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 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 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 slender smooth-hound or gollumshark (Gollum attenuatus) is a species of ground shark in the family Pseudotriakidae. It is endemic to the waters around New Zealand, where it is usually found close to the bottom over the continental slope at depths of 300–600 m (980–1,970 ft). An extremely slim, plain brownish shark reaching 1.1 m (3.6 ft) in length, the slender smooth-hound can be identified by its broad, flattened head with a long, distinctively bell-shaped snout. Its mouth is angular with short furrows at the corners, and contains a very high number of tooth rows in both jaws. Its two dorsal fins are roughly equal in size.

The diet of the slender smooth-hound is diverse, but dominated by small, benthic bony fishes and decapod crustaceans. It exhibits a specialized form of aplacental viviparity with oophagy: the females produce a single capsule in each uterus that contains 30–80 ova, of which one ovum develops into an embryo that consumes the rest of the ova and stores the yolk material in its external yolk sac. The growing embryo is mainly sustained by this yolk sac during gestation, though it may be additionally supplied with histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother. The typical litter size is two pups, one per uterus. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the slender smooth-hound as Least Concern; it is taken as fishery bycatch but not in great numbers, and furthermore large portions of its range see minimal fishing activity. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Residents of Dunedin celebrate the news of the Armistice of 11 November 1918. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 2Percentages 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 3Kapa haka is performed at a School Strike for Climate in Christchurch 2019. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 4Michael Joseph Savage, Labour Prime Minister 1935–1940. This portrait was hung on the walls of many supporters. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 5HMS North Star destroying Pomare's Pā during the Northern/Flagstaff War, 1845, Painting by John Williams. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 6Richard Seddon, Liberal Prime Minister from 1893 to his death in 1906 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 7Knox Church, a Presbyterian church, in Dunedin. The city was founded by Scottish Presbyterian settlers. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 8Rural landscape close to Mt Ruapehu (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 9The Original All Blacks during the "haka", 1905 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 10A 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 11Putting down a hāngī (earth oven) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 12A modern wharenui (meeting house of a marae) exhibited at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 13Tribute 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 14Roger Douglas, the architect of New Zealand's 1980s neo-liberal reform programme (from History of New Zealand)
Image 15Children's and young adult author Margaret Mahy, July 2011 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 16Water pollution sign on the Waimakariri River (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 17One of the few extant copies of the Treaty of Waitangi (from History of New Zealand)
Image 18Poet Selina Tusitala Marsh, 2019 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 19"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 20Scorching Bay, Wellington, in summer (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 21A Māori ancestor (tekoteko) depicted in a wood carving at the Tamatekapua Meeting House in Ohinemutu (c. 1880) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 22Zealandia rejecting Australian Constitution in 1900 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 23New Zealand is antipodal to points of the North Atlantic, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
Image 24Vigil in Wellington for the victims of the Christchurch mosques attacks (from History of New Zealand)
Image 25An aerial view of the Auckland urban area, showing its location on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 26New Zealand Division in 1916 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 27Elizabeth II and Muldoon's Cabinet, taken during the Queen's 1981 visit to New Zealand (from History of New Zealand)
Image 28European 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 29The kiwi has become a New Zealand icon. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 30George 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 31Topography of Zealandia, the submerged continent, and the two tectonic plates (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 32Central Plateau in winter (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 33The Forty-Fours viewed from the north; the leftmost islet is the easternmost point of New Zealand. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 34Aoraki / Mount Cook, as seen from Hooker Valley (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 35The Mission House at Kerikeri is New Zealand's oldest surviving building, having been completed in 1822 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 36The Waikato River flowing out of Lake Taupō (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 37The 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 38Hinepare 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 39The 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 40An annotated relief map (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 41The 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 42A beach barbecue – an established part of New Zealand culture (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 43Tekoteko from the gable of a wharenui, Te Arawa (20th century) (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 44Lorde as part of the 2014 Lollapalooza lineup (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 45Cook Island dancers at Auckland's Pasifika Festival, 2010 (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 46Prime Ministers John Key and Helen Clark (from History of New Zealand)
Image 47A meeting of European and Māori inhabitants of Hawke's Bay Province. Engraving, 1863.
Image 48Fiordland is dominated by steep, glacier-carved valleys. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 49Pavlova, a popular New Zealand dessert, garnished with cream and strawberries. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 50Strong winds in the Cook Strait produce high waves which erode the shore, as shown in this image (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 51The 1935 Labour Cabinet. Michael Joseph Savage is seated in the front row, centre. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 52Scottish Highland family migrating to New Zealand, 1844, by William Allsworth. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 53Māori 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 54Art deco in Napier (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 55Men of the Māori Battalion, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, after disembarking at Gourock in Scotland in June 1940 (from History of New Zealand)

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...that New Zealand palaeontologists refer to the last 330,000 years as the Haweran stage of the Wanganui epoch?

...that the North Island's Kaingaroa Forest is the largest plantation in the Southern Hemisphere?

...that Jacquemart Island in the Campbell Islands is New Zealand's southernmost island?

...that New Zealand native Mystacinidae bats spend much of their time on the ground and fold their wings into a leathery membrane when not in use?

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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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Lyttelton (Māori: Ōhinehou or Māori: Riritana) is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. (Full article...)

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... that a hammer and sickle motif was proposed for the New Zealand sixpence?
... that the phrase "togs, togs, undies" was popularised in New Zealand by an advertisement for Trumpet ice cream cones?
... that more than 20 of Ernst Plischke's designs for the Abel Tasman Monument in New Zealand's Tarakohe were rejected before he designed a tall, tapering column referencing the Greek funerary stele?
... that Randell Cottage, home to a residency for French and New Zealand writers, is a listed heritage building?
... that the support of conservationist Kae Miller for people recovering from mental illnesses resulted in the establishment of Te Rae Kaihau Park in Wellington, New Zealand?
... that Cobb Power Station has the highest-elevation hydroelectric storage lake in New Zealand?
... that Ben Bell was elected at the age of 23 as New Zealand's youngest-ever mayor during the 2022 local elections?
... that cricketer William O'Rourke has the best match-bowling figures by a New Zealander on a Test debut?

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