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 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 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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Dale in 2009

Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor, known for his early long-running role as Jim Robinson in Australian tv soap opera Neighbours, American series' The O.C. (as Caleb Nichol) and Ugly Betty (as Bradford Meade), as well as recurring and guest roles in Lost, 24, NCIS, ER, The West Wing, The X-Files, Entourage, Once Upon a Time and Dynasty as Joseph Anders. (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 2Elizabeth II and Muldoon's Cabinet, taken during the Queen's 1981 visit to New Zealand (from History of New Zealand)
Image 3A 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 4The 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 5New Zealand is antipodal to points of the North Atlantic, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
Image 6A meeting of European and Māori inhabitants of Hawke's Bay Province. Engraving, 1863.
Image 7Michael Joseph Savage, Labour Prime Minister 1935–1940. This portrait was hung on the walls of many supporters. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 8Children's and young adult author Margaret Mahy, July 2011 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 9Prime Ministers John Key and Helen Clark (from History of New Zealand)
Image 10Topography of Zealandia, the submerged continent, and the two tectonic plates (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 11Tekoteko from the gable of a wharenui, Te Arawa (20th century) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 12The 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 13Strong winds in the Cook Strait produce high waves which erode the shore, as shown in this image (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 14Residents of Dunedin celebrate the news of the Armistice of 11 November 1918. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 15Aoraki / Mount Cook, as seen from Hooker Valley (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 16Men of the Māori Battalion, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, after disembarking at Gourock in Scotland in June 1940 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 17A modern wharenui (meeting house of a marae) exhibited at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 18The Forty-Fours viewed from the north; the leftmost islet is the easternmost point of New Zealand. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 19Lorde as part of the 2014 Lollapalooza lineup (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 20The Waikato River flowing out of Lake Taupō (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 21Art deco in Napier (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 22Putting down a hāngī (earth oven) (from Culture 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 24One of the few extant copies of the Treaty of Waitangi (from History of New Zealand)
Image 25"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 26A beach barbecue – an established part of New Zealand culture (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 27Cook Island dancers at Auckland's Pasifika Festival, 2010 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 28George 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 29A Māori ancestor (tekoteko) depicted in a wood carving at the Tamatekapua Meeting House in Ohinemutu (c. 1880) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 30HMS North Star destroying Pomare's Pā during the Northern/Flagstaff War, 1845, Painting by John Williams. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 31An aerial view of the Auckland urban area, showing its location on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 32Percentages 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 33Poet Selina Tusitala Marsh, 2019 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 34Richard Seddon, Liberal Prime Minister from 1893 to his death in 1906 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 35The 1935 Labour Cabinet. Michael Joseph Savage is seated in the front row, centre. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 36Tribute 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 37The Mission House at Kerikeri is New Zealand's oldest surviving building, having been completed in 1822 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 38Roger Douglas, the architect of New Zealand's 1980s neo-liberal reform programme (from History of New Zealand)
Image 39Zealandia rejecting Australian Constitution in 1900 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 40Water pollution sign on the Waimakariri River (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 41Vigil in Wellington for the victims of the Christchurch mosques attacks (from History of New Zealand)
Image 42Kapa haka is performed at a School Strike for Climate in Christchurch 2019. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 43The kiwi has become a New Zealand icon. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 44Scorching Bay, Wellington, in summer (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 45Pavlova, a popular New Zealand dessert, garnished with cream and strawberries. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 46The Original All Blacks during the "haka", 1905 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 47Fiordland is dominated by steep, glacier-carved valleys. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 48New Zealand Division in 1916 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 49Rural landscape close to Mt Ruapehu (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 50Knox Church, a Presbyterian church, in Dunedin. The city was founded by Scottish Presbyterian settlers. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 51An annotated relief map (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 52Māori 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 53Central Plateau in winter (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 54European 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 55Hinepare 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)

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...that Baldwin Street (pictured) in Dunedin is reputedly the world's steepest street?

...that, because of its aluminium cladding and shape, the Westpac Stadium in Wellington is nicknamed "The Caketin"?

...that the 1990 movie Arachnophobia used 374 Avondale spiders, a species first documented in Avondale, Auckland?

...that the Bounty Islands were named in 1788 by captain William Bligh after his ship, just months before the infamous mutiny?

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Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand, and 37th most prominent peak in the world, reaching a height of 3,754 metres (12,316 ft). It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki/Mount Cook consists of three summits lying slightly south and east of the main divide, the Low Peak, Middle Peak and High Peak, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the west.

Aoraki means "Cloud Piercer" in the Ngāi Tahu dialect of the Māori language. Historically, the Māori name has been spelt Aorangi in the "canonical" Māori form. While the mountain was known to Māori centuries before, the first European known to see Aoraki/Mount Cook was Abel Tasman, on December 13, 1642 during his first Pacific voyage. The English name of Mount Cook was given to the mountain in 1851 by Captain John Lort Stokes to honour Captain James Cook who first surveyed and circumnavigated the islands of New Zealand in 1770. Captain Cook did not sight the mountain during his exploration. Following the settlement between Ngāi Tahu and the Crown in 1998, the name of the mountain was officially changed from Mount Cook to Aoraki/Mount Cook to incorporate its historic Māori name, Aoraki. Under the settlement the Crown agreed to return title to Aoraki/Mount Cook to Ngāi Tahu, who then formally gifted it back to the nation.

The first ascent was on 25 December 1894, when New Zealanders Tom Fyfe, James (Jack) Clarke and George Graham successfully reached the summit via the Hooker Valley and the north ridge. Ed Hillary made his first ascent in January 1947. In February 1948 with Ruth Adams, Harry Ayres and Mick Sullivan, Hillary made the first ascent of the South Ridge to the Low Peak. (Full article...)

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The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that Jessica Mutch McKay hosted debates between the leaders of New Zealand's two major political parties?
... that the design on a New Zealand coin was incorrectly alleged to represent a "personified phallus"?
... that New Zealand potter Hardy Browning began his career as a coal miner?
... that the Cook Landing Site also commemorates the Māori who landed in New Zealand four centuries or more before Cook did?
... that Lynda Simmons co-founded Architecture + Women NZ with Sarah Treadwell, Julie Wilson and Megan Rule to push for equity in New Zealand architecture?
... that Ben Bell was elected at the age of 23 as New Zealand's youngest-ever mayor during the 2022 local elections?
... that Randell Cottage, home to a residency for French and New Zealand writers, is a listed heritage building?
... that The New Zealand Herald opposed a children's hospital in favour of a statue of Queen Victoria?

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