Historical Background
European colonisation of New Zealand, particularly by British settlers, began in earnest after 1800. It may safely be assumed that cricket was first played there soon after the English arrived.
The earliest definite reference to cricket in New Zealand appears in 1832 in the diary of Archdeacon Williams. Three years later, HMS Beagle visited the Bay of Islands on its voyage round the globe. Charles Darwin watched a game of cricket at Waimate North being played by freed Maori slaves and the son of a missionary. In The Voyage of the Beagle he wrote: "Several young men redeemed by the missionaires from slavery were employed on the farm. In the evening I saw a party of them at cricket."
Read more about this topic: History Of Cricket In New Zealand To 1890
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