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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The 1972 New Zealand eight was a team of Olympic gold medallists in rowing from New Zealand, having previously won the 1971 European Rowing Championships. At the time, the eight was regarded as the blue ribbon class of rowing, and the sport still had amateur-status in New Zealand, unlike many other nations competing in rowing. After a disappointing Olympic performance at the 1968 Summer Olympics by the New Zealand eight, national selectors Rusty Robertson, Don Rowlands, and Fred Strachan were tasked with assembling a new crew. Robertson was also the team's coach. The next time a New Zealand eight competed was at the 1970 World Rowing Championships, where they came third. The team was once again significantly changed for the next rowing season, with the 1971 edition of the European Rowing Championships and other international regattas beforehand seen as the ultimate test for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The team put up an impressive performance, beat the highly favoured East German eight, and became European champion; at the time the win was regarded as holding world championship status. No further changes were made to the team, not even their seating position, for the 1972 season. Despite a shoe-string budget, financial constraints, and all rowers working part-time, the 1971 success was repeated and the team won Olympic gold in Munich. The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Avery Brundage, was a zealous advocate of amateurism; he was so impressed by the New Zealand performance that he insisted on handing out the gold medals himself. During the medal ceremony, much to almost everybody's surprise, "God Defend New Zealand" was played instead of the national anthem, "God Save the Queen". It was the impetus for a campaign to make "God Defend New Zealand" the New Zealand anthem, and in 1977 it was gazetted as having equal status to the traditional anthem.

The team won some significant awards and recognition for its successes. The rules of the "Sportsman of the Year Award" had to be changed so that a team could win the supreme award; this was awarded after their European championship win. Brundage also awarded the Taher Pacha Trophy to the team for distinction in amateur sport in 1971. After the Olympic success, the team was again awarded "Sportsman of the Year"; the first time a back-to-back award had been handed out. Rowlands, their manager, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1973 New Year Honours. Over time, coach Robertson, manager Rowlands, and then the team as a whole were inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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...that a pigeon post service ran from Newton to Great Barrier Island from 1896 to 1908. This may have been the world's first regular airmail service.

...that New Zealand fighter ace Keith Caldwell criticised the Royal Flying Corps' leading ace - and his superior officer - for shooting two German aircrew who had crash landed behind British lines.

...that the New Zealand Storm-petrel was believed extinct from 1850 until it was sighted again in 2003?

...that New Zealand's biggest second-hand book sale (pictured) is that held annually at the Regent Theatre, Dunedin?

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Herbert James 'Burt' Munro (25 March 1899 – 6 January 1978) was a New Zealand motorcycle racer, famous for setting an under-1000cc world record, at Bonneville, 26 August 1967. This record still stands today. Burt Munro was 68 and was riding a 47-year old machine when he set his last record.

Working from his home in Invercargill, he worked for 20 years to highly modify the 1920 Indian motorcycle which he had bought in 1920. Munro set his first New Zealand speed record in 1938 and later set seven more. He travelled to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats, attempting to set world speed records. During his ten visits to the salt flats, he set three speed records, one of which still stands today. His efforts, and success, are the basis of the motion picture The World's Fastest Indian (2005), starring Anthony Hopkins, and an earlier 1971 short documentary film Burt Munro: Offerings to the God of Speed (Full article...)

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Angelus Hut with Angelus Lake behind it in the winter. In the clouds, no name peak (1860m) can be seen. Picture taken during the sunset at Nelson Lakes National Park, New Zealand

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... that Matahi Brightwell reintroduced the sport of waka ama to New Zealand?
... that New Zealand potter Hardy Browning began his career as a coal miner?
... that New Zealand mayor Georgina Beyer was the world's first openly transgender mayor?
... that a founder of a New Zealand ice cream company was previously an investment banker?
... that New Zealand petrol stations were filled with queues before a change in government policy?
... that a third of the MPs elected in the 2023 New Zealand election were new to Parliament, including Carlos Cheung, Grant McCallum, Suze Redmayne, Dana Kirkpatrick, Ryan Hamilton, James Meager, Greg Fleming, Vanessa Weenink, Mike Butterick, Katie Nimon, David MacLeod, Miles Anderson, Carl Bates, Rima Nakhle, Nancy Lu, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, Reuben Davidson, Scott Willis, Darleen Tana, Takutai Moana Kemp, Kahurangi Carter, Todd Stephenson, Laura Trask, Cameron Luxton, Tākuta Ferris, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, Casey Costello, Jamie Arbuckle, and Tanya Unkovich?
... that the New Zealand mollusc Eatoniella mortoni (pictured) can thrive in extreme carbon dioxide-rich environments, making it a subject for the study of ocean acidification?
... that the New Zealand government has officially apologised for articles published in the New Zealand School Journal about the Moriori people in the early 20th century?

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