Culture of New Zealand

The culture of New Zealand is a synthesis of home-grown and imported cultures. The country's earliest inhabitants brought with them customs and language from Polynesia and developed their own Māori and Moriori cultures. British colonists in the nineteeth century brought their culture and had a dramatic effect on the indigenous inhabitants, spreading their religious traditions and the English language. Māori culture also influenced the colonists and a distinctive Pākehā or New Zealand European culture has evolved. More recent immigration from the Pacific, East Asia and South Asia has also added to the cultural melting-pot.

There is debate about the characteristics of a Pākehā ethnic group as many of the cultural traits associated with New Zealand Europeans can also be found in the cultural traditions of the British Isles, Australia or the Māori. Both Māori and Pākehā have adopted and adapted cultural forms from other countries creating recognisably New Zealand versions. New Zealand hip-hop, popular particularly in urban Māori and Pacific Island communities is a prominent example of this phenomenon.

Māori culture

Main article: Māori culture

Māori culture is a distinct culture within New Zealand culture. With the growth of tourism and the notable exposure of the All Black haka to international audiences, Māori culture that was previously observed only in Māori society and social gatherings with a significant Māori aspect, is increasingly seen as fundamental to New Zealand culture as a whole.

Pākehā culture

Pākehā culture derives mainly from that of the British settlers who colonised New Zealand in the nineteenth century. Although it is recognisably related to British culture, it has always had distinct differences, and these have increased as time has gone on. Things which distinguish Pākehā culture from British culture include higher levels of egalitarianism, anti-intellectualism, and the idea that most people can do most things if they put their minds to it. Within Pākehā culture are sub-cultures derived from Irish, Italian and other European groups, as well as various non-ethnic subcultures.

It has been claimed that Pākehā do not actually have a culture, or if they do it is not a distinct one. Part of the problem is that high culture is often mistaken for culture in general, and the lack of recognition historically given to New Zealand's artists, writers and composers is seen as evidence of a lack of culture. In contrast, Pākehā pop culture is generally highly visible and often valued. This is observable in the common belief that kiwiana, a category of kitsch 1950s-style artifacts, is a defining cultural touchstone.

Others argue that belief in the 'absence' of culture in NZ is a symptom of white privilege, allowing members of a dominant group to see their culture as 'normal' or 'default', rather than as a specific position of relative advantage. One of the goals of Pākehā anti-racist groups of the 1980s was to enable Pākehā to see their own culture as such, rather than thinking what they did was normal and what other people did was 'ethnic' and strange.

Other cultures

People from many different countries have settled in New Zealand, and have developed distinct variations on the home countries' cultures. Many groups have become closer to each other than they are in their countries of origin; for example Pacific Island New Zealanders have generally put aside their historic antagonisms in order to work together in New Zealand.

Cultural borrowing and adaptation

Māori borrowing from Pākehā culture

Since the early stages of colonisation, Māori have been receptive adopters of aspects of Pākehā culture. From the 1830s many Māori converted to Christianity and in the process learnt to read and write, to the extent that it has been claimed that in mid nineteenth century New Zealand, Māori were more likely to be literate than Pākehā. A number of religions, such as Pai Marire and Ringatu, arose in the nineteenth century, blending Māori tradition and Christianity. From the 1860s, the adoption of Pākehā culture became less of a free choice as Pākehā began to outnumber Māori. A Pākehā-dominated parliament had free rein to pass legislation affecting Māori, such as the Native Schools Act (1867) which required English to be the dominant medium of instruction for Māori children. Thus Māori were forced to learn the English language and Pākehā ways of life in order to function economically and socially. From the early twentieth century and especially from the 1970s, Māori began to protest against this Eurocentrism and demanded equal recognition for their own culture.

Many Māori have become successful practitioners of European-derived art forms; indeed many of New Zealand's biggest arts success stories are Māori. These include opera singers Inia Te Waiata and Kiri Te Kanawa, novelists Keri Hulme (winner of the Booker Prize) and Alan Duff, poet Hone Tuwhare and painter Ralph Hotere, actors Temuera Morrison and Cliff Curtis and director Lee Tamahori.

Pākehā borrowing from Māori culture

A multi-ethnic All Black squad perform a haka.

Since the late nineteenth century, Pākehā have used many of its forms in art and tourism when they required something distinctively New Zealand. The most famous example of this is the haka of the All Blacks, a Māori posture dance which is performed before international rugby matches (there are many non-Māori Polynesian All Blacks, thus making this a multi-ethnic borrowing). However Pākehā artists such as Colin McCahon and Gordon Walters have also incorporated Māori motifs into their art, and a number of early Pākehā writers used Māori themes and topics in an effort to create an authentically New Zealand literature. The tourist industry has also made heavy use of Māori culture in an effort to present tourists with distinctly New Zealand experiences and items. This may show that Pākehā are not entirely confident that they have a culture of their own, or if they do, that it is interesting or distinct. Many Pākehā in other countries use Māori culture in order to express their New Zealandness, even if they take little interest in Māori while in New Zealand. An example of this is the mass haka which takes place in Parliament Square in London every Waitangi Day. Although Māori are generally involved, most participants are Pākehā.

For many years Pākehā did not consult Māori over the use of their culture, and Māori generally did not protest loudly unless a symbol was being used in a particularly inappropriate way. From the 1970s, Māori began increasingly to object to Pākehā use of their culture, especially when this use was disrespectful or ignorant. One example of this is the 'haka party incident' of 1979. University of Auckland engineering students had a tradition of performing an obscene mock haka at graduation. After pleas from Māori students to discontinue the practice were ignored, a group assaulted the engineering students. They were later charged with assault but defended by Māori elders who testified that the engineers' haka was deeply offensive. Most Pākehā are now more respectful of Māori culture and often consult Māori before using Māori cultural forms. However despite some attempts to copyright cultural intellectual property this does not always occur and forms are still sometimes used in inappropriate ways.

Nonetheless, some Pākehā have been deeply involved in the revival of otherwise lost Māori arts. In the performance of traditional Māori musical instruments Richard Nunns has earned wide respect; as have the contributions made by many academics, for example, Dame Anne Salmond in the area of traditional rituals of encounter, or Mervyn McLean in the analysis of traditional song.

Borrowing from overseas

Both Māori and Pākehā have borrowed cultural forms and styles from other countries, particularly the United States. Most popular New Zealand music derives from American styles, particularly rock music, hip-hop and various forms of electronic dance music. Although there is little evidence of a 'New Zealand style', many groups incorporate New Zealand themes into their work. The visual arts have also shown the influence of international movements, for example cubism in the early work of Colin McCahon. In general, the development of international mass media and mass communication has meant New Zealanders have always been aware of developments in other countries; this lends itself to the adoption of new forms and styles from overseas.

Languages

New Zealand has three official languages: New Zealand English, Te Reo Māori (the Māori language), and New Zealand Sign Language. In practice only English is widely used although major efforts have been made in recent years to nurture Te Reo. Numerous other languages are spoken in New Zealand.

New Zealand English

New Zealand English is close to Australian English in pronunciation, but has several subtle differences often overlooked by people from outside these countries. Some of these differences show New Zealand English to have more affinity with the English of southern England than Australian English does. Several of the differences also show the influence of Māori speech. The most striking difference from Australian and other forms of English (although shared partly with South African English) is the flattened i of New Zealand English. The New Zealand accent also has some Scottish and Irish influences from the large number of settlers from those places during the 19th century. According to the 2006 census, English is spoken by 3,673,623 people in New Zealand.

Te Reo Māori

An Eastern Polynesian language, Te Reo Māori is closely related to Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori; slightly less closely to Hawaiian and Marquesan; and more distantly to the languages of Western Polynesia, including Samoan, Niuean and Tongan. The language went into decline in terms of use following colonisation, but since the 1970s mildly successful efforts have been made to reverse this trend. These include the granting of official language status through the Māori Language Act 1987, a Māori language week and a Māori Television channel. The 2006 census found Te Reo to be spoken by 157,110 people, making it the most common language in New Zealand after English.

New Zealand Sign Language

New Zealand Sign Language has its roots in British Sign Language (BSL), and may be technically considered a dialect of British, Australian and New Zealand Sign Language (BANZSL). There are 62.5% similarities found in British Sign Language and NZSL, compared with 33% of NZSL signs found in American Sign Language. Like other natural sign languages, it was devised by and for Deaf people, with no linguistic connection to a spoken or written language, and it is fully capable of expressing anything a fluent signer wants to say. It uses more lip-patterns in conjunction with hand and facial movement to cue signs than BSL, reflecting New Zealand's history of oralist education of Deaf people. Its vocabulary includes Māori concepts such as marae and tangi, and signs for New Zealand placenames. New Zealand Sign Language became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006. A total of 24,090 people in New Zealand use New Zealand sign language.

Other languages

According to the 2006 census, 174 different languages are used in New Zealand (including sign languages). After English and Māori, the most common are Samoan (85,428 speakers), French (53,757), Hindi (44,589) and Yue (better known as Cantonese, spoken by 44,154 people). The number of French speakers is probably due to the popularity of French as a subject in schools rather than evidence of large scale Francophone immigration.

Arts

New Zealand has two 'high cultural' traditions: Māori and Western. However most cultural material consumed in New Zealand is imported from overseas, particularly from Britain and the United States. Because of this and New Zealand's small population, most New Zealand artists, performers and writers struggle to make a living from their art. Some funding for the arts is provided through a specific arts based government department, Creative New Zealand. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage are national bodies that assist with heritage preservation. Most towns and cities have museums and often art galleries, and the national museum and art gallery is Te Papa ('Our Place'), in Wellington.

Visual arts

Pre-European Māori visual art had two main forms: carving and weaving. Both recorded stories and legends and also had religious roles. When Europeans arrived they brought with them Western artistic traditions. Early Pākehā art focussed mainly on landscape painting, although some of the best known Pākehā artists of the nineteenth century (Charles Goldie and Gottfried Lindauer) specialised in Māori portraiture. Some Māori adopted Western styles and a number of nineteenth century meeting houses feature walls painted with portraits and plant designs. From the early twentieth century Apirana Ngata and others began a programme of reviving traditional Māori arts, and many new meeting houses were built with traditional carving and tukutuku (woven wall panels) were built. A longstanding concern of Pākehā artists has been the creation of a distinctly New Zealand artistic style. Rita Angus and others used the landscape to try and achieve this while painters such as Gordon Walters used Māori motifs. A number of Māori artists, including Paratene Matchitt and Shane Cotton have combined Western modernism with traditional Māori art.

Performing arts

Kapa haka

Kapa haka are the traditional Māori performing arts, and have undergone a renaissance, with national competitions held yearly and kapa haka used in many state occasions. The haka (often mistaken as always being a war dance or ritual challenge) has become part of wider New Zealand culture, being performed by the All Blacks as a group ritual before international games and by homesick New Zealanders of all races who want to express their New Zealandness.

Drama

New Zealand drama, both on stage and screen, has been plagued during much of its history by cost and lack of popular interest in New Zealand culture. Despite this Roger Hall and, more recently, Jacob Rajan are two playwrights to achieve considerable popular success. In recent decades New Zealand film has grown dramatically, with the films Once Were Warriors, The Piano and Heavenly Creatures doing well both locally and internationally, and Lord of the Rings trilogy director Peter Jackson becoming one of film's most successful directors. New Zealand's most popular comedian was the late Billy T. James.

Music

New Zealand music takes most of the same forms as that of other 'Western' countries, with hip-hop being particularly popular amongst young Māori and Pacific Islanders. New Zealand hip-hop tends to be more humorous and much less violent and sexist than in other countries. There are small but thriving live music and dance party scenes. Classical music has less popular support, but New Zealand has produced several successful composers and an international famous opera singer (Kiri Te Kanawa).

Writing

New Zealand's most successful early writers were expatriates such as Katherine Mansfield. From the 1950s, Frank Sargeson, Janet Frame and others had (non lucrative) writing careers while still living in New Zealand. Until about the 1980s, the main New Zealand literary form was the short story, but in recent decades novels such as Alan Duff's Once Were Warriors, Elizabeth Knox's The Vintner's Luck and others have achieved critical and popular success. Māori culture is traditionally oral rather than literate, but in recent years Māori novelists such as Duff, Witi Ihimaera and Keri Hulme and poets such as Hone Tuwhare have shown their mastery of European-originated forms.

Religion

Pre-European Māori religion was polytheistic. One of its major features was tapu (sacred and/or forbidden), which was used to maintain the status of chiefs and tohunga (priests) and also for purposes such as conserving resources. Some of the earliest European settlers in New Zealand were Christian missionaries, mostly from the Anglican Church but also from other Protestant denominations and the Catholic Church. From the 1830s onwards, large numbers of Māori converted. Throughout the nineteenth century a number of movements emerged which blended traditional Māori beliefs with Christianity. These included Pai Marire, Ringatu, and in the early twentieth century, Ratana. They typically centred on a prophet-leader. These churches continue to attract many followers; according to the 2006 census, 50,565 people are Ratana believers, and another 16,419 are Ringatu. 1,689 people stated that they followed Māori religion. Many Māori members of mainstream churches, and those with no particular religion, continue to believe in tapu, particularly where the dead are concerned, although not to the same extent as their ancestors.

Pākehā have become steadily less religious over the course of the twentieth century. In the 1920s there was still a reasonably high level of sectarianism and anti-Catholic prejudice, but this has since died down and the major churches generally co-operate with each other. The churches and religious lobby groups have little political influence where Pākehā are concerned. The vast majority of religious Pākehā are Christian, but a small number follow non-Christian religions, particularly Buddhism, and a larger number have a vague belief in new age ideas such as the healing power of crystals.

Pacific Islanders in New Zealand have significantly higher rates of both nominal Christianity and church-going than other New Zealanders. There are a number of Pacific Island Christian churches in New Zealand, Other non-Pākehā migrants have brought with them a range of religions including Islam and Hinduism, although many are Christian or have no religion.

The 2006 census found that 2,136,258 New Zealanders identify as Christian. The most followed denomination is Anglican (554,925), followed by Catholic (507,771) and Presbyterian (385,350). The most commonly practiced non-Christian religion was Hinduism, with 63,540 followers, followed by Buddhism (52,158) and Islam (35,858). A total of 1,297,104 New Zealanders have no religion.

Class in New Zealand

Main article: Class in New Zealand

Māori hierarchies

Māori society has traditionally been one based on rank, which derived from ancestry (whakapapa). Present-day Māori society is far less hierarchical than it traditionally was, although it is still stratified by Pākehā standards. A disproportionate number of Māori MPs come from chiefly families, for example. However, a number of lowly-born Māori have achieved positions of considerable mana within their communities by virtue of their achievements or learning.

The 'classless society'

Until about the 1980s it was often claimed that New Zealand was a 'classless society'. The evidence for this was the relatively small range of wealth (that is, the wealthiest did not earn hugely more than the poorest earners), lack of deference to authority figures, high levels of class mobility, a high standard of working class living compared to Britain, progressive labour laws which protected workers and encouraged unionism, and a welfare state which was developed in New Zealand before most other countries.

New Zealanders' egalitarianism has been criticised as discouraging and denigrating ambition and individual achievement and success. New Zealanders tend to value modesty and distrust those who talk about their own merits. They especially dislike anyone who seems to consider themselves better than others even if the person in question is demonstrably more talented or successful than others. This attitude can manifest itself in the tall poppy syndrome, which describes the 'cutting down' of anyone thought to have risen above the general mass of people.

It has been argued that in New Zealand ethnicity takes the place of class, with Māori and other Polynesians earning less, having a lower standard of living and less education, and working in lower status jobs than Pākehā. They also face prejudice akin to that facing working class people in many European countries. Many have pointed out that New Zealand only became a (white) 'workingman's paradise' because of the marginalisation of Māori and in particular the appropriation of Māori land.

New Zealand's claims to be a classless society were dealt a fatal blow in the 1980s and 1990s by the economic reforms of the fourth Labour government and its successor, the fourth National government. These reforms led to a dramatic increase in the gap between the richest and poorest New Zealanders, and an increase in the numbers living in poverty. But although wealth is much more unevenly distributed than previously, New Zealand still lacks most of the overt signals of class which mark countries such as Britain.

Travel

Main article: Overseas experience

It is very common for New Zealanders to travel or live overseas for extended periods of time, often on working holidays. These are usually referred to as the 'OE' or 'overseas experience', and are most commonly taken by people in their 20s. The three most common destinations are Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe, although recently trips to Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan to teach English have become increasingly popular. The east coast of Australia and London both have sizeable expatriate New Zealand communities.

Unlike the British gap year, the OE to Europe is usually self-funded, and tends to occur a few years after university graduation, when the traveller has saved up enough for airfares and living expenses. The length of the visit can range from a few months to the remainder of the visitor's life; since many New Zealanders have British ancestry or dual citizenship (sometimes as a result of their parents' OE), the restrictions on working in Britain do not apply to a substational percentage of them.

Working holidays in Asia are more likely to occur shortly after graduation, and many agencies specifically target graduates for these trips. Because Australia is relatively close to New Zealand and has no restrictions on New Zealanders working there, the New Zealanders working in Australia are more diverse than those in other countries, with a significantly higher proportion of Māori and working class people.

Since the signing of the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement in 1973, New Zealanders have had the right to live and work in Australia on equal terms with Australian citizens. Until the 1970s New Zealanders had similar rights in relation to Britain. Changes to British immigration law in this period required New Zealanders to obtain visas in order to work in Britain or live there for extended periods, unless they had recent British ancestry. New Zealand has reciprocal working holiday agreements with the following countries: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and Uruguay. These allow people in their 20s to live and work in these countries, usually for up to a year.

National stereotypes

Most countries are informally thought to have a national 'type'; this can be seen in negative or positive terms. Most have some basis in reality, but are often outdated and applicable to only a small section of society. They typically exclude women, although there may also be a national female type. A number of famous New Zealanders seem to fit the national stereotype. This is probably due to three factors: the stereotypically 'Kiwi' qualities of famous people being emphasised; people who seem to embody the type becoming famous due to this (for example Barry Crump), or famous people acting as people expect them to. It should not be assumed that a famous person who seems to fit the stereotype provides evidence of the widespread truth of that stereotype.

The kiwi male

The stereotypical New Zealand male is essentially a pioneer type: he is rural, unintellectual, strong, unemotional, democratic, has little time for high culture, good with animals (particularly horses) and machines, and is able to turn his hand to nearly anything. This type of man is often assumed to be a unique product of New Zealand's colonial period but he shares many similarities with the stereotypical American frontiersman and Australian bushman. New Zealand men are supposed to still have many of these qualities, even though most New Zealanders have lived in urban areas since the late nineteenth century. This has not prevented New Zealanders seeing themselves (and being seen) as essentially country people and good at the tasks which country life requires. The stereotypical Kiwi male is assumed to be a heterosexual of Anglo-Celtic origin, although Māori men are often seen as embodying many of the characteristics described above.

The kiwi male is said to have unique qualities which have become national stereotypes in their own right:

Kiwi ingenuity: This is the idea that New Zealanders display a MacGyver-like ability to solve any problem, often using unconventional means or whatever happens to be lying around. This is also described as the Number 8 wire mentality, which holds that anything can be made or fixed with basic or everyday materials, such as number 8 fencing wire. New Zealanders seen as embodying this quality include Burt Munro (subject of The World's Fastest Indian) and Richard Pearse, who some believe achieved flight before the Wright Brothers. Kiwi ingenuity is also linked to the phrase "she'll be right, mate" (shared with Australia), which expresses the belief that the situation, repairs, or whatever has been done is adequate or sufficient for what is needed. It is seen less positively than Kiwi ingenuity, especially if something goes wrong. Kiwi ingenuity is not strictly a male preserve, although it is generally spoken of in relation to men.

The hard man: New Zealand men have often been stereotyped as strong, unemotional and prone to violence. For many years this was seen as a good thing, and was best embodied by All Black Colin Meads. Voted 'New Zealand player of the century' by New Zealand Rugby Monthly magazine, Meads was the second All Black to be sent off the field, and once played a match with a broken arm. Although he was known to assault other players during games, this was generally approved of as 'enforcement' of the 'spirit of the game'. He was also a supporter of sporting contact with apartheid South Africa. In recent decades the macho attitude has been criticised as dangerous both to men who embody it and those around them. It has been blamed for New Zealand's culture of heavy drinking and its high male suicide rate. However it still has its supporters, with some commentators claiming that the All Blacks do not have enough 'mongrel'.

Rugby, Racing and Beer: New Zealand male culture was traditionally said to centre on the 'three Rs': Rugby (union), (Horse) Racing and beeR. Rugby union has long been popular as both a spectator and a participant sport, with the national rugby team (the All Blacks) considered national heroes. Horse racing has always been more popular as a focus of gambling than for any other reason; as in most countries, horse racing in New Zealand is too expensive for anyone other than the wealthy and their employees (such as professional jockeys and support staff) to fully participate in. In addition, for many years horse racing was one of the few things which could be legally bet on. Beer is New Zealand's most popular alcoholic drink.

Few people consider the Three Rs to dominate New Zealand culture today, although rugby and beer are still very popular. Race betting has declined in popularity, partly due to the legalisation of other forms of sports betting in the 1990s, although cup races still attract considerable attention. National level rugby continues to be very popular as a spectator sport, although not to the same extent as in the mid twentieth century. Spectatorship at club and some regional levels has also dropped since that time, mostly due to television and the increasing number of international and semi-international (ie the Super 14) matches. There has been some concern in recent years that parents are reluctant to let their sons play rugby for fear of injury, however it has been estimated that 14% of 5 to 17 year olds regularly play. Beer continues to be a popular drink, although it is losing ground to wine and 'RTDs' (ready to drink spirit and mixers).

The kiwi female

There are few stereotypes surrounding New Zealand women, and these stereotypes are not as strong as those involving men. The two strongest stereotypes are:

• Independence: New Zealand women are sometimes thought to be more independent than women elsewhere. New Zealand being the first country in the world to give women the vote and the only to have all its most important positions of state power simultaneously filled by women is seen as evidence of this. This ignores the century in between these two events in which New Zealand was far from progressive on women's rights: for example rape within marriage was only criminalised in the mid 1980s.

• Lack of femininity: Women in New Zealand are supposedly unfeminine, for example wearing masculine clothing and spending little time on makeup and other forms of personal grooming. This can also be seen in a positive light; Kiwi women are portrayed as not being held back by ideas about being 'ladylike' and are therefore willing to take on 'masculine' tasks such as car maintenance and playing rugby. Prime Minister Helen Clark is often seen as an embodiment of this stereotype, for good and bad: critics point at her lack of children and her choice on one occasion to meet the Queen while wearing trousers; supporters like her passion for mountain climbing and ability to hold her own in parliamentary debates.

Attitudes

Anti-intellectualism

Unlike many European countries, but in common with other 'Anglo' countries such as Britain, the United States and Australia, New Zealanders do not have a particularly high regard for intellectual activity, particularly if it is more theoretical than practical. This is linked with the idea of 'kiwi ingenuity' (see above), which supposes that all problems are better solved by seeing what works than by applying a theory. This distrust of theory manifested itself in social policy of the early and mid twentieth century, which historian Michael Bassett described as 'socialism without doctrines': although the policies of the first Labour and other governments pursued traditionally socialist goals, they were not based on any coherent theory. A major break with this tradition came in the 1980s when the fourth Labour and fourth National governments enacted a series of reforms based on free market ideology. This reinforced many New Zealanders' distrust of intellectual theory, as many consider that the reforms increased poverty and inequality in New Zealand. Despite the prevailing mood of anti-intellectualism, New Zealand has reasonably high rates of participation in tertiary education and has produced a number of internationally renowned scholars and scientists, including Ernest Rutherford, J.G.A. Pocock and Alan MacDiarmid. It should be noted that both Rutherford and Pocock spent most of their professional lives in Britain. For many years this was a common occurrence, and a consequence both of New Zealanders' attitudes and the low population which made it hard to support major research.

Attribution

Because New Zealanders often have to relocate to achieve worldwide fame and fortune, New Zealanders are keen to claim famous people as being New Zealanders, however short their residency in New Zealand might have been. While people born in New Zealand are certainly identified as New Zealanders, those who attended a New Zealand school or resided in New Zealand also qualify, irrespective of national origin. For example, Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O'Brien is often claimed as a New Zealander even though his time in New Zealand was fairly brief. This sometimes leads to famous people and innovations being identified as coming from both New Zealand and another country — such as the pop groups Crowded House and Split Enz, the Pavlova dessert, the race horse Phar Lap and the actors Sam Neill and Russell Crowe, all of whom have been claimed both by Aussies and by Kiwis as theirs. However, New Zealanders are generally quick to disown controversial or unpopular figures such as Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

Because the measure of New Zealand success was often how well a person did internationally, anything from 'Overseas' is seen as holding more cultural capital than the local equivalent, regardless of its quality. This means that New Zealanders are often lured to the performances of "international acts". This is exacerbated by New Zealand's isolation and small population causing it to be skipped by the international tours of all but the most commercially successful musicians and performers. The flipside to this phenomenon is that famous people from overseas can be quickly embraced by New Zealanders if they visit regularly or for an extended period or claim an affinity with the country.

Social conservatism and progressiveness

New Zealand social policy has tended to oscillate between high levels of innovation and progressiveness and equally high levels of conservatism. Social reforms pioneered by New Zealand include women's suffrage, the welfare state, and respect for indigenous peoples (through the Treaty of Waitangi and the Waitangi Tribunal). Having led the (non-communist) world in economic regulation from the 1930s, in the 1980s and 1990s New Zealand led the world in economic de-regulation.

In contrast to this, New Zealand has also had some very conservative social policies. Most notably, from World War One until the 1960s pubs were required by law to close at 6pm. Until the 1980s most shops were banned from opening on weekends, and until 1999 alcohol could not be sold on Sundays.

This tendency towards inconsistent extremes may be due to New Zealanders' anti-intellectual tendencies noted above. Where governments in many other countries might make a decision, and be supported or opposed by voters, based on ideology, New Zealand governments have been more likely to make decisions based on what seems like it would work or what would be popular. Voters have similarly tended to react to policies according to how they initially appear to work rather than any coherent ideas about how the world works. Major policy changes have generally been made by the Labour Party and kept in place by the National Party. This has been the case for most of the past century even though in that time the Labour Party has evolved from a party dominated by trade unionists with little formal education to one dominated by middle-class academics and lawyers.

Regionalism and parochialism

While small in comparison to Australia or the US, there are regional differences in New Zealand, either between the North Island and South Island, or increasingly, between Auckland and the rest of the country. Auckland is the largest city, and dominates New Zealand economically. There is a perception that Aucklanders (sometimes known as Jafas - Just Another F***ing Aucklander) dismiss anywhere 'south of the Bombay Hills', as unimportant, in much the same way as Londoners are supposed dismiss anywhere 'North of Watford', while people from the rest of New Zealand are said to regard Aucklanders as self-centred, brash and crass, sharing many of the characteristics of Sydneysiders in Australia (Auckland, with its harbours, has been described as a 'Clayton's Sydney').

The popular saying "New Zealand stops at the Bombay Hills" is thus said to be used equally no matter which side of the hills the speaker happens to live on or be referring to. An alternative view of this supposed rivalry is that Auckland and its inhabitants are the subject of a slight anti-Auckland bias, and that the media cynically takes any opportunity to exploit this to increase sales, as in the recent case where a minor earthquake was reported as having caused panic in Auckland. The most identifiable form of provincial rivalry is rugby's Air New Zealand Cup (ANZC, formerly the NPC, National Provincial Championship), where the chief provincial rivalries are that of Otago and Canterbury, Waikato, Auckland and Wellington.

Attitudes to government

As in most countries, many in New Zealand distrust politicians. This was particularly the case from the 1970s to the 1990s. During this period governments were seen as being autocratic and unresponsive to the will of the people. Prime Minister Robert Muldoon (1975-84), Finance Minister Ruth Richardson (1990-93) and many members of the Fourth Labour Government (1984-1990) were particularly disliked. This, and two elections in which one party lost the popular vote but still won the election, led New Zealanders to reform the electoral system, changing from First Past the Post to Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), a form of proportional representation.

Despite this, most New Zealanders display a justifiable faith in their democracy. New Zealand is rated the second least corrupt nation in the world. Turnout for parliamentary elections is typically above 80%, which is very high by international standards and occurs despite the absence of any law requiring citizens to vote. In contrast, local government elections suffer from very low turnout.

Food

Main articles: New Zealand cuisine and New Zealand wine

Māori cuisine

Pre-European Māori cuisine was derived from that of tropical Polynesia, adapted for New Zealand's colder climate. Key ingredients included kūmara (sweet potato), fernroot, taro, birds and fish. Food was cooked in hāngi (earth ovens), roasted and, in geothermal areas, boiled or steamed using natural hot springs and pools. Various means of preserving birds and other foods were also employed. Māori were one of the few peoples to have no form of alcoholic beverage. Following the arrival of British settlers, Māori adopted many of their foods, especially pork and potatoes, the latter of which transformed the Māori agricultural economy. Many traditional food sources became scarce as introduced predators dramatically reduced bird populations, and forests were cleared for farming and timber. Traditional seafoods such as toheroa and whitebait were over-harvested. Present day Māori cuisine is a mixture of Māori tradition, old fashioned English cookery, and contemporary dishes.

Pākehā cuisine

The majority of Pākehā are of British descent, and so it is not surprising that Pākehā cuisine owes much (good and bad) to British cuisine. Nineteenth century British settlers in New Zealand tried as much as possible to reproduce the foods of their homeland. A major difference between British and Pākehā food was that meat was much more readily available to all social classes in New Zealand. A highly carnivorous diet remains a part of Pākehā culture, although red meat consumption has dropped in the last few decades. Like the British, Pākehā have traditionally been very fond of sweet foods, and the best of traditional Pākehā cooking consists of cakes, scones, muffins and desserts. In recent decades Pākehā have discovered 'ethnic' food, and a 'foodie' culture has emerged. Most Pākehā food is not significantly different from modern British cuisine, although New Zealand chefs such as Peter Gordon played a major part in the creation of fusion cuisine.

Other cuisines

New Zealanders increasingly come from many ethnic backgrounds, and most immigrants to New Zealand have tried to reproduce their native cuisines or national dishes in New Zealand. Ethnic restaurants have served as community meeting places and have also given other New Zealanders a chance to try different cuisines.

Naming of New Zealand

New Zealand place names reveal much about the cultures of New Zealand. In particular, both Māori and Pākehā have used names to assert real or symbolic ownership of places, and the penchant for coining ironic nicknames for towns ('Roto-vegas', 'Hamiltron: City of the Future') shows a widespread enjoyment of self-mockery.

See also

• Kiwiana
• Māori
• Music of New Zealand
• New Zealand English
• New Zealand literature
• Original New Zealand recipes
• Pākehā
• Relationship between New Zealand and Australia

External links

• Kiwi Ingenuity
• Kiwiana.org.nz
• Research in New Zealand Performing Arts - A free online research journal that discusses New Zealand music and related arts.
• Māori hip hop
• New Zealand Cultural Events and Organisations