How old is New Zealand?

Answer 1

New Zealand has existed for 500 million years, and its current political status began in 1840, some 170 years ago.

In Detail

Geologically, the islands of New Zealand probably formed about 400 to 500 million years ago. The North Island is on the Australian continental plate, while the South Island is on the subducting Pacific plate.

The first known inhabitants were Polynesians who settled there between 1250 and 1300 AD (although some evidence points to an earlier group, around 50 to 150 AD). The indigenous natives became known as Maori.

The first European explorer was Abel Tasman in 1642, but he received a hostile reception. The name given by the Dutch to the islands was Nova Zeelandia.

The expedition of James Cook in 1769 first mapped the island group, and Christian missionaries established settlements in the early 1800's. The Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty on February 6, 1840. The Treaty is considered to be the founding document of New Zealand, and is therefore commemorated each year on February 6th. In 1841, New Zealand was officially separated from the New South Wales colony.

After interim changes were made to the constitution, New Zealand became an internally autonomous dominion on September 26, 1907, and joined the League of Nations on January 10, 1920. But neither of these dates is an Independence Day as such.

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