3.

Immigration
New Zealand is a land of immigration which means that people from countries all over the
world have moved here and made New Zealand their home. Even the first people of New
Zealand, the Maori, came to this country about a thousand years ago from somewhere else,
most likely from islands in the Pacific Ocean. They travelled across the Pacific Ocean in boats
called canoes.

The next group of people to come to New Zealand were from countries on the other side of
the world, such as Holland and Britain. They came in ships that sailed the seas trying to
discover new countries that were unknown in Europe. They made maps and tried to claim
the new countries for their own governments. They didn’t stay long, but when they
returned to their own countries with news of new places, other people followed.

The next group came for the whales and seals which lived in the seas around New Zealand.
They came to catch these sea animals for their oil which they took back to Europe. Some of
these men stayed, married Maori women and started families.

In the early 1880s, many people from Britain started immigrating to New Zealand to make a
better life for themselves and their families. As more people arrived, they bought or just
took Maori land to start farms. This is when trouble began between the local people and the
new arrivals. In 1840, an agreement was signed between many Maori chiefs and
representatives of the British Government. It was called the Treaty of Waitangi.

After that, people began to arrive in New Zealand in increasing numbers. Gold was
discovered on the West Coast and people came to find the gold and get rich. The gold fields
needed services and more people came to build towns. In the 1890s, the British
Government started a programme to help people to come to New Zealand. People came to
farm, to trade and to do business.

Since then, people from all over the world have made New Zealand their home. Today,
according to the 2013 Census (a study of the population), the top five groups of people are
as follows: European 74%, Maori 15%, Asian 12%, Pacific 7% and Middle Eastern 1%. This
adds up to more than 100% because some people belong to more than one group. Because
of immigration, New Zealand is a country of many cultures.

5
3. Immigration
1. Immigration means: 6. The Treaty of Waitangi is:
a. visiting a new country a. an agreement
b. studying in a new country b. a place
c. coming to live in a new c. an immigrant
country
7. Generally, immigrants come to a
2. Maori probably came to New new country:
Zealand from: a. to study
a. Pacific islands b. to make a better life
b. Australia c. to be farmers
c. South America
8. In the 1890s, people came to look
3. Canoes are: for:
a. people a. oil
b. places b. silver
c. boats c. gold

4. After the Maori: 9. A Census is a study of:

a. Australians arrived a. immigration
b. Europeans arrived b. population
c. Americans arrived c. education

5. The next group of people came to 10. Which statement is not true?
catch: a. There are more Maori
a. sea birds people than Pacific people.
b. sea animals b. There are more Asian
c. sea insects people than Maori people.
c. There are more European
people than Maori people.