What??

Well, it happened like this …

Around AD 800, ocean-going canoes arrived in Southern Pacific waters from tropical Eastern Polynesia. These bold seafarers stepped ashore on what they called “Aotearoa” – the Land of the Long White Cloud.

It was an isolated ecosystem with unique plants and birdlife. It was also a completely different environment from the one they had left. From a climatic point of view, the transition was pretty severe. Yet they stayed.

Gradually they extended their influence over the whole territory, from the sub-tropical far north to the chilly, temperate south. The resources they found were quite different from the Pacific Islands – but they shaped the development of the Maori culture, that now impacts so strongly on the arts and crafts of Aotearoa.

Check back for more details about Aotearoa’s natural resources and how they’ve been used – and still are – to create styles and products that “wow” the world.