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) 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 600 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 one of the lowest levels of perceived corruption in the world. 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, Five Eyes, 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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View along Sycamore Avenue in Barrhill

Barrhill is a lightly populated locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on the Canterbury Plains, on the right bank of the Rakaia River, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) inland from Rakaia. It was founded by Cathcart Wason in the mid-1870s and named by him after his old home Barrhill in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Wason set it up as a model village for the workers of his large sheep farm. The population of the village peaked in the mid-1880s before the general recession initiated a downturn for the village. Wason had expected for the Methven Branch railway to run past Barrhill, but the line was built in 1880 on an alignment many miles away, which caused Barrhill population to decrease.

Three of the original buildings of Barrhill plus the gatehouse at Wason's homestead were constructed of concrete, and they still exist to this day. One of those buildings, St John's Church, is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category II heritage building, and the gatehouse is a museum that is open on request. Today, few buildings exist in the village, but the formal layout of avenues still exists, giving the setting a charming appearance. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The 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 2Poet Selina Tusitala Marsh, 2019 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 3Water pollution sign on the Waimakariri River (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 4New Zealand Division in 1916 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 5Central Plateau in winter (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 6A 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 7The Mission House at Kerikeri is New Zealand's oldest surviving building, having been completed in 1822 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 8Cook Island dancers at Auckland's Pasifika Festival, 2010 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 9Prime Ministers John Key and Helen Clark (from History of New Zealand)
Image 10One of the few extant copies of the Treaty of Waitangi (from History of New Zealand)
Image 11The kiwi has become a New Zealand icon. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 12The Forty-Fours viewed from the north; the leftmost islet is the easternmost point of New Zealand. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 13The Original All Blacks during the "haka", 1905 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 14Zealandia rejecting Australian Constitution in 1900 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 15Scorching Bay, Wellington, in summer (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 16Māori 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 17Richard Seddon, Liberal Prime Minister from 1893 to his death in 1906 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 18Strong winds in the Cook Strait produce high waves which erode the shore, as shown in this image (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 19Men of the Māori Battalion, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, after disembarking at Gourock in Scotland in June 1940 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 20A modern wharenui (meeting house of a marae) exhibited at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 21An annotated relief map (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 22Tribute 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 23Scottish Highland family migrating to New Zealand, 1844, by William Allsworth. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 24Percentages 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 25Putting down a hāngī (earth oven) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 26Kapa haka is performed at a School Strike for Climate in Christchurch 2019. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 27Rural landscape close to Mt Ruapehu (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 28A meeting of European and Māori inhabitants of Hawke's Bay Province. Engraving, 1863.
Image 29Pavlova, a popular New Zealand dessert, garnished with cream and strawberries. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 30Fiordland is dominated by steep, glacier-carved valleys. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 31Children's and young adult author Margaret Mahy, July 2011 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 32Hinepare 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 33Elizabeth II and Muldoon's Cabinet, taken during the Queen's 1981 visit to New Zealand (from History of New Zealand)
Image 34Vigil in Wellington for the victims of the Christchurch mosques attacks (from History of New Zealand)
Image 35Topography of Zealandia, the submerged continent, and the two tectonic plates (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 36Aoraki / Mount Cook, as seen from Hooker Valley (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 37New Zealand is antipodal to points of the North Atlantic, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
Image 38An aerial view of the Auckland urban area, showing its location on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 39The Waikato River flowing out of Lake Taupō (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 40A beach barbecue – an established part of New Zealand culture (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 41"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 42A Māori ancestor (tekoteko) depicted in a wood carving at the Tamatekapua Meeting House in Ohinemutu (c. 1880) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 43Residents of Dunedin celebrate the news of the Armistice of 11 November 1918. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 44Tekoteko from the gable of a wharenui, Te Arawa (20th century) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 45European 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 46Michael Joseph Savage, Labour Prime Minister 1935–1940. This portrait was hung on the walls of many supporters. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 47The 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 48The 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 49Lorde as part of the 2014 Lollapalooza lineup (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 50George 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 51Roger Douglas, the architect of New Zealand's 1980s neo-liberal reform programme (from History of New Zealand)
Image 52The 1935 Labour Cabinet. Michael Joseph Savage is seated in the front row, centre. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 53Knox Church, a Presbyterian church, in Dunedin. The city was founded by Scottish Presbyterian settlers. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 54HMS North Star destroying Pomare's Pā during the Northern/Flagstaff War, 1845, Painting by John Williams. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 55Art deco in Napier (from Culture of New Zealand)

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...that Pākehā Māori missionary Thomas Kendall was sacked for gun running?

...that Edgar James Kain - known to all as "Cobber" - was the first RAF Ace of World War II ?

...that the All Blacks lost two test matches on the same day in 1949?

...that quartz miners at Bullendale and Reefton in the 1880s were the first users of electricity in New Zealand?

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House carving showing Kupe (holding a paddle), with two sea creatures at his feet

In the Māori mythology of some tribes, Kupe was involved in the Polynesian discovery of New Zealand.

According to one tradition (Craig 1989:127), Kupe was a great chief of Hawaiki who arrived in New Zealand in 925 AD. He left his cousin Hoturapa to drown during a fishing expedition and kidnapped his wife, Kuramarotini, with whom he fled in her great canoe Matahourua. During their subsequent journeys, they overcame numerous monsters and sea demons, including the great octopus named as Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, and discovered New Zealand. Returning to Hawaiki, Kupe told of his adventures and convinced others to migrate with him. Traditions about Kupe appear among the peoples of the following areas: Northland, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tainui, Whanganui-Taranaki, Rangitāne, and the South Island.

A.H. Reed wrote that "When Kupe, the first discoverer of New Zealand,first came in sight of the land,his wife cried,'He ao! He ao!" (a cloud! a cloud!). Great Barrier Island was therefore named Aotea (white cloud), and the long mainland Aotearoa (long white cloud). When Kupe finally returned to his homeland his people asked him why he did not call the newly discovered country after his fatherland. He replied, 'I preferred the warm breast to the cold one, the new land to the old land long forsaken'." (Full article...)

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Waiouru is a small town in the Ruapehu District, in New Zealand's Manawatū-Whanganui region. It is located on the south-eastern North Island Volcanic Plateau, 130 km (81 mi) north of Palmerston North and 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu. The town had a population of 765 in the 2018 census. (Full article...)

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... that New Zealand mayor Georgina Beyer was the world's first openly transgender mayor?
... that a design for the 1930s New Zealand penny depicted a rugby player?
... that all known populations of Epipterygium opararense live within a 5-metre (16 ft) radius in New Zealand?
... that New Zealand's Lemon & Te Aroha was created 19 years before the similarly named and more famous Lemon & Paeroa?
... that Jessica Mutch McKay hosted debates between the leaders of New Zealand's two major political parties?
... that the sheep-farming founder of Kekerengu in New Zealand became an international fugitive?
... that in October 2024 Manawanui became the first Royal New Zealand Navy vessel to be lost in peacetime?
... that following public backlash over the mistreatment of Paora, Zoo Miami stated: "We have offended the nation of New Zealand"?

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