The Polynesian Triangle. Kahuroa. 2013. Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pacific_Culture_Areas-de.png
The people who would become the Polynesians are believed to have migrated to New Guinea from Southeast Asia around 2000 BC. It is estimated they settled the island of Tonga around 1500 BC and Samoa around 1000 BC. Over the next thousand years they settled islands throughout the Pacific as far east as Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and as far north as Hawaii. Around 950 AD, the Māori (mow’-ray) settled New Zealand in the south. Within this triangle were hundreds of smaller islands.
The history and skills of Polynesian navigators astounded the European sailors they encountered in the 18th century. The great distances between Polynesian lands kept them from becoming a single political entity. Instead, multiple Polynesian societies developed on different islands or island groups. However, religious, linguistic, and economic ties preserved a distinct Polynesian culture in these various locales for centuries.
There are many stories about the first Polynesian people to discover and populate Hawaii. As with all ancient cultures and nations, there is controversy and disagreement. European colonization in the 19th Century has further confused the historical record, but Natives and non-Natives continue to study and retrieve the history of Hawaii.
Sources:
Native Hawaiians Arrived on the Islands Centuries Ago- KHON2 News
South Pacific Migration History- Travel Video Source
Expansion across the Polynesian Triangle- National Library of Australia
The Discovery and Settlement of Polynesia- University of Hawaii
The Menehune: A True Race of People- Ka Wai Ola