Polynesian Expansion By Spencer Drinkall 30,000 BCE First settlers reach the end of the Solomon Islands 8000 BCE Further migrations into Oceania 1500 BCE Lapita ancestors settle Melanesia, Eastern Micronesia and Western Polynesia 1 CE West Polynesians settle East Polynesia 300 Polynesians settle Hawaii 450 Tonga and Somoa began to develop the distinctive Polynesian culture 700 Polynesians settle Rapa Nui (Easter Island) 1000 Polynesians settle Aotearoa (New Zealand) 1521 Ferdinand Magellan arrives in Tuamoto (Polynesia) 1595 Alvaro de Medana arrives at Whenua Etana (Marquesas) 1769 Captain James Cook arrives in New Zealand 1800 Onward missionaries begin widespread work in Polynesia, leading the decline in Polynesian culture 1861 The beginning of the American Civil War 1976 The voyage of the Hokule'a recreates the 10 000 km sea voyage between Hawaii and Tahiti
