sose By Elijah Stewart 40,000 BCE Aborigines arrive in Australia 30,000 BCE Polynesians reach the end of Solomon Islands 8000 BCE Land bridge between Australia and Tasmania is flooded 1000 BCE The Lapita people spread across Polynesia 300 Polynesians settle the Marquesas and Hawaiian Islands 700 Polynesians settle Easter Island 800 Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor 1000 Almost all Polynesian islands are settled 1000 Polynesians arrive in New Zealand (the arrival of the Great fleet) 1130 a small group of Polynesian people, perhaps even a single family, sailed from the Cook islands to the coast of New Zealand 1600 The moa bird becomes extinct, forcing the Maori to alter their lifestyle 1642 Abel Tasman arrives at Aotearoa (New Zealand) 1769 Captain James Cook arrives in New Zealand 1976 The voyage of the Hokule’a recreates the 10 000 km sea voyage between Hawaii and Tahiti