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Polynesians settlers arrived
in Aotearoa/New Zealand around the tenth
century, and by the twelfth century
settlements were scattered over most of the
country.
What the Polynesians found was a land much different to the South Pacific tropical isles of Polynesia. Instead they found a land of mountains with a more seasonal climate. There were no large mammals to hunt for food, but there was a large flightless bird called the Moa. The Moa stood up to 15 feet tall and the Maori found it easy prey. By the time Europeans had reached New Zealand the Moa was hunted to extinction. |
| Travel destinations Bay of Islands Rotorua Coromandel Tauranga Napier Wanganui Taupo Invercargill Franz Joseph Whangarei Queenstown Nelson Gisborne Mt Cook Kaikoura Milford Sound Wanaka Blenheim |
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Abel Janzoon Tasman was the first European explorer to see New Zealand in 1642, but it was Captain James Cook who first set foot on New Zealand soil in 1769. The first permanent settlers didn't arrive until the 1830's. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, giving sovereignty of New Zealand to Britain. The Maori were persuaded to cede vast tracts of land for mere token payments, but soon the Maori realised the true worth of what they had given away. The Maori rose up and attacked the British settlements repeatedly. Today New Zealand is a relatively peaceful country and the people are extraordinarily friendly and outgoing. One quarter of New Zealand is protected wilderness and much of the country is pollution free. |
| Geography and Climate
New Zealand is located in the southern Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,600 kilometres (995 miles) south-east of Australia. New Zealand is comprised of two main islands (the North and South Islands) and several smaller islands of which the combined total land area is 270,534 sq. kms (104,454 sq. mls - approximately 36 times less than the US). It is similar in size to Colorado and somewhere in between the size of Japan and the United Kingdom. New Zealand's geography includes spectacular landscapes incorporating the vast mountain chain of the Southern Alps (larger than the French, Austrian and Swiss Alps combined), the volcano region of the North Island, fiords, glaciers, lakes, rainforests and extensive grassy plains. Highest point: Mount Cook (3,754 m or 12313 ft) Deepest lake: Lake Hauroko (462 m 1515 ft) Largest lake: Lake Taupo (606 km or 234 miles) Longest river: Waikato River (425 km or 264 miles long) Largest glacier: Tasman Glacier (29 km or 18 miles long) Deepest cave: Nettlebed, Mount Arthur (889 m or 2916 ft) Length of coastline: 15,811 km (9824 miles) New Zealand experiences summer from December - February and winter from June - August. The climate is temperate with little extreme. Any huge variations in temperature can be accounted for by the combination of the mountainous geography and prevailing westerly winds. Government New Zealand is an independent state of the Commonwealth. The Queen is represented in New Zealand by the Governor General, Her Excellency Right Honorable Dame Silvia Cartwright. The democratic government operates under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) Parliamentary system of 120 seats (of which 67 Members of Parliament are from geographic areas and 53 from political parties). The Government is led by coalition partners - the Labour Party and United Future. The Prime Minister of New Zealand is the Right Honorable Helen Clark. Leisure & Tourism New Zealanders are heavily involved in outdoors activities. Our national image and the lifestyles of the population have been largely shaped by our involvement in a wide variety of sports and leisure activities. It is often said that sports and leisure are the predominant focus of the New Zealand cultural identity, for example, New Zealand's involvement in international rugby. Tourism generated over $5.9 billion in foreign exchange for the year ended September 2002 and attracted more than 2 million international visitors in the year ended November 2002. New Zealand is a popular holiday destination for visitors from Australia, North America, the United Kingdom and Japan. Primary Production Agriculture and horticulture, forestry, fisheries, energy and minerals are the primary natural resources of New Zealand. The most valuable of these product groups, providing a high proportion of New Zealand's export earnings is agriculture and horticulture which incorporates the production of sheepmeat, beef, wool, dairy produce and hides, deer, goats and cereal products. In fact, agricultural products total more than 50% of all New Zealand exports. Industry & Business While New Zealand's primary manufacturing industries are the food processing industry (meat and dairy etc) and the engineering sector, New Zealand has an increasingly strong competitive advantage in food processing technology, telecommunications, plastics, textiles, plantation forest products, electronics, climbing equipment and apparel. In recent years there has also been a far greater interest in the production of specialised lifestyle products such as yachts. Economy New Zealand's economy is heavily dependent on overseas trade. Traditionally a large proportion of New Zealand's exports, (mainly agricultural products), went to the United Kingdom. But over the past 25 years our trading partners have become more diverse, to include a more dominant Asia. New Zealand has developed its agriculture and manufacturing industries to suit the needs of niche markets. Dairy and meat exports still make a large contribution to New Zealand's economy. However, industries such as forestry, horticulture, fishing, manufacturing and tourism have become increasingly significant. Australia is now our number one merchandise export market, accounting for 18% of the value of New Zealand's exports in 2001. The United States has increased its share to become our second largest export market (15%), followed by Japan (13%) and in fourth place the United Kingdom (5%). The value of merchandise exports to all countries has increased by 141% between 1998 and 2001. Exports to many Asian countries have increased at a faster rate - for example the value of exports to Korea over this period has increased 358% to a total value of $1.4 million in 2001. For the year ended September 2002, the merchandise exports value is $31,676 million, a decrease of 3.7 % from the previous September year. Gross Domestic Product for the year ended March 2001 totalled $112, 316 million. The New Zealand currency is the New Zealand dollar. One dollar is equal to 100 cents (50c, 20c, 10c, 5c). All statistics have been sourced from the latest Statistics New Zealand National Census (2001), www.statsnz.govt.nz. |
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New Zealand lies in the southern Pacific Ocean, 1600 km east of Australia. It is made up of the North Island and South Island and a number of smaller islands, with a total area of 268 000 sq km. |
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Regions Northland Auckland Central North Island Middle NZ West Coast Canterbury Queenstown Southland |
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Mountain ranges and hill country dominate NZ's landscape;
one of the most striking physical features is the Southern Alps. These, along with fiords glaciers and lakes and the coastal plains of Canterbury and Southland add to the variety of the South Island scenery. In the North Island the volcanic interior contains NZ's largest lake, Lake Taupo, and most of the country's active volcanoes - Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro - Ruapehu erupted as recently as 1995 and 1996. Hot springs, geysers, mud pools also form part of the volcanic system centred around Rotorua. |
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Main Cities Auckland Christchurch Wellington Hamilton Dunedin |
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