Eugene Wiggins, age 13, of Henderson, Nev., for his question:
WREN WAS NEW ZEALAND DISCOVERED?
The first European to discover New Zealand was a Dutch navigator by the name of Abel Tasmand. He arrived in 1642 but he didn't get off his ship. He named the land Nieuw Zeeland after a Dutch province.
More than 100 years later an English explorer named Capt. James Cook arrived in the area. In 1769 he landed in many places and mapped much of the country's coastline.
In the early 1800s whalers, sealers and traders in timber and flax arrived. The first English missionaries arrived in 1814.
We don't know when the original people arrived in New Zealand. They were the Maoris, natives of Polynesian stock. They immigrated by canoe to New Zealand from other Pacific islands. The last wave of them probably arrived from Tahiti in about 1350.
The Maoris lived mainly in the North Island. They engaged in intertribal warfare and there is evidence of cannibalism.
In 1840, with the Treaty of Waitangi, the Maori chiefs agreed to let the British settlers rule with the understanding that the Maoris would retain possession of their own land. There were some disputes and several wars were fought. However, the Maoris were given representation in Parliament in 1867 and a lasting peace was established in 1881.
New Zealand experienced a growth in population when gold was discovered in the 1860s in the South Island. The gold boom didn't last long but it helped to strengthen the country politically.
Early in the 20th Century social security, labor laws and land reform measures were introduced. In 1907 New Zealand changed from a colony to a dominion of the British Empire. Independence became official in 1947.
The people of New Zealand fought with the Allies in both world wars as well as in Korea and Vietnam. In 1951 New Zealand signed a mutual defense pact with Australia and the United States.
New Zealand lies 1,000 miles east of Australia and 6,500 miles southeast of the United States. It is halfway around the world from England.
The country has two main islands: North Island and South Island. Most of the people live on the North Island. There's a third smaller island, Stewart island, located south of South Island, and there are also a number of even smaller islands.
Most New Zealanders are descendants of the British, Scots and Irish who colonized the country in the 19th Century. They make up more than 90 percent of the population. The Maoris make up about 8 percent of the population. They are a well integrated part of New Zealand society, although they have preserved a lot of their ancestors' tribal traditions.
Dairying, cattle farming and sheep farming for both meat and wool are the country's leading agricultural activities and account for about 80 percent of the value of farm products.