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 and Australia have a strong relationship and are considered to have a shared Trans-Tasman identity between the two countries, stemming from centuries of British colonisation. The country is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

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KiwiRail DL9020 on MetroPort train MP4 at Papakura, Auckland on 29 August 2011.

Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of 4,375.5 km (2,718.8 mi) of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail transport in New Zealand has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports, with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually, accounting for more than half of rail revenue.

Rail transport played an important role in the opening up and development of the hinterland outside of New Zealand's predominantly dispersed and coastal settlements. Starting with the Ferrymead Railway in 1863, most public railway lines were short, built by provincial governments and connected major centres to their nearest seaport (such as Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton Harbour). From the 1870s, the focus shifted to building a nationwide network linking major centres, especially during the Vogel Era of railway construction following the abolition of the provinces. Narrow gauge of 3ft 6in (1,067mm) was adopted nationally. Bush tramways or light industrial railways sprang up connecting to the national network as it expanded. Railways became centrally controlled as a government department under the names New Zealand Government Railways or New Zealand Railways Department (NZR), and land transport was heavily regulated from 1931 onwards. NZR eventually expanded into other transport modes, especially with the Railways Road Services, inter-island ferries and Rail Air service. NZR also had an extensive network of workshops. By 1981, NZR employed 22,000 staff. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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...that fighting chief Hongi Hika also helped write the first Maori-English dictionary?

...that New Zealander Geoff Fisken was the highest scoring Commonwealth ace against the Japanese, or that his Curtiss P-40 Wairarapa Wildcat is being restored?

...that New Zealand has a greater density of liverworts than any other country, due to its cool, wet and temperate climate?

...that Samuel Marsden is believed to have introduced sheep to New Zealand?

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The kākāpō is a species of nocturnal parrot, endemic to New Zealand. It is notable for being the world's only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, and the only parrot to have a lek breeding system. It is also the only flightless lek bird and is possibly one of the world's longest-living birds. It is the only species in the genus Strigops and subfamily Strigopinae. Kākāpō are critically endangered, with only 244 living individuals known as of 2024. Prehistorically, the ancestral kākāpō migrated to the islands of New Zealand and, in the absence of mammalian predators, it lost the ability to fly. With Polynesian and European colonisation and the introduction of predators such as cats, rats, and stoats, almost all the kākāpō were wiped out. Conservation efforts began in the 1890s, but they were not very successful until the implementation of the Kākāpō Recovery Plan in the 1980s. All surviving kākāpō are kept on two predator-free islands, Chalky Island in south-west Fiordland and Codfish Island / Whenua Hou near Stewart Island / Rakiura, where they are closely monitored. (Full article...)

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Jane Gardner Batten CBE OSC (15 September 1909 – 22 November 1982), commonly known as Jean Batten, was a New Zealand aviator who made several record-breaking flights – including the first solo flight from England to New Zealand in 1936. (Full article...)

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... that the phrase "togs, togs, undies" was popularised in New Zealand by an advertisement for Trumpet ice cream cones?
... that Chickaboom!, by country musician Tami Neilson, was nominated for both Canadian and New Zealand music awards?
... that Michaela Foster, a New Zealand footballer playing in the 2023 World Cup, is known for her mana?
... that the New Zealand fishing company Sealord Group is half-owned by iwi?
... 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's Lemon & Te Aroha was created 19 years before the similarly named and more famous Lemon & Paeroa?
... that one threatened species of plant endemic to the North Island of New Zealand is colloquially known as a forget-me-not?
... that after Alfred Fell moved his family to England for better education opportunities, his son Walter Fell and two of his brothers returned permanently to New Zealand?

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