Geoffrey Irwin, a professor of archaeology at the University of Auckland, has used computers to determine whether certain journeys were feasible using the sailing technology of the Polynesian double-hulled canoe. His research clearly shows that if people had chosen to sail in a south-south-east direction from New Caledonia, and held their course for two to three weeks, they could easily have landed in New Zealand. If people did arrive as early as 2,000 years ago, it is possible that they came from somewhere in eastern Melanesia, such as New Caledonia. This is an outside possibility – the settlement of New Zealand in 1250–1300 CE was definitely from East Polynesia.
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Reference: Geoff Irwin, The prehistoric exploration and colonization of the Pacific. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992, p. 169.
Courtesy of Geoff Irwin
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