Re: ‘Unproven facts' (The Weekend Sun, October 7).

Maori are indigenous to New Zealand despite MJ Anderson's view. Before 2011 there was a great deal of doubt about who first settled New Zealand. However in 2011 Janet Wilmshurst, a New Zealand scientist working with scientists from California, Hawaii, and Australia, published improved radiocarbon research data from all available sites of early settlement in New Zealand.

This radiocarbon data showed there was no evidence of any human settlement in New Zealand before Maori arrived about 1280AD. Janet's research paper was published by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, which is the official scientific adviser to the United States Government. This means her results have the highest possible integrity. They haven't been challenged since 2011. Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They arrived here first and there were no people living here before them. The migration of Maori from East Polynesia occurred only about 700 years ago but it was the final stage in the journey that mankind took to populate the whole world starting from Africa about 100,000 years ago.

P Dey, Welcome Bay.