Chapter Overview

The story of how people came to Aotearoa is one of the world's greatest adventures

Where did our ancestors come from?

  • A Nation Born of Sailors
    Tracing the arrival of people from across the Pacific, a journey of 3,500 years to Aotearoa.
  • Footsteps of Our Ancestors
    Why most people have never heard of the greatest migration in human history, until now.

How did people find new lands in the time before sat-navs?

  • Birds and Navigation
    How our Polynesian navigators turned to the sky for inspiration when exploring the Pacific.

Steering by sun, stars, and the natural world.

  • Navigation
    How the Polynesian equivalent of Jedi Knights used 'the force' to navigate the Pacific.
  • Create Your Own Current
    Nanogirl marine scientist Dr Kate Sparks demonstrates the power of ocean currents with an exciting experiment.
  • Star Compass
    How our Polynesian navigators developed a compass from the stars in the night sky.
  • Brains vs Gizmos
    Sailing from Tahiti to Aotearoa using two types of navigation: hi-tech gizmos and traditional brain power.
  • Fa'afaite: Wrong Way
    Just how accurate are traditional navigation methods compared to GPS satellite mapping?

Captain Cook gets the glory - but he had help!

  • Tupaia and Endeavour
    One of Polynesia's greatest navigators was with Captain Cook to steer him in the right direction.
  • Billy T
    One of Aotearoa's funniest men imagines what it was like when Māori first met Captain Cook.
  • Sydney to Tauranga
    Onboard a replica of the Endeavour to investigate navigation using a sextant instead of the stars.

The truth behind our arrival in Aotearoa.

  • Mythbusting Goldie
    Taking a closer look at one of the most famous paintings in Aotearoa, and how it shaped an enduring myth.
  • Journeys End
    In 2019, as part of the Tuia 250 celebrations, waka hourua sailed from Tahiti to Aotearoa, marking the beginning of a new story.

Download the Land of Voyagers Overview PDF

Part 1 - The Untold Story

Extension Exercises

  1. When Polynesian sailors set sail across the Pacific, the last pyramids were rising above Ancient Egypt. What else was happening in the world 3,500 years ago, around 1,500BCE ?
  2. The Vikings are famous for their incredible voyages across the Atlantic in their longships. But how far did they travel compared to the ancient Polynesian voyagers?
  3. The sweet potato was domesticated thousands of years ago in the Americas. So how did it travel 7,500 kilometres to the islands of Polynesia?
  4. Captain James Cook first sighted Aotearoa in 1769, but he didn't name the new land. So why do we live in a country called New Zealand?
  5. Within 30 years of Captain Cook’s first arrival in New Zealand, whalers were prowling our seas. Fortunes were to be made from whalebone (the baleen was used to make corsets and umbrella ribs), and from whale oil (used as lamp fuel and to lubricating the gears of industry). So why did sealers come to these shores?

Anthropology in Action

For more information on the Polynesian migration, check out the work of Lisa Matisoo-Smith: Professor of Biological Anthropology at the University of Otago and Principal Investigator in the Allan Wilson Centre. Her research focuses on identifying the origins of Pacific peoples and the plants and animals that travelled with them, in order to better understand the settlement, history and prehistory of the Pacific and New Zealand.

Download PDF: LENScience - Rethinking Polynesian Origins: Human Settlement of the Pacific

Map Your Origins

Another way to Map Your Origins in the classroom is to use magnets on a whiteboard map. Extension questions include:

  • Why do people move or migrate?
  • What are Push Pull factors?
  • What are the countries of origin famous for? What is the national dish, favourite sport, best known musicians?

Vikings vs Polynesians

The biggest difference between the boats of the great ocean explorers is that the Vikings sailed in monohulls, while the Pacific was conquered by double hulled waka. What are the pros and cons of each type of vessel?

Island Race

Download Island Race PDF

The Island Race board game could be structured around the development of the waka. Perhaps players start by collecting a log to float to the next island. Then they weave leaves together into ropes so they can lash logs together to form a raft. Then they progress to paddles, sails, and a compass.

Maybe when players come to a far-away land they discover a token representing a useful resource like wood or leaves to make sails. Or they design a deck of cards with the skills needed to sail a waka - the more skills you get, the faster your waka travels?

Part 2 - How Did Kupe Know?

Make A Compass

What You Will Need:

  • Sewing needle
  • Small bar magnet or refrigerator magnet
  • A small piece polystyrene or cork
  • A bowl of water
  • A pair of pliers

How To Do It:

1. Rub a magnet over the needle a few times, always in the same direction, to magnetise the needle.
2. Place a small disc of polystyrene or cork on a flat surface.
3. Using a pair of pliers, carefully poke the needle through the disc so that the end comes out the other side.

Part 3 - How Did They Find Their Way?

Nanogirl's Lab

Nanogirl (AKA Dr Michelle Dickinson) believes science is for everyone, and increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM fields is one of the key outcomes of her work. She specialises in designing inclusive ways to reach and empower wide audiences, including those who are too often left behind. For more videos and resources that inspire, educate and empower, check out:

nanogirl.co

Ocean Currents

For further information to support your teaching around Nanogirl's Ocean Currents video, download the Ocean Currents Teaching Notes PDF

The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand produces a monthly map of interesting objects in the night sky. Students could use this star chart to create their own constellations in the sky above.
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand Evening Sky

Summary

Download Constellations Summary PDF

Constellations summary thumbnail image

Part 4 - Who was Tupaia?

Make a Map

Download Make A Map PDF

Make a Map thumbnail image

Part 5 - The Arrival

Mythbusting

Download the Goldie Painting PDF

Land of Voyagers