Talk:New Zealand

Why?

We label Hone Harawira with Category:Māori activist but Tim Shadbolt et al with Category:New Zealand Activists? Why do we specify Māori for Harawira, but not specify Pakeha or New Zealand European for Shadbolt. Why the ethnic label for some NZedders but not for the majority others? Moriori (talk) 08:23, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Why was Tipene O'Regan categorised Māori activist when his article doesn't even mention the word activist? Was. I've fixed it.Moriori (talk) 08:26, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

(after ec) Good question. I suspect it's because there are specifically Māori areas of activism (e.g., kawanatanga/rangatiratanga/self-determinism, whatever you want to call it) whereas there aren't such specific areas within Pākeha New Zealand. There isn't a "Pākeha independence movement" (thankfully), so most areas of protest and activism that Pākeha are involved with are those which are likely to have activists from across the ethnic spectrum. You'll almost certainly find other "ethnic activist' categories in other countries with vocal ethnic minorities (Category:Kurdish activists, Category:Romani activists, Category:First Nations activists, etc). I'[m not saying it's right or wrong that they're categorised in this way, just that there is some justification for it. (Good call on Sir Tipene, too). Grutness...wha? 08:33, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

In Harawira's case I'd suspect that it's not so much because he is Māori and is an activist, but more that his activism is primarily in areas of specific importante to Māori. Tim Shadbolt, on the other hand, would have been an anti-war protester. Note that a hypothetical Pākehā supporting the tino rangatiratanga movement, and a hypothetical Māori supporting the anti-war movement, could also validly be described as a Māori activist and an anti-war activist, respectively.Daveosaurus (talk) 09:43, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

POV will decide who is described as what? We have Category:New Zealand Activists, which has 13 sub-categories. Twelve of those start with the words New Zealand, such as Category:New Zealand political party activists. One doesn't start with the words New Zealand. Guess which one? Why does Derek Fox have Category:Māori Party activists but not Category:Māori activist, and Harawira have the exact opposite? Whose POV has decided that?Moriori (talk) 10:03, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

If that is the case then perhaps it would be most appropriate to rename that category, Category: New Zealand Māori activists. This would also differentiate them from any hypothetical Cook Islands Maori activists. I would guess that the appropriate place to start that discussion would be at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_talk:Māori_activists . Daveosaurus (talk) 10:28, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

It's worth noting that Category:Māori activists is one of quite a number of similar categories in Category:Indigenous activists - that alone should give you an indication of why it's there. As to the difference between the categories for Māori activists and Māori Party activists, I'd say Harawira is in the wrong category. Category:Māori Party activists is a subcategory of Category:Māori activists, and is presumably intended to be for Māori activists who are also Māori Party politicians. As such, it's a natural subcategory of both Category:Māori activists and Category:Māori Party politicians (which is why it is a subcategory of both). If anything, the question is why there is such a separate category, when in theory at least any Māori Party politician could be considered a Māori activist, by some definition of the word. Grutness...wha? 23:23, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Gorgeous country

I'm an American (former Wikipedian) who visited New Zealand and wrote this article here: An American's perspective on New Zealand. It is my impressions based on a 5 week stay outside Auckland (a house-swap) and visits around the north island. The knol is public domain; feel free to use it in your articles on NZ if you wish; in addition, all my pictures (in my NZ knol) are public domain as well -- landscapes, Auckland, waterfalls, beaches, public parks, etc; feel free to use them in NZ-related articles if you wish. Generally, I think the WP article on NZ is excellent but what I didn't get about NZ (when studying NZ before visiting and working on NZ Wikipedia articles) is how hilly it is (difficult driving), also, how expensive it is in terms of relative prices (why car-swap house-swap arrangements are smart). But the big big finding was how friendly the people were -- I had dozens of conversations with many terrific open-minded and cosmopolitan-oriented people about all kinds of topics. And I think the big thing (my POV theory) is that people in NZ are there (in many times) because they want to be there, like they chose the excellent climate and were willing to put up with the distance & such & hilly geography. Stunning rainbows too. --Tomwsulcer (talk) 21:03, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Seems pretty fair. But that third pic down is definitely not a kauri tree, lol. They don't branch till wayyyy above ground Kahuroa (talk) 23:23, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. I enjoyed your article.-gadfium 23:51, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Glad you liked the country so much. There were some NZ/US differences I wasn't aware of (I didn't realise it was that unusual to talk politics with friends and neighbours in the US!). But Kahuroa's right - that tree's looks more like a macrocarpa than a kauri. Next time you visit, you ought to go to the South Island :) Grutness...wha? 00:11, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. Changed kouri --> macrocapra. You all have a wonderful country. Next time I'll try for the south island, definitely! And politics in the US is quite weird; there are even Wikipedians deleting the criticism section on the United States Congress article. (I'm so tired of the edit warring but am focusing on the knols.) What I'm saying is that if anybody needs pictures for the NZ-related Wikipedia articles, I have perhaps a hundred which I can give as public domain.--Tomwsulcer (talk) 01:48, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

FWIW, that tree looks more like a pohutukawa than a macrocarpa to me, based on what I can see of the leaves and upper branches. But I'm no expert. Anyway thanks for the offer of the photos. --Avenue (talk) 04:23, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

You could be right. Pohutukawa would make more sense for that part of the country, too. Grutness...wha? 07:07, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Leaves are definitely not macrocarpa or any other conifer. Could well be pohutukawa. And the biscuits the American teenager is holding are Squiggles Kahuroa (talk) 08:41, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Yum - my favourites :) Grutness...wha? 09:20, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

My kids and I LOVED Squiggles. Best cookie by far. We bought perhaps a package every couple of days or so. Deeeee-licious! Will change tree to pohutukawa. Whatever your tree is, I'll probably mispronounce it.--Tomwsulcer (talk) 12:35, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

New Zealand Film

I can't be bothered, but someone needs to study on the new film "Boy" and write something really Wikipedia-y on it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.152.250.251 (talk) 06:13, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

See Boy (2010 film)-gadfium 06:43, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Some reference on the Film Industry section, on this New Zealand page, to the new film "Boy" would be nice i suppose —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.152.250.251 (talk) 07:35, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

Australia vs N.Zealand

What about the rivalry between those two powerful nations ? New-Zealanders feel always superior than australians. This is not neutral. Check up.--Dogfish Jim and the Dixoap (talk) 20:39, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

References needed for common sense items

To Jeff_G Why is "mainland" removed as a legitimate namefor the south island without a source? - are you even a new zealander? wikipedia guidelines say you do not need a verifiable reference to common knowlege subject that IS verifiable - ie mars is a planet.. this is easily verifiable and the guide say to do this because otherwise the encylopedia will become a rediculous and unreadible with so many references...this applies to the south Island being referred to as "the mainland"..... is is easily verifiable... you only need to quote and reference things that people do NOT know commonly......whats wrong with these nazi page editors? they don't even follow wiki's own guidelines....I suppose you need a reference to say that the name of the port of wellington is called port nicholson? what source would you consider reliable as far as saying mainland was a legitimate name? This applies also the name Zealand - it simply means "sea land" - you leave in a stupid comment WITHOUT documentation that says there is NO connection to the island or name Zealand and i provided an explanation with a common sense and easily refiable information (ie the pages on wikipedia describing both islands and provinces called by that name and you say there is a problem with what I wrote? - come on! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Steveswikiedits (talk • contribs) 04:08, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

Um I've never heard the south island being referred to as the "Mainland". I've lived in the North Island for 20 years.