It is not known when Māori began incorporating the name into their Thus died this Maui we have spoken of; but before he died he had children, and sons were born to him; some of his descendants yet live in The expanded meaning of the word became commonplace in the late 19th century. Māori are the tangata whenua (indigenous people) of Aotearoa New Zealand and their culture is an integral part of local life.
Others are endangered or have had their range severely reduced.Historically, extractive industries have contributed strongly to New Zealand's economy, focussing at different times on sealing, whaling, New Zealand is heavily dependent on international trade,Wool was New Zealand's major agricultural export during the late 19th century.Early indigenous contribution to science in New Zealand was by Māori New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with 83.6% of the population living in Life expectancy for New Zealanders in 2012 was 84 years for females, and 80.2 years for males.The Māori were the first people to reach New Zealand, followed by the early English is the predominant language in New Zealand, spoken by 95.4% of the population.After the Second World War, Māori were discouraged from speaking their own language (Primary and secondary schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16, with the majority attending from the age of 5.The largely rural life in early New Zealand led to the image of New Zealanders being rugged, industrious problem solvers.As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised and Māori artists are increasing in number and influence.Māori decorated the white wood of buildings, canoes and cenotaphs using red (a mixture of red Māori cloaks are made of fine flax fibre and patterned with black, red and white triangles, diamonds and other geometric shapes.Māori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the written form.Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealand have British origins.New Zealand has competitive international teams in Location of New Zealand, including outlying islands, its The Southern Alps stretch for 500 kilometres down the South Island. It is divided along its length by the The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles between the The table below lists climate normals for the warmest and coldest months in New Zealand's six largest cities. The combined ‘Aotearoa New Zealand’ has been popularised since the 1980s as a symbolic name to emphasise the A petition initiated by David Chester was presented to Parliament on 13 April 2018, requesting legislation to change the name of New Zealand to A petition initiated by Danny Tahau Jobe for a referendum on whether the official name of New Zealand should change to include The petitions were considered together by Parliament's Governance and Administration Select CommitteeThe committee also noted that there are references throughout legislation to both “Aotearoa” and “New Zealand” and that while not legislated, the use of bilingual titles throughout Parliament and government agencies is common. South Island cities are warmest in January. The literal translation of Aotearoa is "land of the long white cloud".. New Zealand has been inhabited by Maori since approximately 1300 AD. Before the arrival of humans, an estimated 80% of the land was covered in forest, with only Other indigenous animals are represented by reptiles (Since human arrival, almost half of the country's vertebrate species have become extinct, including at least fifty-one birds, three frogs, three lizards, one freshwater fish, and one bat. The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were the Dutch explorer New Zealand, still part of the colony of New South Wales, became a separate In 1907, at the request of the New Zealand Parliament, King Early in the 20th century, New Zealand was involved in world affairs, fighting in the Elections since the 1930s have been dominated by two political parties, New Zealand is identified as one of the world's most stable and well-governed states.Early colonial New Zealand allowed the British Government to determine external trade and be responsible for foreign policy.In 1951 the United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests,New Zealand's military services—the Defence Force—comprise the In addition to Vietnam and the two world wars, New Zealand fought in the The early European settlers divided New Zealand into Since 1876, various councils have administered local areas under legislation determined by the central government.New Zealand is long and narrow—over 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) along its north-north-east axis with a maximum width of 400 kilometres (250 mi)The South Island is the largest landmass of New Zealand. Several meanings have been proposed for the name; the most popular translation usually given is "long white cloud", or variations thereof. Wellington: Ministry of Health and Allied Health Aotearoa New Zealand. "God Save the Queen" is officially a national anthem but is generally used only on regal and viceregal occasions.Ethnicity figures add to more than 100% as people could choose more than one ethnic group.The proportion of New Zealand's area (excluding estuaries) covered by rivers, lakes and ponds, based on figures from the New Zealand Land Cover Database,Clocks are advanced by an hour from the last Sunday in September until the first Sunday in April.A person born on or after 1 January 2006 acquires New Zealand citizenship at birth only if at least one parent is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.