Military history of New Zealand

Part of a series on the
History of New Zealand
Timeline
General topics
Antarctic Capital city Economic Education Environment Māori Military Natural Political Voting Postal Rail transport
Prior to 1800
Natural history Archaeology
19th century
European settlers New Zealand Company Musket Wars Treaty of Waitangi British colony New Zealand Wars Land confiscations The Vogel Era Temperance movement Women's suffrage
Stages of independence
Responsible government Dominion status Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947
World Wars
World War I World War II
Post-war and contemporary history
Wool boom Māori protest movement Think Big Rogernomics Nuclear-free zone Foreshore and seabed controversy Christchurch national crises 2010 and 2011 earthquakes 2019 mosque massacre COVID-19 pandemic
See also
Bibliography List of years in New Zealand
New Zealand portal
v t e

The military history of New Zealand is an aspect of the history of New Zealand that spans several hundred years. When first settled by Māori almost a millennium ago, there was much land and resources, but war began to break out as the country's carrying capacity was approached. Initially being fought with close-range weapons of wood and stone, this continued on and off until Europeans arrived, bringing with them new weapons such as muskets. Colonisation by Britain led to the New Zealand Wars in the 19th century in which settler and imperial troops and their Māori allies fought against other Māori and a handful of Pākehā. In the first half of the 20th century, New Zealanders of all races fought alongside Britain in the Boer War and both World Wars. In the second half of the century and into this century the New Zealand Defence Force has provided token assistance to the United States in several conflicts. New Zealand has also contributed troops extensively to multilateral peacekeeping operations.