A Brief History of New Zealand

After visiting a few museums, and a few different towns in New Zealand, it has become clear that Kiwi's take their history seriously, and thus, in a short span of time, we have become intimately familiar with the important parts of New Zealands past. So, for those of you who are not familiar, here it is, in brief.

1. Gondwana. Long before human habitation, New Zealand was a part of Gondwana, a breakaway region of the supercontinent Pangea. Subsequent to its liberation from the Northern landmass, the southern splinter region proved unstable and further fractured into South America, Africa, Austrailia, Antartica, India, and of course, New Zealand. As a result of being part of the great southern alliance, flora and fauna unknown to the Northern hemisphere have made a suitable home in New Zealand, including the now defunct moa, a giant flightless bird closely related to the ostirches of Africa and emus of Australia. They are also the exctinc relatives of the nearly extinct, and much smaller kiwi bird.
2. Mauri. Scholars cannot quite agree on exactly when and how the indigenous people of New Zealand got here; you will get different accounts from archeologists and Mauri folklorists. What these two factions can agree on is that the arrival of the Mauri involved canoes, near-by islands, and potatoes (see #1 for an explation of how potatoes exist both in South American and pacific islands), and that this event happened some time after Gondwana, but before colonialization. In fact, the arrival of the Mauri happened so long before colonialization, that is has been established that they had lived peacefully and sustainably off the land of New Zealand for centuries before white people showed up. In this time, the Mauri developed a rich and unique culture which resembled that of many native peoples in many parts of the world. Notable contributions include intricate wood carvings, beautifully sculpted giant necklaces, and captivating sining and dancing.
3. Colonialism. Sometime in the nineteenth century scads of white people arrived from Briton to make their way in the novel and wild land of New Zealand. Similar to other colonists in other parts of the world, these arrivals constructed buildings with verandas (even though it is not that hot here), imported the latest styles from Europe, and were not very nice to the natives they encountered when exploring and constructing. To be fair, the Brits were nicer to the Mauri than they were to native Americans (small pox blankets, trail of tears, etc.) and they were definitely nicer than any white person ever was to any local they encountered in Africa.
4. World War 1. To defend country and crown, young men from every city and shire across New Zealand took up arms and journeyed across the world to where their valiant efforts were required. Some heroic mauri even joined the war efforts. Many lives were lost, many more returned home as heros. To honor the courage and sacrifice of these young men, a memorial, statue, or museum wing has been errected in every town across the land. 
5. World War 2. To defend country and crown, young men from every city and shire across New Zealand took up arms and journeyed across the world to where their valiant efforts were required. Some heroic mauri even joined the war efforts. Many lives were lost, many more returned home as heros. To honor the courage and sacrifice of these young men, a memorial, statue, or museum wing has been errected in every town across the land.
6. Earthquake in Christchurch. In the first decade of the 21st century a series of large earthquakes rattled the region near Christchurch (the largest city on the South Island). Despite being in a country known for its seizmic activity, it never occured to anyone that a large earthquake might hit Christchurch, and as a result, a centrally located 6.3 leveled the better part of the city center. The process of rehabilitating and revitalizing the city has been slow (read - 5 years later you can still find piles of rubble).