Travel through our timeline of major events in New Zealand's history.600 A.D. -1300 A.D.:The first inhabitants of New Zealand, the Maori, arrive from eastern Polynesia.
1642:Dutch sailor Abel Janszoon Tasman becomes the first European to reach New Zealand.
1769:English explorer Captain James Cook makes the first of his three voyages to the islands. His journals inspire other Europeans to explore New Zealand.
1840:The Maori sign the Treaty of Waitangi giving control to the British in exchange for protection and guaranteed Maori possession of their lands.
1860:A decade of land wars begins between the Maoris and European settlers.
1861:Gold is discovered in Tuapeka. This leads to a gold rush.
1893:New Zealand becomes the first country to give women the right to vote.
1907:The country becomes a dominion, or self-governing community, within the British empire.
1947:New Zealand gains independence from Great Britain.
1953:New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary becomes the first person to climb to the top of Mount Everest.
1985:New Zealand no longer allows U.S. nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships to enter its ports. French secret service agents blow up a Greenpeace ship called Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbor.
1987:New Zealand hosts and wins the inaugural Rugby World Cup.
1997:Jennifer Shipley becomes the country's first female prime minister.
2005:Prime Minister Helen Clark wins her third election.
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