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 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, 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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Brigadier Miles, 1940–41

Brigadier Reginald Miles, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC (10 December 1892 – 20 October 1943) was a professional soldier who served in the New Zealand Military Forces during the First and Second World Wars.

Miles was a New Zealand entrant into the Australian Royal Military College, Duntroon, from which he graduated in 1914. He served as an artillery officer in the First World War and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions during the German spring offensive. He remained in the military after the war, holding artillery commands for the next several years. When the Second World War broke out, Miles was the Quartermaster General of the New Zealand Military Forces. In 1940, he was seconded to the 2nd New Zealand Division as its commander of artillery. He saw action during the Battle of Greece and later during Operation Crusader in North Africa. Captured during fighting near Tobruk in late 1941, he was held in a prisoner of war camp in Italy but escaped in April 1943 with five other officers, including fellow New Zealander James Hargest. By October, Miles had made his way to Spain where, overcome with depression, he committed suicide. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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... that William Miles Maskell (pictured) was a New Zealand farmer and entomologist who advocated biological pest control?

... that Barzillai Quaife has been described both as "New Zealand's first public anti-racist" and "Australia's first philosopher"?

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Leiopelmatida (Hochstetter's Frog), one of many biological families endemic to New Zealand

The biodiversity of New Zealand is one of the most unusual on Earth, due to its long geological isolation from other continental landmasses. Its genetic affinities are derived from Gondwana, from which it separated 82 million years (Ma) ago, along with Australia, New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island, part of the same tectonic plate.

New Zealand's pre-human biodiversity exhibited high levels of endemism in its flora and fauna. The range of ancient fauna is not well-known but at least one species of non-flying terrestrial mammal existed in New Zealand around 19 Ma ago. Prior to 65 Ma ago, the fauna included dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles.

For at least several Ma before the arrival of humans and their commensal species, the islands had no terrestrial mammals except for bats, the main component of the terrestrial fauna being insects and birds. Its flora is dominated by Gondwanan plants, comprising historically of forests, most famously the giant kauri, Agathis australis.

New Zealand has developed a national Biodiversity Action Plan to address conservation of considerable numbers of threatened flora and fauna within New Zealand. (Full article...)

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Māori rock carvings at Mine Bay on Lake Taupō are over 10 metres high and are only accessible by boat or kayak. Lake Taupō is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand.

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... 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 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 New Zealand's Big Lemon & Paeroa bottle was originally a replica space rocket?
... that Cobb Power Station has the highest-elevation hydroelectric storage lake in New Zealand?
... that New Zealand activist Pania Newton gave up a legal career to become an activist and spokesperson for the preservation of her ancestral lands at Ihumātao?
... that George Jameson was the highest-scoring New Zealand night fighter pilot of World War II?
... that Rush Munro's, New Zealand's oldest ice creamery, has used the same recipes since 1926?
... that the New Zealand tree Dracophyllum fiordense has distinctive spirals at the ends of its leaves?

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