First encounters (New Zealand)

Where can I find information about the first encounter between Māori and European explorers in New Zealand?

(Years 5-8)

Illustration of Mohua (Golden Bay), Aotearoa NZ. It shows 2 of Abel Tasman's ships surrounded by Māori in their waka. — Image: Gilsemans 1642 by Isaack Gilsemans on Wikimedia Commons.

Entry last updated: 29/06/26

Introduction

On 6 October 1769, James Cook saw New Zealand from on board the ship Endeavour. He sailed into Poverty Bay two days later. This became the first meeting between Māori and Europeans. Before this, Abel Tasman sailed into Golden Bay in 1642, but after a short conflict with Māori he did not make a landing.

Cook's voyage was followed by other Europeans, like whalers, traders, missionaries and settlers.

General websites

The first encounters between Māori and Europeans were important and set the tone for future relationships. These websites have information about what happened and the impact of European explorers and settlers on Māori.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about Aotearoa New Zealand. If we look down to the bottom of the page, we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

Go to Topics.
Choose Māori and Pākehā encounters.
From there choose European discovery of New Zealand.

Te Ara also has excellent information about the impacts of colonisation on society.

Go to Topics and choose History.
Select Māori.
The sections The arrival of Europeans, Decline and revival, and Urbanisation and renaissance have information about the impacts of colonisation.
Enter keywords such as 'colonisation impacts' or 'colonisation effects' into the search bar to see what other articles you can find.

Tips: Before searching, make a list of words to use. These are sometimes called keywords. They can be the name of a person, place, or event you are researching. If your keyword doesn’t work, try other names or spellings.

NZ History

This is another site from the Ministry for Culture & Heritage that focuses on the history of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Go down the page and select Culture and Society.
Look under Pre-1840 contact to find Encounters.
Explore Early meetings between peoples or follow along with Cook's First Voyage to New Zealand.

Tips: Sites that have .govt.nz are from NZ government organisations. We like sites like this because they’re reliable and relevant to us. Sometimes they will have links to other reliable websites. You can follow these links to find more info :)

The Aotearoa History Show

This video series is made by Radio New Zealand (RNZ). It tells the story of Aotearoa New Zealand from when the land was formed to today.

Go down to the podcast on Early Encounters.
This has informaton about the impact Europeans had on Māori food, culture, technology, weapons and conflict.

The Prow

This website is managed by Nelson Public Libraries and has historical and cultural stories from Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman. It has an overview of what took place when Abel Tasman came so close to New Zealand.

Open the Our Stories button and choose Events.
Look through the stories to find The first meeting - Abel Tasman and Māori in Golden Bay / Mohua.
Check out Further sources for other resources.

Tips: Websites with .org or .net in the address can have useful info, but you need to check that it’s reliable. Check the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the organisation’s mission and values are.

Raranga tuku iho, tohatoha whiwhi ōrite - dual heritage, shared future - LEARNZ

This is one of the online field trips on the LEARNZ website. They have photos, videos, background information, and articles. This trip has information about the meeting of Māori and Europeans.