When did the maori's discover new zealand?

Answer 1

The first Maori (or Polynesian) to discover Aotearoa (New Zealand on today's maps) was known as Kupe the Navigator.

There are many versions of this story, but it is said that Kupe was fighting a huge octopus which had been disturbing fishermen in his mythical homeland of Hawaiiki. The fight with the octopus brought him all the way to the shores of a new land.

Kupe and his crew arrived in this new land at Raukawakawa (Cook Strait), where they killed the Octopus.

it is said that Kupe's wife named the land Aotearoa after first sighting it. Literally Aotea Roa means "Long Cloud" or the more glamourous "Land of the Long White Cloud".

In Mythology, Maui the Demigod, fished the North Island of Aotearoa (Te Ika A Maui) out of the sea. The South island is said to be Te Waka A Maui (the canoe of Maui).

Answer 2

The earliest dated settlements so far found are both in the South Island, and date from about 1300. There may have been earlier settlements, but either their traces have been destroyed by flood or volcano. There is good info on this in teara.gov.nz. The Wairau Bar in Marlborough and Shag River mouth, Otago are the early records.

Returning to the early history of New Zealand, much 'history' recorded in the early 1900s is now considered to be without foundation. For example, the 'Great Fleet' story was probably only that - a story. teara.govt again.

There almost certainly would have been earlier voyagers who visited NZ, before a settlement expedition set off, but of which little dependable evidence exists.