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|align="center"|'''THE NEW ZEALAND COAT OF ARMS'''<br>[[file:Coat of arms of New Zealand.png|336px]] | |||
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|align="center"|[[File:New_zealand_map_locator_.jpg|336px]]<br>Location of New Zealand within the continent of [[Australia]] | |align="center"|[[File:New_zealand_map_locator_.jpg|336px]]<br>Location of New Zealand within the continent of [[Australia]] | ||
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==Geography of New Zealand== | ==Geography of New Zealand== | ||
New Zealand's landscape ranges from the fjord-like sounds of the southwest to the tropical beaches of the far north. South Island is dominated by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook, at 3,754 m. The closest mountains surpassing it in elevation are found not in Australia, but in New Guinea and Antarctica. The tallest peak on North Island is Mount Ruapehu (2,797 m), an active, cone-shaped volcano. | |||
Smaller islands include Stewart Island, which lies south of South Island; Waiheke and Great Barrier islands, near the north end of North Island; and the Chatham Islands, more than 800 km east of South Island. | |||
Temperatures rarely fall below 0°C or rise above 30°C. Conditions vary from wet and cold on South Island's west coast to dry and continental a short distance away across the mountains and subtropical in the northern reaches of North Island. | |||
New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, each lying about 2,200 km to the northeast and entirely self-governing; Tokelau, another island territory situated about 3,200 km to the north and moving towards self-government; and Ross Dependency, New Zealand's claim in Antarctica, located about 2,500 km to the south. | |||
Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world, New Zealand has unique flora. Evergreens such as the giant kauri and southern beech dominate the forests. It also has a diverse range of birds, including the flightless moa (now extinct) and the kiwi, the kakapo, and the takahē, all of which are endangered. | |||
Human settlement had a huge impact on fauna and flora. Over 75 percent of the forest cover has been burnt or felled, and the land converted into pasture. Many bird species, including the giant moa, became extinct after the arrival of Polynesians, who brought dogs and rats, and Europeans, who introduced additional dog and rat species, as well as cats, pigs, ferrets, and weasels. | |||
region on the east coast of the North Island. | |||
New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, each lying about 2,200 km to the northeast and entirely self-governing; Tokelau, another island territory situated about 3,200 km to the north and moving towards self-government; and Ross Dependency, New Zealand's claim in Antarctica, located about 2,500 km to the south. | |||
Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world, New Zealand has unique flora. Evergreens such as the giant kauri and southern beech dominate the forests. It also has a diverse range of birds, including the flightless moa (now extinct) and the kiwi, the kakapo, and the takahē, all of which are endangered. | |||
Human settlement had a huge impact on fauna and flora. Over 75 percent of the forest cover has been burnt or felled, and the land converted into pasture. Many bird species, including the giant moa, became extinct after the arrival of Polynesians, who brought dogs and rats, and Europeans, who introduced additional dog and rat species, as well as cats, pigs, ferrets, and weasels. | |||
The kiwi, a flightless bird, is one of New Zealand's most famous species and a national icon. | |||
Conservationists recognized that threatened bird populations could be saved on offshore islands, where, once predators were exterminated, bird life flourished again. Around 30 species are listed as endangered. The kiwi, a national symbol, is also under threat. A curious bird, it cannot fly, has loose, hair-like feathers and long whiskers, and is largely nocturnal. | |||
New Zealand's landscape has appeared in television series such as Xena: Warrior Princess. An increasing number of movies have also been filmed there, the most well-known being the hugely successful Lord of the Rings trilogy, which took cinematic advantage of the dramatic scenery in various parts of the country. | |||
The relative proximity of New Zealand to Antarctica has made South Island a gateway of sorts for scientific expeditions and tourist excursions to the icebound continent. | |||
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*Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia | *Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia | ||
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==Government of New Zealand== | ==Government of New Zealand== | ||
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'''[[New Zealand Post-World War II]]''' | '''[[New Zealand Post-World War II]]''' | ||
==New Zealand Political Reform League== | |||
New Zealand Political Reform League, byname Reform Party, conservative political party formed from various local and sectional organizations that took power in 1912, following a general election in 1911, and held control of the government until 1928. The Reform Party first acted as a united group in 1905, but it was not formally constituted and organized along party lines until after the 1911 election. | |||
Based primarily on urban business interests and the small farmers of the North Island dairy industry, the Reform Party won the 1911 election by a promise to transform agricultural leasehold property into freehold on terms that would enable farmers to reap a significant profit from the sale of their land. It also benefited from its opposition to growing labour union defiance of New Zealand’s antistrike Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act (1894). | |||
Led by W.F. Massey, the party’s leader and New Zealand’s premier from 1912 until his death in 1925, the Reform Party dealt violently with the strikes of 1912–13. But it was mortally weakened during the depression of the late 1920s, when its business and agrarian wings turned against one another. The Reform Party returned to power in coalition with the United Party (1931–35) but was formally dissolved in 1936. Its remnant entered the new National Party. | |||
==New Zealand Labour Party == | |||
New Zealand Labour Party, political party established in 1916 in a merger of various socialist and trade-union groups, including the Unified Labour Party (founded in 1910) and the Social Democratic Party (founded in 1913). It has traditionally been strongest among trade unionists and low-income voters. | |||
The party grew steadily so that by the 1930–35 term it had become the official parliamentary opposition; in 1935 it gained 53 seats, a clear majority, and formed the first Labour government, with Michael Joseph Savage as prime minister. It remained in office continuously until 1949 (under Prime Minister Peter Fraser from 1940) and enacted various pieces of welfare legislation, including social security, price and trade regulations, compulsory unionism, Maori protection, and other reforms but embracing only very limited socialization (of banks and broadcasting). | |||
From 1950 to 1975 the party held power only for brief periods (1957–60; 1972–75). In 1984 it returned to power under the leadership of David Lange. Lange supported economic liberalization and enacted legislation prohibiting nuclear warships from using the country’s ports. In 1989 he was succeeded as prime minister by Geoffrey Palmer, who was replaced by Mike Moore in 1990. Later that year the party was ousted from power by the New Zealand National Party. | |||
In 1993 the party selected Helen Clark as its leader. Following internal divisions in the mid-1990s, the party became the largest in Parliament in 1999, and Clark became prime minister. Her coalition government won reelection in 2002 and 2005. In the 2008 election, however, the Labour Party was defeated by the National Party, and Clark subsequently announced that she was stepping down as Labour leader. Labour had an even worse showing in the 2011 election, in which its representation in the Parliament fell from 43 to 34 seats. | |||
==[[New Zealand in 2014]]== | |||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2014 est.): 4,474,424 Capital: Wellington Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae Head--->[[New Zealand in 2014|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | |||
==[[New Zealand in 2013]]== | |||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2013 est.): 4,461,000 Capital: Wellington Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae Head--->[[New Zealand in 2013|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | |||
==[[New Zealand in 2012]]== | |||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2012 est.): 4,439,000 Capital: Wellington Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae Head--->[[New Zealand in 2012|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | |||
==[[New Zealand in 2011]]== | ==[[New Zealand in 2011]]== | ||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2011 est.): 4,407,000 Capital: Wellington Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governors-General Sir Anand Satyanand, Dame--->[[New Zealand in 2011|>>>>Read On.<<<<] | New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2011 est.): 4,407,000 Capital: Wellington Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governors-General Sir Anand Satyanand, Dame--->[[New Zealand in 2011|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | ||
==[[New Zealand in 2010]]== | ==[[New Zealand in 2010]]== | ||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2010 est.): 4,369,000 Capital: Wellington Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand Head--->[[New Zealand in 2010|>>>>Read On.<<<<] | New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2010 est.): 4,369,000 Capital: Wellington Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand Head--->[[New Zealand in 2010|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | ||
==[[New Zealand in 2009]]== | ==[[New Zealand in 2009]]== | ||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2009 est.): 4,317,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand Head--->[[New Zealand in 2009|>>>>Read On.<<<<] | New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2009 est.): 4,317,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand Head--->[[New Zealand in 2009|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | ||
==[[New Zealand in 2008]]== | ==[[New Zealand in 2008]]== | ||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2008 est.): 4,268,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Anand Satyanand Head--->[[New Zealand in 2008|>>>>Read On.<<<<] | New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2008 est.): 4,268,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Anand Satyanand Head--->[[New Zealand in 2008|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | ||
==[[New Zealand in 2007]]== | ==[[New Zealand in 2007]]== | ||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2007 est.): 4,184,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Anand Satyanand Head--->[[New Zealand in 2007|>>>>Read On.<<<<] | New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2007 est.): 4,184,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Anand Satyanand Head--->[[New Zealand in 2007|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | ||
==[[New Zealand in 2006]]== | ==[[New Zealand in 2006]]== | ||
New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2006 est.): 4,141,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governors-General Dame Silvia Cartwright--->[[New Zealand in 2006|>>>>Read On.<<<<] | New Zealand Area: 270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi) Population (2006 est.): 4,141,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governors-General Dame Silvia Cartwright--->[[New Zealand in 2006|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | ||
==[[New Zealand in 2005]]== | ==[[New Zealand in 2005]]== | ||
New Zealand Area: 270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi) Population (2005 est.): 4,096,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright Head--->[[New Zealand in 2005|>>>>Read On.<<<<] | New Zealand Area: 270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi) Population (2005 est.): 4,096,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright Head--->[[New Zealand in 2005|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | ||
==[[New Zealand in 2004]]== | ==[[New Zealand in 2004]]== | ||
New Zealand Area: 270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi) Population (2004 est.): 4,060,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright Head--->[[New Zealand in 2004|>>>>Read On.<<<<] | New Zealand Area: 270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi) Population (2004 est.): 4,060,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright Head--->[[New Zealand in 2004|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | ||
==[[New Zealand in 1997]]== | |||
New Zealand Area: 270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi) Population (1997 est.): 3,653,000 Capital: Wellington Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie-Boys Head--->[[New Zealand in 1997|>>>>Read On.<<<<]] | |||
==[[TOP 10 FACTS ABOUT NEW ZEALAND]]== | ==[[TOP 10 FACTS ABOUT NEW ZEALAND]]== | ||
==New Zealand National Party== | |||
''Political party, New Zealand | |||
New Zealand National Party, political party founded in 1936 in the merger of non-Labour groups, most notably the United Party and the Reform Party, two parties that had been in coalition since 1931. It supports free-market economic policies and draws votes heavily from suburban and rural districts. | |||
The Reform Party, the full name of which was the New Zealand Political Reform League, was a conservative organization that held control of the national government from 1912 to 1928. The United Party, formed in 1927, was the successor to the Liberal Party, dating to the 1890s and formally established in 1905. The new United Party was surprisingly successful in the elections of 1928 and formed a government, under Joseph Ward. A United-Reform coalition government was established in 1931 only to lose disastrously to the New Zealand Labour Party in the 1935 elections. Leaders of the right-wing parties deemed that the only way to revive conservative hopes was to unite their various groups, which separately had been dissipating their strength. The New Zealand National Party was thus born in 1936. The road back was slow, and not until 1949 did it win back the government. For the next 35 years, however, it was New Zealand’s dominant party, holding office for the periods 1949–57, 1960–72, and 1975–84. | |||
In the mid-1980s the party suffered from internal divisions, which kept it out of office until 1990, when it returned to power under James Bolger. Though the party remained in power until 1999, it split in 1993, when a former National Party minister formed the New Zealand First Party. In 1994 Bolger formed a coalition after the defection of one of his party’s members of Parliament. In 1997 Bolger was replaced as prime minister and party leader by Jennifer Shipley, the country’s first female prime minister. In 1999 the party was ousted from government by a Labour-led coalition. After the subsequent National leaders—Bill English (2001–03) and Don Brash (2003–06)—failed to return the party to power, John Key became head of the party in 2006. Two years later he led the National Party to victory over the Labour Party. Key remained as prime minister when the National Party won a historic victory in 2011, capturing the largest share of the vote any party had won since the introduction of mixed-member proportional representation in 1996. | |||
==Air New Zealand Limited== | |||
[[File:Air_New_Zealand_Limited.jpg]]<br> | |||
''Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400.''<br> | |||
'''Air New Zealand Limited,''' | |||
Air New Zealand Limited [Credit: Adrian Pingstone]New Zealand international airline founded in 1939 (as Tasman Empire Airways Limited, or TEAL) and, by 1980, operating throughout the South Pacific from New Zealand and Australia to Hong Kong and Singapore and to Tahiti, Hawaii, and Los Angeles. The original shareholders in 1939 were New Zealand (50 percent), Australia (30 percent), and Britain (20 percent); Britain withdrew in 1953, and New Zealand became sole owner in 1961. Headquarters are in Auckland. | |||
Service (under the TEAL name) began in 1940 with flying-boat service between Auckland and Sydney. Beginning in the 1950s, routes were expanded, reaching Tahiti in 1951, Los Angeles in 1965, and Hong Kong and Singapore in 1966. The name Air New Zealand was adopted in 1965. Air New Zealand became a publicly traded company in 1989, and between 1996 and 2000 the firm acquired the assets of Ansett, Australia’s domestic air carrier. Air New Zealand’s primary businesses are passenger and cargo transportation. | |||
==Biography of New Zealand== | |||
'''[[Allen Curnow (New Zealand author)]]''' | |||
Curnow, Allen New Zealand author in full Thomas Allen Monro Curnow June 17, 1911 Timaru, New Zealand September 23, 2001 Auckland one of the major modern poets of New Zealand. The son of an Anglican ...[[Allen Curnow (New Zealand author)|>>>Read On<<<]] | |||
==Disclaimer== | ==Disclaimer== | ||
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[[category:countries]] | [[category:countries]] |