NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand is an island country. The official names of the country are the Realm
[relm] of New Zealand and New Zealand (commonly used). It is situated to south-east of
Australia in the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is not part of Australia. The Tasman Sea
separates the two countries. It consists of two big islands (the North Island and the
South Island) and many (61) small islands around.

Most population of New Zealand lives on the North Island, but it is smaller than the
South Island. New Zealand is a mountainous country. The highest mountains of the
country are called Southern Alps. The highest mountain is Mount Cook or Aoraki (3,764
metres high). It was named after Captain Cook who visited the islands before
discovering the eastern coast of Australia. It is called “Cloud in the Skies” by the
Maoris [’mauri]. In North Island you can see big volcanoes like Egmont and Tongariro.

There are numerous lakes and rivers in New Zealand. Most of them are short and
rapid. The country’s longest river Waikato (425 km.) and the largest lake Taupo are
situated on the North Island.
The climate in New Zealand is warm and the greater part of the country is well
watered. There are evergreen forests and large areas of grasslands. New Zealand is
south of the Equator [i’kweit ə] so the seasons are reversed there. It is summer in
December, January and February and winter in June, July and August.

Nearly 4,5 million people live in the country. About 80% of the population lives in
cities. The natives of New Zealand are the Maoris, poetically called “the Vikings of the
Sunrise”. They call New Zealand “Aotearoa”. It means “Land of the Long White Cloud”.
Ao means “cloud”, tea means “white”, and roa means “long”: because of volcano activity
the long islands of New Zealand are often cloud-capped and look like a long white cloud.

The country was discovered by Europeans in 1642, but they did

not start to settle in the islands until the late 1700’s. Today, most
New Zealanders are descendants of the early European settlers.
The pakeha (the Maori word for European settlers) make up 86%
of the total population. The Maoris were the first people who came to New Zealand
from Polynesia in the middle of the 14th century. Most of Maoris live near Auckland.
The Maoris are famous for their folk songs, music, dances and woodwork.

The official languages are English and Maori. Many native people speak Maori, in
addition to English. The Maori language is used primarily for ceremonies and other
special occasions. English in New Zealand includes many Maori words, and many place
names come from the Maori language. Many places now have dual Maori and English
names. For example, the word kiwi, which refers to a native bird and national symbol,
can also mean a New Zealander; and a white person is a pakeha (a Maori word meaning
“fair skinned”).

New Zealand was first discovered by Europeans in 1642 when Dutch sea captain Abel
Tasman arrived. The Dutch name the country “Nieuw Zeeland” after the Dutch island
province of Zeeland.
After the visit of Captain James Cook to New Zealand in 1760-1777 the settlement
of the islands progressed. British ships began trading with the Maoris. The New
Zealand Company, founded in 1839, began the colonization of New Zealand, buying land
for nothing and driving the Maoris from good lands, to set reservations. In 1845 the
Maoris began to fight against the British rule. The so called “Maori wars” lasted till
1870 when the natives were finally defeated by the superior British forces.
When gold was found in South Island (1861), the population began to grow very
quickly. In 1833 New Zealand was officially joined to New South Wales of Australia.
The country once belonged to the British Empire. It became an independent dominion
in 1907. Independence Day is celebrated on September, 26.

National Flag of New Zealand

The New Zealand Flag represents the history of the country as
a part of the British Empire and its location in the southern hemisphere. The Flag of
New Zealand has four red stars with a white border. The stars represent the
configuration of Crux, referred to as the Southern Cross, in New Zealand.

National Symbols
The Coat of Arms of New Zealand features a Māori warrior
holding a taiaha (a Māori war weapon) and a European woman
holding the New Zealand Ensign. Four stars represent the
Southern Cross, three ships symbolise the importance of New
Zealand’s sea trade. A golden fleece represents the farming industry. The wheat sheaf
represents the agriculture, and the crossed hammers represent mining and industry.
The national anthem of New Zealand has two variations. They are “God Defend New
Zealand” which is English and “Aotearoa” which is Māori.
New Zealand has several official national emblems. They include the kiwi (the
national bird); Zealandia, a middle-aged white woman on the national coat of arms; and
the silver fern is most commonly used, especially in sports.
The political system
Today the country is an independent state and a member of the Commonwealth. It is
a parliamentary democracy.
The head of the state is the British monarch represented by a Governor General. He
is appointed by the Monarch upon the recommendation of New Zealand government to a
five-year term. The legislation, Prime Minister and Cabinet run the national government.
The Prime Minister is the head of the government.
The Parliament consists of one house which is called the House of Representatives.
It comprises 120 members elected for 3 years. The main political parties are the Labour
Party and the National Party of New Zealand. New Zealand was the first country in the
world to give the vote to women in 1893, to have old age pensions and the eight-hour
working day.

New Zealand is sometimes called “The Britain of the Pacific”, because the cities and
towns of the country resemble very much those of England. The biggest cities of New
Zealand are Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin.
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand since 1865. It has a population of 325,000.
It is the third largest city. The first colonists appeared there in 1840. They called their
settlement Britannia. Later it was renamed into Wellington. It is built on high hills
around a lovely harbour, and has lots of good shops, restaurants and theatres.
Auckland is the largest city of the state. Almost one million people live there.
Auckland is a modern business centre with many high-rise buildings.
Christchurch is the second largest city with 300,000 people. It is a green place; 1/3
of the city is parks. To many people Christchurch is “the most English city outside
England”; it was designed in England, and its river is called the Avon. The name
Christchurch comes from Christ Church College at Oxford, as one of the leaders of the
early settlers was educated there.
New Zealand’s fourth city has the old name for Edinburgh – Dunedin. In the 19th
century it was the centre of New Zealand’s business and its largest city. Many of
Dunedin’s most beautiful buildings were built at this time. It also has New Zealand’s
oldest university.

Waitangi Day (6 February)

Waitangi Day marks the occasion in 1840 when the United Kingdom signed the Treaty
of Waitangi with the indigenous Maori. Under this treaty, New Zealand became a British
colony. The Maori ceded sovereignty to the British in return for legal protection as
British subjects. The Maori were guaranteed possession of their land, but with the
limitation that they could sell only to the monarchy.
Anzac Day (25 April)
Anzac is an acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac Day honors
the nation’s armed forces that have fought in wars. Boxing Day derives from an old
British tradition of giving small-boxed gifts to service workers and trades people on day
after Christmas. It is now a day for visiting and relaxing. In addition to these holidays,
each province has an Anniversary Day commemorating its founding.

Sports play a big part in the lives of most New Zealanders. Rugby is their national
game. Women’s netball and rugby league are also popular winter spectator sport.
Yachting has a large following. Some New Zealanders are horseracing fans.
Many other sports are enjoyed during the year, including tennis,
golf, swimming, and sailing (many families own a boat of some kind).

The most famous Maori cultural events and traditions

 The haka is a traditional genre of Māori dance, a “war dance”, a dance with distinctive
with hand gestures and foot stamping, originally performed by warriors before a
battle, proclaiming their strength. Now it is regularly performed at various cultural
festivals and events. The New Zealand rugby team usually performs haka before a
game begins.

 Matariki, “Māori New Year”, celebrated in June. It is a week long celebration with
prayers, dancing and singing. It is now widely celebrated across New Zealand.

Australian animals
There are many unique species of plants and animals in New Zealand. Some of them
cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The reason for this is that New Zealand
was cut off from the rest of the land on Earth for 80 million years.

One of the most famous birds is the kiwi. This interesting bird lives in the forest
and cannot fly. In the daytime the bird does not go out. It comes out only at night to
find food. Many years ago kiwis were hunted for food. Now the government does not
permit the hunting the kiwis. The kiwi is the national emblem of New Zealand, and New
Zealanders are often called Kiwis.

Another native bird of New Zealand (the Moa) was one of the largest
birds in history – that was up to 3,6m tall and weighed about 300 kg. They
don’t live anymore because they were hunted by the Maoris.
The pohutukawa has red flowers at Christmas time, and people call it “the Zealand
Christmas tree”.
Vocabulary:
cloud-capped – покрытый облаками indigenous [in’didʒənəs] – местный
descendant [di’sendənt] - потомок to cede – поступаться, передавать
Crux – Южный Крест (созвездие) sovereignty [’sɔvrinti] - независимость
ensign [’ensain] - знамя acronym [’ækrənim] - аббревиатура
fleece – руно, овечья шерсть to derive from – происходить от
sheaf – сноп, вязанка distinctive - особенность
fern - папоротник to stamp – топать ногами
treaty – договор, соглашение to proclaim - провозглашать

Treaty of Waitangi – соглашение, подписанное представителями Великобритании и

вождями некоторых племен маори 6 февраля 1840 года. В соответствии с ним
Новая Зеландия переходила в управление Великобритании, в обмен на это маори
получали покровительство Великобритании, сохраняли свои имущественные права
и передавали Великобритании исключительные права на покупку у них земель.
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