The island was discovered by Westerners
by Captain James Cook in 1774 on his second voyage to New Zealand. Cook gave
the island its name after seeing the tall native pines (Araucaria columnaris).
He never disembarked onto the island, but as he saw signs of inhabitance
(smoke) assumed it was inhabited. In the 1840s Protestant and Catholic
missionaries arrived, along with merchants seeking sandalwood.
The French took
possession of the island in 1853 at which time the native Kunies opted for the
