It is not native to either Hawaii or New Zealand but was introduced to both by Polynesian settlers.

So when the first Polynesian settlers arrived, they may have applied the word kiwi to the new-found bird.

The rodents were brought in by Polynesian settlers who used to live there.

Circa 1500, several species became extinct after Polynesian settlers arrived, including:

The early Polynesian settlers brought their own form of massage and, like a canoe plant, it evolved to become something uniquely Hawaiian.

Polynesian settlers in New Zealand developed a distinct society over several hundred years.

The island was first inhabited by Polynesian settlers around the 4th century AD.

As the Polynesian settlers expanded into the drier, leeward parts of the islands beginning in the 1400's, they brought these crops with them.

Prior to European settlement, the bird had been hunted by the Polynesian settlers of the island.

Some others became extinct in prehistoric times, when Polynesian settlers deforested the lowlands for agriculture.