June 16, 1840: New Zealand becomes a dependency of New South Wales

NEW ZEALAND.  — The first Englishman to explore New Zealand was James Cook, who charted and circumnavigated the North and South Islands late in 1769. In November, Cook claimed New Zealand for Great Britain, raising the British flag at Mercury Bay, on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. This signalled the start of British occupation of the islands, which had previously been occupied by the Maori.