2007-01-25 00:03:55 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Travel ➔ Australia ➔ Other - Australia
No. The Maori had named the land 'Aotearoa' meaning Land of the Long White Cloud. Then a European sailor found it and named it Statn Landt in 1642. After this a Dutch explorer changed the name to Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. It then became Nieuw Zeeland.
Then around the time he found Australia Captain Cook changed the name to New Zealand.
Maori people still use the name Aotearoa to describe their land.
2007-01-25 12:37:11 · answer #1 · answered by Klingon Atheist 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
to my understanding New Zealand came about from the Dutch who first called it Zeelandia Nova and was later changed to New Zealand. The maori called it Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud) Hope that helped you will get a better understanding from the source i listed
2007-01-25 00:21:12 · answer #2 · answered by celh26 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋