Complete the text with the past simple or present perfect form of the verbs in brackets.
THE HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND
The original inhabitants or New Zealand are called Maoris. They(1) ...(live) there for a long time - the first Maoris(2)...(travel) to New Zealand by boat about a thousand years ago. They called the county 'Aotearoa' - 'land of the long white cloud'.
Later, in the 17th century, European explorers(3)... (discover) New Zealand. It (4) ... (become) a British colony in 1840. Now it's an independent country - it (5) ... (be) independent since 1907. But the Queen of England is still New Zealand's head of state!