History New Zealand is a recently-settled major landmass.The first settlers were Eastern Polynesians.Over the following centuries these settlers developed into a distinct culture now known as Maori.The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman and his crew in 1642 British explorer James Cook reached New Zealand in 1769 and mapped almost the entire coastline.Following Cook,New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling,sealing and trading ships.In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi[2]was signed between the British Crown and various Maori chiefs,bringing New Zealand into the British Empire.In 1907,New Zealand became an independent Dominion and when the Statute of Westminster(1931)was ratified,it became a fully independent nation in 1947 as a member of the British Empire. History New Zealand is a recently-settled major landmass. The first settlers were Eastern Polynesians. Over the following centuries these settlers developed into a distinct culture now known as Maori. The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman and his crew in 1642. British explorer James Cook reached New Zealand in 1769 and mapped almost the entire coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing and trading ships. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi[2] was signed between the British Crown and various Maori chiefs, bringing New Zealand into the British Empire. In 1907, New Zealand became an independent Dominion and when the Statute of Westminster (1931) was ratified, it became a fully independent nation in 1947 as a member of the British Empire