We start our day at the Te Puia cultural center.. Of the four and a half million people in New Zealand, about 675,000 are Maori, and most of them (roughly 85%) live on the North Island. There are legends and theories about how the Maori arrived here. Archeology tells us that Polynesians arrived about 1000 years ago, and the Maori descended from those original settlers. Legend and history both suggest that the Polynesian discovery of this land wasn’t accidental, but the result of navigation using the stars as a guide. This was no pleasure cruise.
The area of Te Puia was first occupied around 800 years ago. Built on a strategic rise beneath cliffs, surrounded by deadly hot pools, (thanks to the Ring of Fire), the fortress was fairly impenetrable, overlooking the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. (‘wh’ is pronounced like ‘f’… which makes me return to the name of this valley over and over with pre-adolescent glee.) The area was so well protected, even an 1886 volcanic eruption just north of Rotorua didn’t wipe out the local population.
The first European to see New Zealand was a Dutch explorer searching for a southern continent filled with mineral wealth. But the first to navigate and map it was Captain James Cook. He was followed by whalers, traders, and sealers from several countries, as well as missionaries.
The ‘‘new arrivals’ traded with the Maori, brought previously unknown germs (to which the native population had no immunity), and guns, which the natives learned to use. The result was a decline in the Maori population... this has often been the story when Europeans come into a long-isolated area.
Cultural instability grew as each country’s representatives tried to stake their claims and purchase land from the Maori. British settlers increased rapidly, and the need for some sort of British ‘control’ became apparent. Great Britain appointed an ‘Official British Resident’ to organize Māori chiefs into a united body that could bring some control to the chaos--that didn’t work.
As an alternative, the British and Maori formed a treaty that made New Zealand part of the British Empire by NZ choice (not by war). Britain sent Captain William Hobson to organize the treaty, but this didn’t give him the right to organize a government. With a little clever (devious?) planning, the colony of New South Wales (in Australia) extended its control to any parts of NZ that had been given to the Queen. So when Hobson said, ‘The Queen sent me,’ British government arrived with him. There were changes over the years, but ultimately the New Zealand Act replaced the constitution act that had effectively put NZ under British rule.
I am going to confess right here that the paragraphs above constitute the weakest excuse for ‘history’ that you will find, because sources offer varying dates and information. But I have a feeling you would prefer to read about what I saw rather than the history I read, so I’m going to provide some sources at the end for your reference. Feel free to comment and correct.
In the 60’s, the government moved to encourage and restore the Maori culture, arts and crafts, leading to the development of Te Puia Cultural center. It was originally a place to teach weaving and carving and it still includes the original schools for those arts. But now there is also dramatic presentation of Maori dances, history, much explanation, and information, film, and guides. Many of the guides are the direct descendants of the original tribes who settled here 800 years ago.
**History sources:
New Zealand in History history-nz.org/index.html
New Zealand History http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/
New Zealand http://www.new-zealand-nz.net/history.html
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