RUSSELL, New Zealand — When English explorer Capt. James Cook approached the inner coves of what he, in 1769, would call "The Bay of Islands," he was amazed by the number of Maori-filled canoes that approached his ship, the H.M.S. Endeavour.

In his journal, Cook estimated 400 to 500 natives from nearby villages came alongside; a few were allowed aboard. Unlike some Europeans who followed Cook, he found the native Maoris to be a relatively well-attired and handsome people.

They wore plant-derived cloth and animal skins (from dogs; New Zealand lacked large mammals), "put on in such a manner as to look Agreeable enough to the eye."

And compared to other Maoris and Polynesians he had encountered on his historic exploratory voyage of the South Pacific, the bay's residents had notably fewer tattoos, Cook noted.

When he landed, though, they didn't respond in a friendly manner, as he thought they would. They were wary, a bit threatening, seemed uninterested in trade — "he needed fresh meat, vegetables and water" — and were a little too light-fingered for his taste. After a few short standoffs — "and British musket fire" — things settled down to the captain's satisfaction.

Today, Cook's "Bay of Islands" is one of New Zealand's top tourism and recreation draws, attracting travelers from around the world as well as the island nation's native "Kiwis."

From personal experience, I can testify that the bay is not only South Pacific-beautiful, it has been an important crucible for New Zealand's human history:

 That history begins with arrival from the north in sea canoes of the fierce, and fiercely proud, Maori people about a thousand years ago. New Zealand, devoid of people for eons, was gradually settled, basically north to south, over the succeeding centuries.

 Cook, his scientific colleagues and the crew of the Endeavour arrived in the 18th century. His reports and maps drew other seafarers to the islands.

 Permanent European colonization of New Zealand then began in the Bay of Islands. In 1814 the first Christian missionaries arrived. By the early 19th century, though, the bay was a notorious whaling center.

 New Zealand also traces the roots of its nationhood here, the result of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi between Maori tribal chiefs and the colonial governor. In the document, the Maoris retained citizenship and land rights, but accepted British governance and recognized the British crown's Queen Victoria.

I've been to the Bay of Islands during each of the past two "Down Under" summers — midwinter in the United States.