guard and her two children from Ngāti Ruanui in the spring of 1834 involved the first use of British troops on New Zealand soil.

• Page 7 – Kororāreka

  The missionaries divided the Europeans who came to New Zealand in the early 19th century into two groups: the agents of virtue (themselves) and the agents of vice (almost

• Page 8 – Further information

  Links and publications relating to case studies of Māori–Pākehā clashes before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi

Go-betweens

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  An important feature of early cross-cultural contact in New Zealand was the role of intermediaries (kaiwhakarite) who acted as go-betweens – people from one culture who lived within the other culture and helped bridge the gap between the two.

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• Page 2 – Pākehā-Māori

  Europeans who settled in Māori communities and adopted a Māori lifestyle were described as 'Pākehā-Māori' .

• Page 3 – Maori intermediaries: Ruatara

  In 1805 the Ngāpuhi chief Ruatara left New Zealand on the whaling ship Argo with the intention of meeting King George III.

• Page 4 – The first woman settler?

  Charlotte lived with a Ngāpuhi chief and refused to be 'rescued' on at least two occasions, before disappearing from the record.

• Page 5 – Further information

  Publications and links relating to Pakeha-Maori and Maori-Pakeha in the pre-1840 period

Missionaries

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  The Christian missionaries of the pre-1840s have been described as the 'agents of virtue in a world of vice', although they were not immune to moral blemish themselves.

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• Page 2 – Establishing the Church Missionary Society

  Samuel Marsden was a key figure in the establishment of the first Christian mission in New Zealand.

• Page 3 – Men of vice or virtue?

  Thomas Kendall established the first mission school, but he was later suspended after admitting an adulterous affair with a Maori woman.

• Page 4 – Fixing God's house

  Henry Williams, who had been ordained a priest in 1822 'for the cure of souls in his majesty's foreign possessions', inherited a mission beset by problems.

• Page 5 – Wesleyans and Catholics

  How Maori responded to the arrival of Wesleyan and Catholic missionaries in the Bay of Islands

• Page 6 – Printing the word of God

  From the mid-1830s the printed word became a new weapon in the campaign to bring Christianity to Maori.

• Page 7 – Further information

  Publications and links with information about pre-1840 missionaries

Treaty timeline

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  See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi.

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• Page 1 - Treaty events 1800-49See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi.

Taming the frontier

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  In 1832 James Busby was appointed as the official British Resident to New Zealand. After arriving in the Bay of Islands in May 1833 he took steps to tame what he saw as a chaotic frontier society.

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• Page 2 – New South Wales and New Zealand

  By the early 1830s humanitarians were encouraging the British government to take a more active role in New Zealand affairs.

• Page 3 – Choosing a flag

  The selection of the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand as New Zealand's first flag

• Page 4 – Declaration of Independence

  At a hui (meeting) at Waitangi on 28 October 1835 called by James Busby, 34 northern chiefs who were to become known as the Confederation of United Tribes signed 'A Declaration

• Page 5 – Land issues on the eve of the Treaty of Waitangi

  In the late 1830s the British government became concerned about how land was being obtained from Māori. Action was needed, it decided, to protect Māori from the worst ravages

• Page 6 – A separate Crown colony

  Protecting Māori, regulating land purchases, controlling the activities of settlers and dealing with the potential influx of migrants underpinned British policy in 1839. New

• Page 7 – Further information

  Links and further information relating to the first New Zealand flag and the Declaration of Independence

A history of New Zealand 1769-1914

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  In the period between the first European landings and the First World War, New Zealand was transformed from an exclusively Māori world into one in which Pākehā dominated numerically, politically, socially and economically.

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• Page 1 - History of New Zealand, 1769-1914 In the period between the first European landings and the First World War, New Zealand was transformed from an exclusively Māori world into one in which Pākehā dominated

Sealers and whalers

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  A European population explosion first impacted on New Zealand in the closing decade of the 18th century when sealers and whalers began to arrive in their hundreds seeking to exploit local resources.

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• Page 1 - Sealers and whalersA European population explosion first impacted on New Zealand in the closing decade of the 18th century when sealers and whalers began to arrive in their hundreds seeking to

NZ in the 19th century

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  Broad survey of New Zealand's 19th-century history for students studying NCEA 3 History

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• Page 2 - Overview of NZ in the 19th century: 1800-40Broad survey of New Zealand's pre-Treaty 19th-century history for students studying NCEA Level3