When was New Zealand colonized?
History of New Zealand
The first full-blooded European infant in the territory, Thomas Holloway King, was born on 21 Feb 1815 at the Oihi Mission Station near Hohi Bay[19] in the Bay of Islands. Kerikeri, founded in 1822, and Bluff founded in 1823, both claim to be the oldest European settlements in New Zealand.[20] Many European settlers bought land from Māori, but misunderstanding and different concepts of land ownership led to conflict and bitterness.[18] In 1839, the New Zealand Company announced plans to buy large tracts of land and establish colonies in New Zealand.[21] This alarmed the missionaries, who called for British control of European settlers in New Zealand.
The Original All Blacks
After the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1892, New Zealand representative teams were selected for matches against international opponents. The first tour by a New Zealand representative side under NZRFU auspices was in 1894 to New South Wales (although an earlier team had toured Britain and Australia in 1888–1889). New Zealand's first Test match was in 1903 when they played Australia in Sydney. New Zealand's first home Test was played the following year when they defeated Britain at Athletic Park, Wellington, by 9–3. The win was significant as Britain had been unbeaten in their Australian tour, yet they won only two out of five matches in New Zealand. The captain of Great Britain, David Bedell-Sivright, said after the Test that he could not see New Zealand winning the big matches on their Northern Hemisphere tour, but "I think you will probably win most of the county matches."