Portal:New Zealand

New Zealand
*Aotearoa* (Māori)
New Zealand Aotearoa (Māori)
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of New Zealand, including outlying islands, its territorial claim in the Antarctic, and Tokelau
ISO 3166 code	NZ

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New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland.

A developed country, it was the first to introduce a minimum wage, and the first to give women the right to vote. It ranks very highly in international measures of quality of life, human rights, and it has low levels of perceived corruption. It retains visible levels of inequality, having structural disparities between its Māori and European populations. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture; international tourism is also a significant source of revenue. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, UKUSA, OECD, ASEAN Plus Six, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum. It enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies; the United Kingdom; Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga; and with Australia, with a shared "Trans-Tasman" identity between the two countries stemming from centuries of British colonisation. (Full article...)

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Most New Zealand place names have a Māori or a British origin. Both groups used names to commemorate notable people, events, places from their homeland, and their ships, or to describe the surrounding area. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole of New Zealand before the arrival of Europeans, but post-colonisation the name Aotearoa (commonly translated as 'long white cloud') has been used to refer to the whole country. Dutch cartographers named the islands Nova Zeelandia, the Latin translation of the Dutch Nieuw Zeeland (after the Dutch province of Zeeland). By the time of British exploration, the country's name was anglicised to New Zealand. Many of the early Māori names were replaced by Europeans during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Government amendments in 1894 and the establishment of the New Zealand Geographic Board in the mid-1940s led to the encouragement of original Māori names, although differing spellings and anglicised pronunciations persisted. Many names now have alternative or dual English and Māori names or, in a few rare cases, dual Māori names or dual English names. Most names have never been made official, but if they are mentioned in authoritative publications they are considered recorded names. Colloquial names in New Zealand result from an ironic view of the place's entertainment value, or plays on advertising mottos, or are shortened versions of the full name. Some places tried to capitalise on the success of The Lord of the Rings films by linking themselves to the movies. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various New Zealand-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1HMS North Star destroying Pomare's Pā during the Northern/Flagstaff War, 1845, Painting by John Williams. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 2New Zealand is antipodal to points of the North Atlantic, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
Image 3Zealandia rejecting Australian Constitution in 1900 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 4Pavlova, a popular New Zealand dessert, garnished with cream and strawberries. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 5Water pollution sign on the Waimakariri River (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 6Central Plateau in winter (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 7Rural landscape close to Mt Ruapehu (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 8Lorde as part of the 2014 Lollapalooza lineup (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 9A Māori ancestor (tekoteko) depicted in a wood carving at the Tamatekapua Meeting House in Ohinemutu (c. 1880) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 10Children's and young adult author Margaret Mahy, July 2011 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 11The Mission House at Kerikeri is New Zealand's oldest surviving building, having been completed in 1822 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 12Cook Island dancers at Auckland's Pasifika Festival, 2010 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 13Percentages of people reporting affiliation with Christianity at the 2001, 2006 and 2013 censuses; there has been a steady decrease over twelve years. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 14Art deco in Napier (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 15The 1935 Labour Cabinet. Michael Joseph Savage is seated in the front row, centre. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 16Roger Douglas, the architect of New Zealand's 1980s neo-liberal reform programme (from History of New Zealand)
Image 17Topography of Zealandia, the submerged continent, and the two tectonic plates (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 18The scalloped bays indenting Lake Taupō's northern and western coasts are typical of large volcanic caldera margins. The caldera they surround was formed during the huge Oruanui eruption. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 19Hinepare of Ngāti Kahungunu, is wearing a traditional korowai cloak adorned with a black fringe border. The two huia feathers in her hair, indicate a chiefly lineage. She also wears a pounamu hei-tiki and earring, as well as a shark tooth (mako) earring. The moko-kauae (chin-tattoo) is often based on one's role in the iwi. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 20An annotated relief map (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 21Knox Church, a Presbyterian church, in Dunedin. The city was founded by Scottish Presbyterian settlers. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 22A beach barbecue – an established part of New Zealand culture (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 23Māori whānau (extended family) from Rotorua in the 1880s. Many aspects of Western life and culture, including European clothing and architecture, became incorporated into Māori society during the 19th century. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 24Poet Selina Tusitala Marsh, 2019 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 25Scorching Bay, Wellington, in summer (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 26Men of the Māori Battalion, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, after disembarking at Gourock in Scotland in June 1940 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 27Scottish Highland family migrating to New Zealand, 1844, by William Allsworth. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 28Kapa haka is performed at a School Strike for Climate in Christchurch 2019. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 29Vigil in Wellington for the victims of the Christchurch mosques attacks (from History of New Zealand)
Image 30Michael Joseph Savage, Labour Prime Minister 1935–1940. This portrait was hung on the walls of many supporters. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 31A meeting of European and Māori inhabitants of Hawke's Bay Province. Engraving, 1863.
Image 32Prime Ministers John Key and Helen Clark (from History of New Zealand)
Image 33Elizabeth II and Muldoon's Cabinet, taken during the Queen's 1981 visit to New Zealand (from History of New Zealand)
Image 34A modern wharenui (meeting house of a marae) exhibited at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 35Fiordland is dominated by steep, glacier-carved valleys. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 36An aerial view of the Auckland urban area, showing its location on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 37The first Government House in Auckland, as painted by Edward Ashworth in 1842 or 1843. Auckland was the second capital of New Zealand. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 38One of the few extant copies of the Treaty of Waitangi (from History of New Zealand)
Image 39George V with his prime ministers at the 1926 Imperial Conference. Standing (left to right): Monroe (Newfoundland), Coates (New Zealand), Bruce (Australia),Hertzog (Union of South Africa),Cosgrave (Irish Free State). Seated: Baldwin (UK), King George V, King (Canada). (from History of New Zealand)
Image 40The kiwi has become a New Zealand icon. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 41Aoraki / Mount Cook, as seen from Hooker Valley (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 42New Zealand Division in 1916 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 43"First Scottish Colony for New Zealand" – 1839 poster advertising emigration from Scotland to New Zealand. Collection of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Scotland. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 44The Waikato River flowing out of Lake Taupō (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 45A 1943 poster produced during the war. The poster reads: "When war broke out ... industries were unprepared for munitions production. To-day New Zealand is not only manufacturing many kinds of munitions for her own defence but is making a valuable contribution to the defence of the other areas in the Pacific..." (from History of New Zealand)
Image 46European settlers developed an identity that was influenced by their rustic lifestyle. In this scene from 1909, men at their camp site display a catch of rabbits and fish. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 47Residents of Dunedin celebrate the news of the Armistice of 11 November 1918. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 48The Original All Blacks during the "haka", 1905 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 49The Forty-Fours viewed from the north; the leftmost islet is the easternmost point of New Zealand. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 50Tekoteko from the gable of a wharenui, Te Arawa (20th century) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 51Strong winds in the Cook Strait produce high waves which erode the shore, as shown in this image (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 52Richard Seddon, Liberal Prime Minister from 1893 to his death in 1906 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 53The Māori are most likely descended from people who emigrated from Taiwan to Melanesia and then travelled east through to the Society Islands. After a pause of 70 to 265 years, a new wave of exploration led to the discovery and settlement of New Zealand.
Image 54Tribute to the Suffragettes memorial in Christchurch adjacent to Our City. The figures shown from left to right are Amey Daldy, Kate Sheppard, Ada Wells and Harriet Morison (from History of New Zealand)
Image 55Putting down a hāngī (earth oven) (from Culture of New Zealand)

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... that New Zealand currently has free trade agreements with Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Chile and China?
...that the New Zealand mud snail has become an invasive pest species in Australia, Europe and North America?
...that the 1996 MMP election put more women and Māori into government and was the first New Zealand Parliament to elect an Asian?
...that the Flag of Otago represents the blue skies over the region's golden hills?
...that there are more Polynesians in Auckland than in any other Pacific city?

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Captain William Hobson RN (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was the first Governor of New Zealand and co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.

In his Royal Navy career, he served in the Napoleonic wars and was involved in the suppression of piracy in the Caribbean. In 1836 he sailed HMS Rattlesnake to Australia where he spent several months surveying Port Phillip District (later Melbourne).

In 1837 he sailed to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, in response to a request for help from James Busby, the British Resident, who felt threatened by wars between Māori tribes. He arrived on 26 May 1837 and helped to reduce the tensions. At the time, the British government recognised the sovereignty of the Māori people, as represented in the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand of October 1835, which had been organised by Busby. Hobson returned to England and was appointed Lieutenant Governor and British consul to New Zealand (confirmed on 13 August 1839). He was instructed to purchase land "by fair and equal contracts."

Hobson arrived back in the Bay of Islands on 29 January 1840 (which is celebrated today as Auckland Anniversary Day) with a small group of officials and almost immediately drafted the Treaty of Waitangi, together with his secretary James Freeman and Busby. After obtaining signatures at the Bay of Islands, he travelled to Waitemata Harbour to obtain more signatures and survey a suitable location for a new capital. In November 1840 the Queen signed a royal charter for New Zealand to become a Crown colony separate from New South Wales. Hobson was sworn in as Governor and Commander in Chief on 3 May 1841. (Full article...)

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Napier (/ˈneɪpiər/ NAY-pee-ər; Māori: Ahuriri) is a city on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lined with Norfolk pines, and extensive Art Deco architecture. Napier is sometimes referred to as the "Nice of the Pacific", although that is largely outdated and a more common nickname is 'The Art Deco Capital of the world'. (Full article...)

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... that New Zealand composer Maewa Kaihau sold her rights to the song "Now is the Hour" for £10, a decade before it became a hit in the United Kingdom and United States?
... that New Zealand health executive Sharon Shea points to distrust in authority caused by "post-colonisation trauma" for low COVID-19 vaccination rates of Māori?
... that Walter Nash's 14 years as New Zealand's minister of finance is the longest continuous time that anyone has ever served in that post?
... that New Zealand politician Tom Rutherford is a firefighter and hockey umpire?
... that Jessica Mutch McKay hosted debates between the leaders of New Zealand's two major political parties?
... that Grace Harrison was one of two women who played in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League in 2021?
... that New Zealand world-champion rower Emma Twigg came out of retirement to compete in her fourth Olympic Games today?
... that the first meeting of the New Zealand Women Writers' Society was chaired by a man?

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