1000 AD- Maori arrive from other parts of Polynesia.
1642- Dutch explorer Abel Tasman visits New Zealand.
1769- British captain James Cook explores coastline, also in 1773 and 1777.
1815- First British missionaries arrive.
1893- New Zealand becomes world's first country to give women the vote.
1907- New Zealand becomes dominion within British Empire.
1914- Outbreak of World War I. New Zealand commits thousands of troops to the British war effort.
1939-1945- Troops from NEwZealand see action in Europe, North Africa and the Pacific during World War II.
1947- New Zealand gains full independence fron Britian.