New Zealand History: Difference between revisions

''[[New Zealand|New Zealand]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[New Zealand History|History]]''

Effective family history research requires some understanding of the historical events that may have affected your family and the records. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. These events may have led to the creation of records such as land or military documents that mention your family.  

You will better understand the lives of your ancestors if you use histories to learn about the events in which they may have participated. For example, by using a history you might learn about the events that occurred in the year your great-grandparents were married.

 

New Zealand is a British Commonwealth country. It is self-ruling, but its government and citizens recognize the Monarch of England as their sovereign. The history of New Zealand is the history of two distinct groups of people; the Maori who began arriving in the 10th century, and the European settlers who arrived in the 19th century. The Maori are a Polynesian people who migrated to New Zealand by waka (canoe) from other Polynesian areas such as Tahiti. Best archaeological estimates place their first arrival in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in the late 10th century and subsequent arrivals continued over the next few hundred years. Their society is made up of familial tribes, each with a chief at its head.  

 

'''10th C''' Maori begin arriving by canoe in New Zealand  

 

'''1350 '''By this time the main migrations were completed.  

 

'''1642''' Abel Tasman sailed up the west coast of New Zealand. The Dutch gave the islands their name.  

 

'''1769''' James Cook explored and mapped the coast line of both islands.  He claimed the land for Britain.  

 

'''1792''' The sealing and later whaling industries established stations along the coasts of both islands.  

 

'''1814''' Rev. Samuel Marsden of the Church Missionary Society (Anglican) arrived at the Bay of Islands with several companions and their families, who established missions on the North Island.  

 

'''1819''' New Zealand was declared a dependency of New South Wales by Gov. Macquarie. In 1823 the jurisdiction of the Courts of NSW was extended to New Zealand.  

 

'''1830'''Wesleyan mission was established.  

 

'''1837''' The New Zealand Company, formed by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, was established to aid in the settlement of British subjects at New Zealand.  

 

'''1838'''A French Catholic mission was founded.  

 

'''1840 '''The Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, was signed on 6 February by Maori chieftains and representatives of the British Crown.  

 

'''1841''' New Zealand was declared a separate British colony, independent of New South Wales.  

 

'''1843-72 '''New Zealand Wars.  Maori lost the rights to much of their native land.  

 

'''1846'''  

 

New Zealand divided into the two provinces of New Munster and New Ulster, which divided the North Island in half.  

 

'''1852''' New Zealand granted self-rule by the British government.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'''1958'''The LDS New Zealand Temple and the Church College of New Zealand in Hamilton were dedicated.

 

The Family History Library has several published histories for New Zealand. You can find histories by looking in the Family History Library Catalog under:  

NEW ZEALAND - HISTORY  

In New Zealand, local histories are found at the archives and libraries which are listed in [[New Zealand Archives and Libraries]]. The Family History Library has several local histories for towns and areas of New Zealand. They can be found in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:  

[[Category:New_Zealand]]