The New Zealand Story

History

New Zealand’s human history began with the Maori, thought to have arrived over 1,000 years ago on canoes from a South Pacific homeland known as Hawaiki. Maori named their new land Aotearoa, ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’, and developed a thriving, successful society. The first European to sight New Zealand (in 1642, but he never set foot on our soil) was Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer. He annexed the country for Holland. In 1769, Briton Captain James Cook was searching for a southern continent when his cabin boy sighted land near Gisborne. Cook circumnavigated and mapped the country, landing at various places on both main islands. European migration began soon after and by 1839 there were an estimated 2,000 Europeans in New Zealand. On 6 February 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. It is an agreement between the British Crown and signatory Maori Chiefs, establishing British law while guaranteeing Maori authority over their land and culture.

Society

The majority of New Zealand’s four million people live in the North Island. The South Island is sparsely populated outside the main centres. Auckland City, in the north of the North Island, is the nation’s largest settlement, with a population of more than one million. The capital is Wellington, at the southern tip of the North Island. New Zealand has a very diverse population. The majority are of British descent – often referred to as Pakeha – but other European cultures such as Dutch, French, Italian, Greek and Dalmatian are also represented. Many New Zealanders originate from the Pacific Islands or Asia, but the largest non-European group is the Maori population. New Zealand is a sovereign state with a Westminster-style democratic parliamentary government.

Economy & Industry

New Zealand’s mixed economy is dominated by an export-focused agricultural sector, manufacturing and service sectors. The country has a reputation for top quality produce, from meat and dairy, to seafood, fruit, vegetables and wines. Service industries, such as tourism, are also significant to the economy.

Environment

New Zealand is located in the South Pacific Ocean, 1,900 kilometres east of Australia. With a land area of 268,000 square kilometres, it’s similar in size to the UK and Japan. There are two main islands – North and South – a third, smaller island – Stewart Island – and a number of small satellite islands. More than half of New Zealand is farmland, and more than a quarter is forested. Thirteen percent is alpine terrain, with many peaks rising over 3,000 metres.

New Zealand separated from the prehistoric continents at an early stage, resulting in an extraordinary blend of native species. With virtually no land mammals, and birds as the main predators, the safest place was often close to the ground – hence the flightless kiwi.

Culture

New Zealand’s unique blend of Maori, Pakeha (New Zealand European), Pacific and Asian cultures results in a vibrant cultural identity. It’s been said that a Kiwi could fix anything with a piece of standard gauge fencing wire (hence the ‘Number 8 Fencing Wire’ mentality). When New Zealand’s geographical isolation meant a spare part could be weeks away, this was an essential skill! Nowadays that creativity is still an essential part of the Kiwi identity. Since early colonial days, when New Zealand looked to Britain for cultural leadership, the country has matured into a self-confident place where local idiosyncrasies and diversity are celebrated.

Art

Pay a visit to the World of WearableArt Museum in Nelson to experience the full force of Kiwi creativity. New Zealand’s artistic identity had its beginnings when early Maori settlers developed powerful artistic forms: carving bone, stone, wood and shell, and weaving native fibres. In colonial times, unfamiliarity with the new landscape often prompted European artists to make work that was tinged with nostalgia for the British ‘homeland’. As New Zealanders grew in cultural confidence realism and honesty about New Zealand life became dominant themes and in the twentieth century artists like Rita Angus, Colin McCahon and Toss Woolaston came to prominence. Contemporary artists now weave a unique blend of histories and cultures, themes and styles together in their work, reflecting the diversity of New Zealand society.

Literature

New Zealand literature has a character like no other. The country’s relative isolation means that, although themes similar to other postcolonial nations have slipped in, there is a quality about New Zealand writing which is wholly unique. Kiwi writers aren’t afraid to speak their minds and broaden the minds of others, whether in the prophetic, powerful poetry of James K. Baxter, the rich prose of Keri Hulme, the haunting modern myths of Witi Ihimaera or the searing, lyrically honest autobiographies of Janet Frame. The landscapes, the rich storytelling tradition of the Maori and the country’s love of individuality and creativity have combined to produce a wonderfully diverse range of books and authors.

More info: Books to read, Films to watch

Music

New Zealand has a proud musical tradition dating back to the nation’s earliest settlement by the Maori people. Since British colonisation, the major musical influences have been European and American. In more recent times, as New Zealand has become more confident about its South Pacific identity, local artists have increasingly mixed popular international styles with Maori and Pacific Island influences, creating a musical blend that is uniquely New Zealand in style. Each city has its own distinctive brand of music (the ‘Dunedin Sound’ for example), and catching a live band or picking up a few CDs is a great way to sample a bit of local culture.

More info: Classic Kiwi songs

A moment in history

1642 Abel Tasman anchors at Golden Bay.
1769 New Zealand is sighted by Captain James Cook aboard the Endeavour.
1840 The Treaty of Waitangi is signed.
1854 New Zealand’s first Parliament sits in Auckland (it later moves to Wellington).
1868 The first Maori MPs, Frederick Nene Russell and Tareha Te Moananui, are elected to Parliament.
1884 The first representative Kiwi rugby team tours New South Wales in Australia, winning all eight games played.
1893 New Zealand becomes the first country in the world to allow women to vote.
1908 Ernest Rutherford wins the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
1931 The Hawke’s Bay Earthquake destroys much of Napier and Hastings.
1945 Charles Upham, New Zealand’s most decorated soldier, is awarded a Victory Cross and Bar for services in WWII.
1947 Independence from Britain is formally proclaimed.
1953 Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay conquer Mt Everest.
1974 The Commonwealth Games are held in Christchurch.
1981 The Springbok rugby tour sparks countrywide protests against apartheid in South Africa.
1987 The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act is passed into law, establishing New Zealand as a nuclear weapon-free zone.
1987 The Maori Language Act makes Maori an official New Zealand language.
1996 The New Zealand Order of Merit replaces the British State Orders of Chivalry to create a uniquely New Zealand Royal Honours System.

Find out more ...

A Penguin History of New Zealand by Michael King (Penguin Books, Auckland, 2003).
A History of the New Zealanders From Polynesian Settlement to the End of the Nineteenth Century by James Belich (Allen Lane/The Penguin Press, Auckland, 2001).