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Portal:New Zealand

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New Zealand
Aotearoa (Māori)
A map of the hemisphere centred on New Zealand, using an orthographic projection.
Location of New Zealand, including outlying islands, its territorial claim in the Antarctic, and Tokelau
ISO 3166 codeNZ

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...)

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

View along Sycamore Avenue in Barrhill

Barrhill is a lightly populated locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on the Canterbury Plains, on the right bank of the Rakaia River, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) inland from Rakaia. It was founded by Cathcart Wason in the mid-1870s and named by him after his old home Barrhill in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Wason set it up as a model village for the workers of his large sheep farm. The population of the village peaked in the mid-1880s before the general recession initiated a downturn for the village. Wason had expected for the Methven Branch railway to run past Barrhill, but the line was built in 1880 on an alignment many miles away, which caused Barrhill population to decrease.

Three of the original buildings of Barrhill plus the gatehouse at Wason's homestead were constructed of concrete, and they still exist to this day. One of those buildings, St John's Church, is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category II heritage building, and the gatehouse is a museum that is open on request. Today, few buildings exist in the village, but the formal layout of avenues still exists, giving the setting a charming appearance. (Full article...)

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

More Did you know? - show different entries

Pisonia brunoniana
Pisonia brunoniana

...that the main threat to Pisonia brunoniana (pictured) in New Zealand is cutting by people trying to prevent small songbirds from getting trapped by its very sticky seeds?

... that the Kaipara Harbour was named after a hāngi on the Pouto Peninsula, at which the para fern (Ptisana salicina) was served?

... that the Agricultural emissions research levy is commonly described as a "fart tax"?

...that cricketer Dick Motz took one wicket in his last Test match in August 1969, becoming the first New Zealand bowler to take 100 Test wickets?

Selected article - show another


Sir John Walker, KNZM, CBE, (born January 12, 1952 in Papakura) is a former middle distance runner from New Zealand.

Walker is best known for being the first human being to run the mile in under 3:50 minutes, posting a time of 3:49.4, breaking the existing world record by over 1.5 seconds. This was a full 10 seconds faster than Roger Bannister's historic sub-Four-Minute Mile of 3:59.4 that was run twenty-one years previous. He was named Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News the same year.

The following year, 1976, Walker won the Olympic Games 1500 metres in Montreal, with a time of 3:39.17. Walker also broke the world record for the 2000 metres, running 4:51.4 minutes in Oslo, Norway, on 30 June 1976. He smashed the existing ten-year-old record held by Michel Jazy by nearly five seconds, Walker regarded this run as the best he ever ran. Steve Cram would not better Walker's record by running 4:51.4 at Budapest, Hungary until 4 August 1985. Indoors, Walker broke the 1500 metre world record with a time of 3:37.4 in 1979. (Full article...)

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Lyttelton, New Zealand.
Lyttelton, New Zealand.

Lyttelton (Māori: Ōhinehou or 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...)

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

  • ... that when she was elected to the New Zealand parliament, Catherine Wedd defeated her former coworker at a marketing company?
  • ... that although it was a centennial project, the Canterbury Pioneer Women's Memorial in New Zealand was opened 90 years after the region's organised settlement began?
  • ... that Jessica Mutch McKay hosted debates between the leaders of New Zealand's two major political parties?
  • ... that two rival designers independently submitted a map for the design of a 1940 New Zealand coin?
  • ... that Rush Munro's, New Zealand's oldest ice creamery, has used the same recipes since 1926?
  • ... that one threatened species of plant endemic to the North Island of New Zealand is colloquially known as a forget-me-not?
  • ... that in October 2024 Manawanui became the first Royal New Zealand Navy vessel to be lost in peacetime?
  • ... that West Auckland is home to the largest stratovolcano in the geologic history of New Zealand?

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