:: wikimiki.org ::

Islands Of New Zealand

Islands of New Zealand

New Zealand consists of a large number of islands. The two main islands, which are much larger than the rest and where most of the population lives, are the North Island and the South Island. The latter is often a little ironically referred to as the "mainland", especially by its residents, it being only a little larger and having a lower population. Stewart Island/Rakiura is by far the biggest of the smaller islands, although Waiheke Island has the third-largest population. The following is a list of some of the islands of New Zealand:

Main New Zealand chain

Open sea islands

- Alderman Islands
- Anchorage Island
- Arapawa Island
- Bench Island
- Big South Cape Island
- The Brothers
- Cavalli Islands
- Chalky Island
- Codfish Island/Whenuahou
- Cuvier Island
- D'Urville Island
- Dragon Island
- Goat Island
- Great Barrier Island/Aotea
- Green Island
- Hen and Chicken Islands
- Hauturu/Little Barrier Island
- Kapiti Island
- Kawau Island
- Makaro/Ward Island
- Mana Island
- Matakana Island
- Matiu/Somes Island
- Maud Island/Te Hoiere
- Mayor Island/Tuhua
- Mercury Islands
- Motiti Island
- Motukawao Islands
- Motutapu Island
- Native Island
- Noble Island
- Open Bay Islands
- Pearl Island
- Ponui Island
- Poor Knights Islands
- Portland Island
- Pourewa Island
- Quail Island
- Rabbit Island
- Rakino Island
- Rangitoto Island
- Resolution Island
- Ruapuke Island
- Saint Martin Island/Quarantine Island
- Secretary Island
- Slipper Island
- Stephens Island/Takapourewa
- Stewart Island/Rakiura
- Three Kings Islands
- Tiritiri Matangi Island
- Titi/Muttonbird Islands
- Ulva Island
- Waiheke Island
- Whakaari/White Island
- Whale Island
- Whanganui Island
- White Island, Otago

Islands in rivers and lakes

- Channel Islands (in Lake Manapouri)
- Dome Islands (in Lake Te Anau)
- Entrance Island (in Lake Te Anau)
- Harwich Island (in Lake Wanaka)
- Inch Clutha (in Clutha River delta)
- Mokoia Island (in Lake Rotorua)
- Motuariki Island (in Lake Tekapo)
- Motutaiko Island (in Lake Taupo)
- Pigeon Island (in Lake Wakatipu)
- Pig Island (in Lake Wakatipu)
- Pomona Island (in Lake Manapouri)
- Rakaia Island (in Rakaia River delta)
- Rangitata Island (in Rangitata River delta)
- Rona Island (in Lake Manapouri)

Outlying Islands

New Zealand also administers the following islands outside the main archipelago. Only the Chatham Islands have a permanent population. Others host visitors for science, conservation, meteorological observation and tourism.
- Chatham Islands
- Chatham Island
- Pitt Island
- Kermadec Islands in the north Tasman Sea.
- Macauley Island
- Raoul Island The New Zealand sub-antarctic islands are considered World Heritage Sites.
- Antipodes Islands
- Auckland Islands
- Auckland Island
- Adams Island
- Bounty Islands
- Campbell Island group
- Campbell Island
- Dent Island
- Folly Island (or Folly Islands)
- Jacquemart Island
- The Snares

Self-governing territories

The following self-governing island territories are politically dependent areas of New Zealand but are not considered part of New Zealand geographically:
- Cook Islands
- Aitutaki
- Atiu
- Mangaia
- Manihiki
- Manuae
- Mauke
- Mitiaro
- Nassau
- Palmerston Island
- Penrhyn Island/Tongareva
- Pukapuka
- Rakahanga
- Rarotonga
- Suwarrow
- Takutea
- Niue
- Tokelau
- Atafu
- Nukunonu
- Fakaofo

Territorial claims

New Zealand also claims the Ross Dependency in Antarctica, including:
- Balleny Islands
- Young Island
- Buckle Island
- Sabrina Island
- Sturge Island
- Coulman Island
- Roosevelt Island
- Ross Island
- Scott Island See other islands of the world. New Zealand
-

New Zealand

New Zealand or Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud, is a country of two large islands and many smaller islands in the south-western Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is notable for its isolation, being separated from Australia on the northwest by the Tasman Sea, some 2,000 km wide. The closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. The population of New Zealand is mostly of European descent, with the indigenous Māori as the largest minority. Non-Māori Polynesian and Asian peoples are also significant minorities, especially in the cities. Officially, Elizabeth II is the Queen of New Zealand and is represented in the country by a non-political Governor-General; though the Queen has no real political influence. Political power is held by the Prime Minister who is leader of the Government in the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand. The monarch's Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are entirely self-governing; Tokelau, which is moving towards self-government, and New Zealand's claim in Antarctica.

History

New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major land masses. Polynesian settlers arrived in their waka some time between 800 and 600 years ago to establish the indigenous Māori culture. Settlement of the Chatham Islands to the south-east of New Zealand produced the Moriori people but it is disputed whether they moved there from New Zealand or elsewhere in Polynesia. Most of New Zealand was divided into tribal territories called rohe, resources within which were controlled by an iwi ('tribe'). Usually no two iwi had overlapping rohe. Māori adapted to eating the local marine resources, flora and fauna for food, hunting the giant flightless moa (which soon became extinct), and ate the Polynesian Rat and kumara (sweet potato), which they introduced to the country. The first Europeans known to reach New Zealand were led by Abel Janszoon Tasman, who sailed up the west coast of the South and North islands in 1642. He named it Staten Landt, believing it to be part of the land Jacob Le Maire had discovered in 1616 off the coast of Chile. Staten Landt appeared on Tasman's first maps of New Zealand, but this was changed by Dutch cartographers to Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland, some time after Hendrik Brouwer proved the South American land to be an island in 1643. The Latin Nova Zeelandia became Nieuw Zeeland in Dutch. Lieutenant James Cook subsequently called the archipelago New Zealand, although the names he chose for the North and South islands were rejected, and the main three islands became known as North, Middle and South, with the Middle Island being later called the South Island. Cook began extensive surveys of the islands in 1769, leading to European whaling expeditions and eventually significant European colonisation. From as early as the 1780s, Māori had encounters with European sealers and whalers. Acquisition of muskets by those iwi in close contact with European visitors destabilised the existing balance of power between Māori tribes and there was a temporary but intense period of bloody inter-tribal warfare, known as the Musket Wars, that only ceased when all iwi were so armed. Concern about the exploitation of Māori by Europeans, Church Missionary Society lobbying and French interest in the region led the British to annex New Zealand by Royal Proclamation in January 1840. To legitimise the British annexation, Lieutenant Governor William Hobson had been dispatched in 1839; he hurriedly negotiated the Treaty of Waitangi with northern iwi on his arrival. The Treaty was signed in February, and in recent years it has come to be seen as the founding document of New Zealand. The Māori translation of the treaty promised the Māori tribes "tino rangatiratanga" would be preserved in return for cedeing kawanatanga, which the English versions translates as "chieftainship" for "sovereignty"; the real meanings are now disputed. Disputes over land sales and sovereignty caused the New Zealand land wars which took place between 1845 and 1872. In 1975 the Treaty of Waitangi Act established the Waitangi Tribunal, charged with hearing claims of Crown violations of the Treaty of Waitangi dating back to 1840. Some Māori tribes and the Moriori never signed the treaty. Although New Zealand was initially administered as a part of the Australian colony of New South Wales, it became a colony in its own right in 1841. European settlement progressed more rapidly than anyone anticipated, and settlers soon outnumbered Māori. Self-government was granted to the settler population in 1852. The first capital of New Zealand was Kororareka (known today as Russell) but shortly afterwards moved to Auckland. There were political concerns following the discovery of gold in Central Otago in 1861 that the South Island would form a separate colony. So in 1865 the capital was offically moved to the more central city of Wellington. New Zealand was involved in a Constitutional Convention in March 1891 in Sydney, New South Wales, along with the then-colonies of Australia. This was to consider a potential constitution for the proposed federation between the then-British Colonies of Australasia. New Zealand lost interest in joining Australia in a federation following this convention. New Zealand became an independent dominion on 26 September 1907 by royal proclamation. Full independence was granted by the United Kingdom Parliament with the Statute of Westminster in 1931; it was taken up upon the Statute's adoption by the New Zealand Parliament in 1947. Since then New Zealand has been a sovereign constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations.

Politics

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Under the New Zealand Royal Titles Act (1953), Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of New Zealand and is represented as head of state by the Governor-General, Dame Silvia Cartwright. The New Zealand Parliament has only one chamber, the House of Representatives which usually seats 120 members of Parliament. Parliamentary elections are every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). The 2005 General Election created an 'overhang' of one extra seat (occupied by the Māori Party), due to that party winning more seats in constituencies than its proportional entitlement. There is no single written constitution; however, the Constitution Act (1986) is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure. The Governor-General has the power to appoint and dismiss Prime Ministers and to dissolve Parliament. The Governor-General also chairs the Executive Council which is a formal committee consisting of all ministers of the Crown. Members of the Executive Council are required to be members of Parliament, and most are also in Cabinet. Cabinet is the most senior policy-making body and is led by the Prime Minister who is also the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition. The current Prime Minister is Helen Clark of the Labour Party. She has served two complete terms as Prime Minister and has begun her third. On 17 October 2005 she announced that she had come to a complex arrangement that guaranteed the support of enough parties for her Labour-led coalition to govern. The core of the coalition is a cabinet consisting of Labour Party ministers and Jim Anderton, the Progressive Party's only MP. In addition to the parties represented in cabinet the leaders of New Zealand First and United Future are to be appointed as Ministers outside Cabinet. An arrangement of this kind has never been attempted before in New Zealand. A further arrangement has been made with the Green Party, which has given a commitment not to vote against the government on confidence and supply. This commitment assures the government of a majority of seven MPs on confidence. The Leader of the Opposition is National Party leader Don Brash who was formerly Governor of the Reserve Bank. Also in opposition are the Māori Party and ACT New Zealand. The highest court in New Zealand is the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The Supreme Court was established in 2004 following the passage of the Supreme Court Act in 2003. The Act abolished the option to appeal Court of Appeal rulings to the Privy Council in London. The current Chief Justice is Dame Sian Elias. New Zealand's judicary also has a High Court which deals with serious criminal offences and civil matters, and a Court of Appeal, as well as subordinate courts.

Foreign relations and military

New Zealand maintains a strong profile on environmental protection, human rights and free trade, particularly for agriculture. New Zealand is a member of the following geo-political organisations: APEC, Commonwealth of Nations, OECD and the United Nations. It has signed up to a number of free trade agreements, of which the most important is Closer Economic Relations with Australia. For its first hundred years, New Zealand followed Britain's lead on foreign policy. "Where she goes, we go, where she stands, we stand", said Prime Minister Michael Savage, in declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. However, Britain's inability to protect New Zealand from Japanese aggression in World War II led New Zealand to come under the influence of the United States of America for the generation following the war. New Zealand has traditionally also worked closely with Australia, whose foreign policy followed a similar historical trend. In turn, many Pacific Islands such as Western Samoa have looked to New Zealand's lead. The American influence on New Zealand was weakened by the disappointment with the Vietnam War, the nuclear danger presented by the Cold War, the Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by France and by disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues. New Zealand is a party to the ANZUS security treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States. In 1984 New Zealand refused nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships access to its ports. In 1986 the United States announced that it was suspending its treaty security obligations to New Zealand pending the restoration of port access. The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act of 1987 prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons on the territory of New Zealand and the entry into New Zealand waters of nuclear armed or propelled ships. This legislation remains a source of contention and the basis for the United States' continued suspension of treaty obligations to New Zealand. In addition to the various wars between Iwi, and between the British, settlers and Iwi, New Zealand has fought in the Boer War, World War I, (sustaining the highest casualties per head of population of any combatant nation), World War II, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency (and committed troops, fighters and bombers to the subsequent confrontation with Indonesia), the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the Afghanistan War and has briefly sent a unit of army engineers to help with rebuilding Iraqi infrastructure. The New Zealand military has three branches: the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. New Zealand considers its own national defence needs to be modest; it dismantled its air combat capability in 2001. New Zealand has contributed forces to recent regional and global peacekeeping missions, including those in Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia, the Sinai, Angola, Cambodia, the Iran/Iraq border, Bougainville and East Timor.

Local government and external territories

East Timor The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces. These were abolished in 1876 so that government could be centralised for financial reasons. As a result, New Zealand has no separately represented subnational entities such as provinces, states or territories apart from its local government. The spirit of the provinces however still lives on, and there is fierce rivalry exhibited in sporting and cultural events. Since 1876, local government has administered the various regions of New Zealand. In 1989, the government completely reorganised local government, implementing the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities. Today New Zealand has 12 regional councils for the administration of environmental and transport matters and 74 territorial authorities that administer roading, sewerage, building consents, and other local matters. The territorial authorities are 16 city councils, 57 district councils, and the Chatham Islands County Council. Four of the territorial councils (one city and three districts) and the Chatham Islands County Council also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities. Territorial authority districts are not subdivisions of regional council districts, and a few of them straddle regional council boundaries. Regions are (asterisks denote unitary authorities): Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne
- , Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, Marlborough
- , Nelson
- , Tasman
- , West Coast, Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands
- . As a major South Pacific nation, New Zealand has a close working relationship with many of the smaller Pacific Island nations, and continues a political association with the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau. New Zealand operates Scott Base in its Antarctic territory, the Ross Dependency. Other countries also use Christchurch to support their Antarctic bases and the city is sometimes known as the "Gateway to Antarctica".

Geography

Ross Dependency are visible in the centre of the North Island. The Southern Alps and the rain shadow they create are clearly visible on the South Island]] New Zealand comprises two main islands (simply called the North and South Islands in English, or usually Te-Ika-a-Maui and Te Wai Pounamu in Māori) and a number of smaller islands. The total land area of New Zealand, 268,680 km², is a little less than that of Japan and a little more than the United Kingdom. The country extends more than 1600 km along its main, north-north-east axis. The most significant of the smaller inhabited islands of New Zealand include Stewart Island/Rakiura, Waiheke Island, an island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf, Great Barrier Island, east of the Hauraki Gulf and the Chatham Islands, named Rekohu by Moriori. The country has extensive marine resources, with the fifth largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world covering over 4 million km², more than 15 times its land area. The South Island is the largest land mass, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook, at 3,754 metres (12,316 feet). There are 18 peaks of more than 3,000 metres in the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous than the South, but is marked by volcanism. The tallest North Island mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres), is an active cone volcano. The dramatic and varied landscape of New Zealand has made it a popular location for the production of television programmes and films, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Lord of the Rings The usual climate throughout the country is mild, mostly cool temperate to warm temperate, with temperatures rarely falling below 0°C or rising above 30°C. Conditions vary from wet and cold on the West Coast of the South Island to dry and continental in the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury and subtropical in Northland. Of the main cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving only some 640 millimetres of rain per year. Auckland, the wettest, receives a little less than three times that amount.

Flora and fauna

Northland Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world, and its island biogeography New Zealand has extraordinary flora and fauna. About 80 percent of the New Zealand flora only occurs in New Zealand, including more than 40 endemic genera. The main two types of forest have been dominated by podocarps including the giant kauri and southern beech. The remaining vegetation types in New Zealand are grassland of grass and tussock, usually associated with the subalpine areas, and the low shrublands between grasslands and forests. Until the arrival of the first humans, 80% of the land was forested and, barring two species of bat, there were no non-marine mammals at all. Instead, New Zealand's forests were inhabited by a diverse range of birds including the flightless Moa which is now extinct, the Kiwi, Kakapo, and Takahē which are all endangered due to human actions. Unique birds capable of flight include the Haast's eagle which was the world's largest bird of prey before it became extinct and the large parrots the Kaka and Kea. Reptiles present in New Zealand include skinks and geckos and the Tuatara. There are no snakes but there are many species of insects— including the weta which may grow as large as a House Mouse.

Economy

House Mouse New Zealand has a thriving, modern, developed economy. The country has a high standard of living, ranking 19th on the 2005 Human Development Index and 15th of The Economists 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index. Since 1984 successive governments have engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from a highly protectionist and regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. During the late 1980s, the New Zealand Government sold a number of major trading enterprises, including its telecommunications company, railway network, a number of radio stations and two financial institutions in a series of asset sales. Although the New Zealand Government continues to own a number of significant businesses, collectively known as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), they are operated through arms-length shareholding arrangements as stand-alone businesses that are required to operate profitably, just like any privately owned enterprise. Unfortunately, due in part to the sudden transition to a market economy, an economic bubble developed in the New Zealand stock market starting in 1984. This burst in October 1987 and the total value of the market halved within a year (it has still to recover this lost value). The effect of this bubble was a period of poor economic growth which lasted until the mid 90s. It also led the government to begin a programme of massive immigration to boost GDP. However, since 1999 New Zealand has enjoyed a period of relatively strong and sustained growth, and contained inflationary pressures. The current New Zealand government's economic objectives are centred around moving from being ranked among the lower end of the OECD countries to regaining a higher placing again, pursuing free-trade agreements, "closing the gaps" between ethnic groups, and building a "knowledge economy." In 2004 it began discussing free trade with China, one of the first countries to do so. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade—particularly in agricultural products—to drive growth, and it has been affected by global economic slowdowns and slumps in commodity prices. Since agricultural exports are highly sensitive to currency values and a large percentage of consumer goods are imported, any changes in the value of the New Zealand dollar has a strong impact on the economy. Its primary export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing, forestry and information technology. There are also substantial tourism and export education industries. The film and wine industries are considered to be up-and-coming.
Demographics
New Zealand has a population of about 4.1 million. About 70% of the population are whites of European descent. New Zealanders of Anglo-Celtic ancestry are known as Pākeha - this term is used variously and some Māori use it to refer to all non-Māori New Zealanders. A large proportion of white New Zealanders are of Scottish ancestry. Māori people are the second largest ethnic group (the percentage of the population of full or part-Māori ancestry is 14.7%; those who checked only Māori are 7.9%). Between the 1996 and 2001 censuses, the number of people of Asian origin (6.6%) overtook the number of people of Pacific Island origin (6.5%) (note that the census allowed multiple ethnic affiliations). Virtually all Māori are of mixed heritage (Māori/Pākeha), but a large portion of them marked themselves as Māori-only on the Census. New Zealand is positive about immigration and is committed to increasing its population by approx 1% per annum. At present migrants from the UK constitute the largest single group (30%) but new migrants are drawn from many nations, increasingly from East Asia. Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although nearly 40% of the population has no religious affiliation. The main Christian denominations are Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Roman Catholicism and Methodism. There are also significant numbers who identify themselves with Pentecostal and Baptist churches and with the Mormon church. The New Zealand-based Ratana church has many adherents among Māori. According to census figures, other significant minority religions include Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.
Culture
IslamNew Zealand has a diverse contemporary culture with influences from British, the Māori,and other European immigrants and most recently Polynesian cultures. There were many people from Scotland amongst the early British settlers and elements of their culture persist; New Zealand is said to have more bagpipe bands than Scotland. Cultural links between New Zealand and the UK are maintained by a common language, sustained migration from the UK and the fact that many young New Zealanders spend time in the UK on their "overseas experience (OE)". Pre-European contact Māori culture had no metal tools, relying on stone and wood. Modern Māori do not live a traditional lifestyle. Elements of Māori culture survive and the Government actively promotes it to all New Zealanders. Use of the Māori language (Te Reo Māori) as a living, community language remained only in a few remote areas in the post war years but it is currently going through a renaissance; with generous state support for Māori language medium schools and a Māori language television channel. New Zealand's landscape has appeared in a number of television programmes and films. In particular, the television series Hercules and Xena were filmed around Auckland, and the film Heavenly Creatures in Christchurch. The television series The Tribe is set and filmed in New Zealand as well. Director Peter Jackson shot the epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy in various locations around the country, taking advantage of the spectacular and relatively unspoiled landscapes, and Mount Taranaki was used as a stand-in for Mount Fuji in The Last Samurai. The latest of such major international films to be released are King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Sport
New Zealand's most popular sports are rugby union, cricket, netball, lawn bowling, soccer (the most popular sport amongst children) and rugby league. Also popular are golf, tennis, cycling and a variety of water sports, particularly sailing, whitewater kayaking, Surf Lifesaving and rowing. In the latter, New Zealand enjoyed an extraordinary Magic 45 minutes when winning four successive gold medals at the 2005 world championships. Snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding are also popular. Equestrian sportsmen and sportswomen make their mark in the world (Mark Todd being chosen international "Horseman of the Century"), and all the way down to the juniors at pony club level.
Olympic Games
The country is internationally recognised as achieving extremely well on a medals-to-population ratio at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. See, for example, New Zealand Olympic medallists and New Zealand at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Rugby
Rugby as a sport is closely linked to New Zealand's national identity. The national rugby team is called the All Blacks and has the best winning record of any national team in the world, including being the inaugural winners of the World Cup in 1987. The style of name has been followed in naming the national team in several other sports. For instance, the nation's basketball team is known as the Tall Blacks. New Zealand is to host the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup. New Zealand's national sporting colours are not the colours of its flag, but are black and white (silver). The silver fern is a national emblem worn by New Zealanders representing their country in sport. The haka—a traditional Māori challenge—is often performed at sporting events. The All Blacks traditionally perform a haka before the start of international matches.
Yachting, America's Cup
New Zealand is one of the leading nations in world yachting, especially open water long distance or around the world races. Round-the-world yachtsman, Sir Peter Blake was something of a national hero before his untimely death at the hands of river pirates while on an environmental exploration trip on the Amazon. In inshore yachting, Auckland hosted the last two America's Cup regattas (2000 and 2003). In 2000, Team New Zealand successfully defended the trophy they had won in 1995 in San Diego, which made them the only team in the history of the Cup to successfully defend a challenge other than a United States team, but in 2003 they lost to a team headed by Ernesto Bertarelli of Switzerland, whose Alinghi syndicate was skippered by Russell Coutts, the former skipper of Team New Zealand. Team New Zealand will compete for the America's Cup at the next regatta in Valencia in 2007. The team manager is Grant Dalton.
Public holidays
Statutory Holidays
(These holidays are legislated by several Acts of Parliament, such as the Holidays Act. New Zealand Statutes can be viewed at [http://www.legislation.govt.nz/browse_vw.asp?content-set=pal_statutes legislation.govt.nz]) There are also Provincial Anniversary Days to celebrate the founding days or landing days of the first colonists of the various colonial provinces. The actual observance of Anniversary days can vary even within each province due to local custom, convenience or the proximity of seasonal events or other holidays. This may differ from the historical observance day, and may be several weeks from the historic date of the events being commemorated. A full list of Anniversary days is listed in the article Holidays in New Zealand.
International rankings

- UN Human Development Index (HDI), 2005: 19th out of 177 behind Norway; United Nations Development Programme (pdf) [http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/pdf/HDR05_complete.pdf]
- Quality of Life Index, 2005: 15th out of 111 behind Ireland; The Economist Intelligence Unit (pdf) [http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf]
- Environmental Sustainability Index, 2005: 14th (out of 146) behind Finland; Yale University Center for Environmental Law and Policy & Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (pdf) [http://www.yale.edu/esi/ESI2005_Main_Report.pdf]
- Index of Economic Freedom, 2005: 5th= (out of 155) behind Hong Kong; Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal [http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/]
- GDP Ranking, 2005: 25th out of 111 behind Luxembourg; The Economist Intelligence Unit (pdf) [http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf]
- Transparency International 2005: 2nd= (out of 159) behind Iceland on its list of least corrupt countries in the world. [http://ww1.transparency.org/cpi/2005/cpi2005_infocus.html#cpi]
See also

Notes
McGlone, S.M. and Wilmshurst, J.M. 1999. Dating initial Māori environmental impact in New Zealand. Quaternary International 59:5 - 16
Ministry for the Environment. 2005. Offshore Options: Managing Environmental Effects in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone. [http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/water/offshore-options-jun05/html/page3.html Introduction]
Allan, H.H. 1982. Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons, Flora of New Zealand Volume I. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research

External links

- [http://www.teara.govt.nz/ Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand]
- [http://webdirectory.natlib.govt.nz/index.htm Te Puna Web Directory ] - A directory to New Zealand web sites
- [http://www.mch.govt.nz/ Ministry for Culture and Heritage] - includes information on flag, anthems and coat of arms.
- [http://www.govt.nz/ New Zealand Government Portal]
- [http://www.nzte.govt.nz/ New Zealand Trade and Enterprise] - New Zealand's trade and economic development agency.
- [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/New_Zealand Wikitravel] - New Zealand travel guide.
- [http://www.metservice.co.nz/ New Zealand weather]
- [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/ NZHistory.net.nz New Zealand history website]
- [http://www.stats.govt.nz/ Statistics New Zealand] - Official statistics.
- [http://www.newzealand.com/ Tourism New Zealand]
- [http://www.astronomy.net.nz/ Astronomy in New Zealand] The guide to astronomy in New Zealand
- [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ New Zealand Herald] - New Zealand newspaper online A
Category:Island nations Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Former British colonies Category:Monarchies Category:Oceanic countries Category:Polynesia als:Neuseeland zh-min-nan:Aotearoa ko:뉴질랜드 ms:New Zealand ja:ニュージーランド simple:New Zealand th:ประเทศนิวซีแลนด์

Island

in New York, USA]] An island or isle is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water. Very small islands are called islets. Although seldom adhered to, it is also proper to call an emergent land feature on an atoll an islet, since an atoll is a type of island. A key or cay is also another name for a relatively small island. Groups of related islands are called archipelagos. There are three main types of islands: continental islands, river islands, and volcanic islands. There are also some artificial islands. The word island derives ultimately from the Old English word igland. It was originally spelled phonetically: iland. The letter "s" was added out of the mistaken belief that it derived from isle (< Old French < Latin insula) + land, where no such etymological relationship existed.

Continental islands

Continental islands are bodies of land that are connected by the continental shelf to a continent. That is, these islands are part of an adjacent continent and are located on the continental shelf of that continent. Examples include Greenland and Sable Island off North America, Barbados and Trinidad off South America, Sicily off Europe, Sumatra and Java off Asia, New Guinea and Tasmania off Australia. A special type of continental island is the microcontinental island, which results when a continent is rifted. The best example is Madagascar off Africa. The Kerguelen Islands and some of the Seychelles are also examples. Another subtype is the barrier island: accumulations of sand on the continental shelf.

River islands

River islands occur in river deltas and in large rivers. They are caused by deposition of sediment at points in the flow where the current loses some of its carrying capacity. In essence, they are river bars, isolated in the stream. While some are ephemeral, and may disappear if the river's water volume or speed changes, others are stable and long-lived.

Volcanic islands

Volcanic islands are built by volcanoes. Mid-ocean examples are not geologically part of any continent. One type of volcanic island is found in a volcanic island arc. These islands arise from volcanoes where the subduction of one plate under another is occurring. Examples include the Mariana Islands, the Aleutian Islands, and most of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. Some of the Lesser Antilles and the South Sandwich Islands are the only Atlantic Ocean examples. Another type of volcanic island occurs where an oceanic rift reaches the surface. There are two examples: Iceland, which is the world's largest volcanic island, and Jan Mayen—both are in the Atlantic. The last type of volcanic island are those formed over volcanic hotspots. A hot spot is more or less stationary relative to the moving tectonic plate above it, so a chain of islands results as the plate drifts. Over long periods of time, this type of island is eventually eroded down and "drowned" by isostatic adjustment, becoming a seamount. Plate movement across a hot-spot produces a line of islands oriented in the direction of the plate movement. An example is the Hawaiian Islands, from Hawaii to Kure, which then extends beneath the sea surface in a more northerly direction as the Emperor Seamounts. Another chain with similar orientation is the Tuamotu Archipelago; its older, northerly trend is the Line Islands. The southernmost chain is the Austral Islands, with its northerly trending part the atolls in the nation of Tuvalu. Tristan da Cunha is an example of a hotspot volcano in the Atlantic Ocean. An atoll is an island formed from a coral reef that has grown on an eroded and submerged volcanic island. The reef rises above the surface of the water and forms a new island. Atolls are typically ring-shaped with a central, shallow lagoon. Examples include the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Bora Bora in the Pacific.

External links

- [http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part8.htm Definition of island] from United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Category:Islands Category:Landforms zh-min-nan:Tó-sū ko:섬 ms:Pulau ja:島 simple:Island th:เกาะ

South Island

The South Island forms one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. The Maori name for the South Island is Te Wai Pounamu which means "The Greenstone Water" (greenstone being jade). In the 19th century, some maps named the South Island as Middle Island (or New Ulster), and the name South Island (or New Leinster) was attributed to today's Stewart Island/Rakiura. It has an area of 151,215 square km (58,093 square miles), making it the world's 12th-largest island. Along its west coast runs the mountain chain of the Southern Alps; Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest point, 3,754 m (12,283.3') above sea level. The South Island is often called the Mainland (somewhat humorously) because it is larger than the North Island, and because it existed first according to the corresponding Māori legend. The North island, however, is more populous, being home to three million out of a total of four million Kiwis. Some North Islanders (especially Aucklanders) even refer to the South Island as though it were a single town, stating for example that some event occurred "down south" without being more specific about a particular town or city.

Historical provinces of the South Island:

- Nelson
- Otago
- Canterbury
- Marlborough
- Westland
- Southland

Cities and towns in the South Island

- Alexandra
- Ashburton
- Blenheim
- Christchurch
- Dunedin
- Invercargill
- Greymouth
- Hokitika
- Kaikoura
- Methven
- Nelson
- Oamaru
- Omarama
- Queenstown
- Te Anau
- Timaru
- Wanaka
- Westport

Geographic features

Westport
- Arthur's Pass
- Banks Peninsula
- Catlins
- Doubtful Sound
- Fox Glacier
- Farewell Spit
- Franz Josef Glacier
- Haast Pass
- Lake Manapouri
- Lake Wakatipu
- Lake Te Anau
- MacKenzie Basin
- Milford Sound Shibboleth warning: maps and non-New Zealanders say "South Island"; but genuine Kiwis say "the South Island", with a definite article. Maps, headings or tables, and adjectival expressions use "South Island"; whereas "the South Island" is used after a preposition or before or after a verb; eg "my mother lives in the South Island", "the North Island is smaller than the South Island", "I'm visiting the South Island". Note also the use "IN the South Island" rather than "ON the South Island".

Movie Film Spot

Several movies have been filmed (in large part) on this Island, including the Lord of the Rings and 2005's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island is in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, 17.7 km (about 35 minutes by ferry) from Auckland. Of the Hauraki Gulf islands, it is the second-largest (after Great Barrier Island), the most populated and the most accessible by regular ferry and air services. Waiheke is the third most populated island in New Zealand, after the North and South Islands.

Geography

The island is 19.3 km long from east to west and varies in width from 0.64 km to 9.65 km, with an area of 92 km². The coastline is 133.5 km including 40 km of beaches. The port of Matiatia at the western end of the island is 17.7 km from Auckland and the eastern end is 21.4 km from Coromandel. It is very hilly with few flat areas, the highest point being Maunganui at 231 m. The climate is generally warmer than Auckland with less humidity and rain and more sunshine hours.

Demographics

There is a permanent population of around 7,000 residents. Much of the population lives close to the western end of the island, at or close to an east-west isthmus between Huruhi Bay and Oneroa Bay which, at its narrowest, is only 600 metres wide. Here are the settlements of Oneroa and Blackpool; immediately to the west of these are Palm Beach, Surfdale, and Ostend. Further east lies Onetangi, which is located on the central north coast on the wide Onetangi Bay. To the south of this on the opposing coast is Omiha. Much of the eastern half of the island is privately owned farmland. Waiheke Island is a popular holiday spot. During the period around Christmas, it is said that the population on the island can swell to over 30,000 people, although the elected City Councillor for the island says this number is not backed up by any statistical study, and came about when a prior Community Board was asked to come up with an estimate and they did, pulling the number out of the air. It is safe to say the population increases significantly, rents go up, almost all homes and baches are full and a festive atmosphere exists. Socially the island is highly diverse, although gentrification is having an impact. The island ranges from people living on the bottom of the earnings (or public benefit) scale to some of the wealthiest people in New Zealand. Some of the people earning little are well-educated and have voluntarily chosen live simply. Curiously some the wealthy show a similar choice, some live on the island because they get to live simply and not attract attention. The creative sector is highly represented with many artists, musicians, scientists, writers & poets, actors and eccentrics. There is a high proportion of people who sailed to New Zealand on sailboats and probably more ex-Greenpeace campaigners per capta than anywhere else in the country. Race relations are unusually supportive, even for New Zealand standards. The local marae was not ancestral Māori land held in Maori title but belonged to the Waiheke County Council. Its citizen, both pakeha and maori, got together, arranged for a long-term lease of council owned land, and built the marae. Also one of the earliest maori land claims was driven by Waiheke citizens, who at the time did not know who the Tangata Whenua maori were for the island. A detailed narrative of this history is available on the Waitangi Tribunal website in pdf form [http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/reports/northislandnorth/wai010/chapt05.pdf]

Government

Waiheke Island is part of the territorial authority of Auckland City. From 1970 until its amalgamation with Auckland City in 1989, it was administered by the Waiheke County Council. It has less infrastructure than mainland Auckland City. Each house must maintain their own water supply, most collecting rainwater in cisterns, and install a septic tank to handle sewerage. The community established a charitable trust which bid on the City's contract for solid waste disposal. They won it, and implemented such a successful recyling rate on the island that the recyling centre had to be expanded to handle the volumes.

Significant Events on Waiheke Island

Stony Batter

During World War II, three gun emplacements were built on the eastern side of Waiheke to protect Allied shipping in Waitemata Harbour. The emplacements and the extensive tunnels below them are now open to the public. See Stony Batter.

Nuclear and GE free zone

Waiheke Island was the first community in New Zealand to vote as a nuclear free zone and this action is said to have contributed to the national decision to become nuclear free under David Lange's government. This assertion was made by a prior community board member, and requires further confirmation. More recently, Waiheke's community board voted Waiheke as a GE Free Zone, but this is a matter of principle rather than fact, as only national controls exist over genetically engineered foods and grains.

Matiatia redevelopment

The Gateway to Waiheke Island where the primary pedestrian ferry lands over 1 million passengers per year is a valley and harbour called Matiatia. In 2000 it was purchased by three investors in a company called Waitemata Infrastructure Ltd (WIL). In 2002 WIL proposed to change the Operative District Plan rules for their land to build a major shopping and hotel complex with 29,000 m² of gross floor area on buildable land of approximately 3 hectares. This united the residents of the island in opposition. Over 1,500 adult residents of the island (out of perhaps 3,000) joined together in an incorporated society, the [http://www.capow.info Community and People of Waiheke Island (CAPOW)], to oppose the private plan change in court. In 2004, they won an interlocutory judgement in which the environment court ruled that Auckland City Council had erred in the rules, and the current rules limited permitted, controlled development to 5,000 m² in what was called the Visitor Facility Precinct. In 2005, CAPOW won an interim judgement by the court which reduced the proposed redevelopment to about 1/3rd of what the investors had originally sought. This set the stage for confidential negotiations between Auckland's mayor Dick Hubbard and the investors, who on 31 August 2005 (now known as Matiatia Day) sold 100% of the stock in WIL to the city for $12.5 million. The unanimous vote on 30 June 2005 of the City Council to approve the purchase was said to have come about because of the unity of the people of Waiheke Island.

Foot and mouth disease

In May 2005, in a suspected capping stunt, a letter was sent to the New Zealand Prime Minister claiming that foot and mouth disease had been released on Waiheke Island and would be released elsewhere unless money was paid and tax reforms made. A full agricultural exotic disease response was initiated. No livestock were allowed to enter or leave the island. Stock on Waiheke Island was tested every 48 hours for symptoms of the virus, which would devastate New Zealand's agricultural exports. After three weeks of testing, no infected animals were detected and the response staff were stood down. The New Zealand Police stated that they would continue efforts to track down the perpetrator of the hoax but the letter-writer is still at large.

External links

- [http://www.waihekenz.com Official Waiheke Island tourism website]
- [http://www.gotowaiheke.co.nz Waiheke Island website]
- [http://www.gotothegulf.com Hauraki Gulf website]
- [http://www.capow.info The Community and People of Waiheke, Inc] Category:Islands of New Zealand Category: Hauraki Gulf

Anchorage Island, New Zealand

Anchorage Island is a tiny island located off the southwest coast of Stewart Island, New Zealand Category:Islands of New Zealand

Arapawa Island

Arapawa Island is a small island located in the Marlborough Sounds, at the north east tip of the South Island of New Zealand. The island has a land area of 75 km² (18500 acres). Queen Charlotte Sound defines its western side, while to the south lies Tory Channel, which is on the sea route from Wellington in the North Island to Picton). It was from a hill on Arapawa Island in 1770 that Captain James Cook first saw the sea passage from the Pacific Ocean to the Tasman Sea, which was named Cook Strait. This discovery banished the fond notion of geographers that there existed a great southern continent. From the late 1820s until the mid 1960s, Arapawa Island was a base for whaling in the Sounds. Perano Head on the east coast of the island was the principal whaling station for the area. The houses built by the Perano family are now operated as tourist accommodation. Arapawa Island is known for the breeds of pigs, sheep and goats found only on the island. The origin of these breeds is unknown, and is a matter of some speculation. Common suggestions are that they are old English breeds introduced by the early whalers, or by Captain Cook or other early explorers, which are now extinct in England.

External links

- [http://www.arapawahomestead.co.nz/ Perano Homestead] Category:Islands of New Zealand category: Marlborough, New Zealand

The Brothers, New Zealand

The Brothers is a group of tiny islands in Cook Strait, New Zealand, found off the west coast of Arapawa Island. The islands are a sanctuary for a unique reptile species, the Brothers Island tuatara. Brothers Brothers

Chalky Island

Chalky Island is a small island in the southwest of New Zealand, and is part of Fiordland National Park. It lies at the entrance to Chalky Inlet, at the southwestern tip of the South Island, ten kilometres northwest of Puysegur Point, 15 kilometres southeast of West Cape, and 140 kilometres west of Invercargill. The island was first charted by Captain James Cook in 1773, and was a base for sealers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. All predators were eradicated from the island by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, and it is now used as a bird sanctuary. It is one of only two refuges of the flightless native parrot, the kakapo. Category:Southland, New Zealand Category:Islands of New Zealand

Codfish Island

Codfish island or Whenua Hou is a small island (14 km²) located to the east of Stewart Island/Rakiura in southern New Zealand. It is a predator-free bird sanctuary and the focus of kakapo recovery efforts. The majority of the breeding population of critically endangered kakapo are currently located on this island. The island is also home to southern short-tailed bats, kaka, fernbirds, red- and yellow-crowned parakeets, and a recently introduced population of yellowheads (mohua). Yellow-eyed and Fiordland crested penguins breed along the coastline The island is inhabited by Department of Conversation field workers along with public volunteers. The sole hut is located at Sealer's Bay with access by light aircraft or helicopter. The island is closed to visitors with unauthorised landing prohibited. category: Islands of New Zealand category: Southland, New Zealand

D'Urville Island, New Zealand

D'Urville Island is an island in the Marlborough Sounds along the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was named after the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville. With an area of approximately 150 square kilometres, it is the eighth-largest island of New Zealand. The island is separated from the mainland by the dangerous French Pass, through which water passes at up to eight knots (14 km/h) at each tide. Several vortices occur near this passage. D'Urville investigated the passage for several days in 1827, and damaged his ship passing through it.

Goat Island, New Zealand

Goat Island is the name of two different islands off the New Zealand coast.

Goat Island, Auckland Region

Auckland's Goat Island is a tiny island located close to the North Island coast northwest of Warkworth, and directly west of Hauturu/Little Barrier Island. It forms part of a marine reserve that was officially formed in 1977.

Goat Island, Otago

Goat Island in Otago, is located between Port Chalmers and Portobello, halfway down Otago Harbour. It is to the nortwest of the larger Saint Martin's/Quarantine Island. category: Islands of New Zealand category: Hauraki Gulf category: Otago

Green Island, New Zealand

Green Island is an island off the coast of Dunedin, New Zealand, and is also the name of one of the city's satellite towns. The suburb itself is not near the sea.

The island

Green Island is a small uninhabited island located 12 miles southwest of Dunedin, close to the mouth of the Kaikorai Lagoon.

The town

The town of Green Island, since 1989 officially an outer suburb of Dunedin, is situated on State Highway 1 eight kilometres west of the Dunedin CBD. It has a population (2001) of 2430. The suburb's main economy is based on light and small scale heavy industry.

Abbotsford

Immediately to the north of Green Island, and only separated from it by the State Highway and South Island Main Trunk Railway, is Abbotsford, usually considered to be a suburb of Green Island (although since the amalgamation of Green Island with Dunedin City in 1989 the two are often simply considered neighbouring suburbs). Abbotsford is an entirely residential suburb with virtually no retail or service sector of its own - for these it relies on Green Island which lies only some 300 metres to the south. Abbotsford has a population of 1677.

The Abbotsford landslide

On the night of August 8 1979, a major landslide occurred in Abbotsford, resulting in the destruction or relocation of some 70 houses, and requiring the evacuation of over 600 people. This remains the largest landslip to have occurred in an urban area of New Zealand.

Sunnyvale

At the southern end of the two twin suburbs is the smaller suburb of Sunnyvale. This was until the 1990s the site of the main road routh south out of Dunedin, but it and the town of Fairfield immediately to the south were bypassed by a motorway extension in 2000.

External links

[http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Childrens/NZDisasters/Abbotsford.asp Abbotsford landslide] category: Cities and towns in New Zealand category: Otago

Hen and Chicken Islands

The Hen and Chickens Islands (usually simply known as the Hen and Chickens) lie to the east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of northern New Zealand. They are located 12 kilometres to the east of Bream Head and 40 kilometres southeast of Whangarei. The islands were named by Captain James Cook, who first sighted them in 1769. It has been suggested that the name was inspired by an old name for the star cluster usually known as the Pleiades (and called Matariki by the Maori). Originally owned by the Maori Ngapuhi iwi, they were sold to the New Zealand Government in 1883. The islands were made a scenic reserve in 1908 owing to the rarity of their flora and fauna, and became a wildlife refuge in 1953. Hen Island had actually passed from Maori hands a few years earlier, being bought by Thomas Outhwaite in 1872. It was bequeathed to the nation by his daughter Isa Outhwaite in 1927, and it too was named as a scenic reserve. The islands are noted for their bird life, with colonies of shearwaters and petrel, and also forest birds which are now scarce or extinct on the mainland. In June 1940, the Mail Liner Niagara sank off the islands after hitting a mine. Most of the cargo, which included gold bullion, was later salvaged.

Hen Island

Hen Island, or Taranga lies separate from the rest of the chain, lying seven kilometres to the southwest. It is the largest island by some considerable distance, totalling 4.7 km². Long and thin, it has a length of six kilometres and an average width of under 1000 metres. The island is dominated by a rocky ridge reaching to over 400 metres at its highest point, which is called The Pinnacles. Sail rock, a stack, rises from the ocean three kilometres to the south of Hen Island. It is a prominent navigational point for yachts.

The Chicken Islands

The Chicken Islands, or Marotiri consists of a chain of five small islands running northwest to southeast to the north of Hen Island. The chain consists of Mauitaha (also known as Northwestern Chicken), Lady Alice Island (also known as Big Chicken or Motu Muka), Whatupuke (also known as Middle Chicken), and Coppermine Island (also known as Eastern Chicken), as well as the outlying Southwestern Chicken.

Mauitaha (Northwestern Chicken)

Mauitaha is a small rocky island covering 30,000 m². It is almost split into two sections, the largest of which lies to the north.

Lady Alice Island (Big Chicken or Motu Muka)

This island is named after Lady Alice Fergusson, and is the largest of the five chickens. It is of particular significance because of its flora and fauna. The island covers 1.4 km² and is surrounded by rocky reefs. It was occupied by Maori until the 1820s, and was used as a base for fishermen in the 1890s. Cattle were introduced at about this time, but were removed in the 1920s.

Whatupuke (Middle Chicken)

Formerly known as Whakahau, this island is composed of a large eastern section and a peninsula to the southwest. The coast of this peninsula forms one of the chain's main land features, a 300 metre wide bay (Starfish Bay). The island covers 1 km², and is steep, rising to 250 metres.

Coppermine Island (Eastern Chicken)

Coppermine island covers an area of 750,000 m². It is composed of two sections joined by a short isthmus. As the name suggests, there are copper deposits on the island, but attempts at mining them in 1849 and 1898 proved unprofitable.

Southwestern Chicken

This 200,000 m² scrub-covered rock lies one kilometre to the south of Mauitaha. It is a rugged island, rising to almost 100 metres.

External links

[http://www.charter.net.nz/Charter2000/infoHenChicken.htm Hen and Chickens chain]

References

Wise's New Zealand Guide (4th ed.) (1969). Dunedin: H. Wise & Co. (N.Z.) Ltd. category: Northland, New Zealand category: Islands of New Zealand

Kapiti Island

Kapiti Island is a small but visually prominent island about 8 km (5 miles) off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 19.65 km². The seaward (west) side is particularly rocky and has high cliffs of 520 metres which drop straight into the sea. A cross section of the island would show almost a right-angled triangle, revealing its origins from lying on a fault line (part of the same ridge as the Tararua Range). The island's vegetation is dominated by scrub and forests of kohekohe, tawa, and kanuka. Most of the forest is naturally regenerating after years of burn-offs and farming, but some 30 metre high areas of original bush remain. Its name has been used since 1989 as part of the territorial authority that includes it along with towns such as Paraparaumu and Waikanae. See Kapiti Coast District.

History

In the 1700 and 1800s Maori settled on the island. Te Rauparaha formed a base there, and his Ngāti Toa tribe regularly sailed in canoes on raiding journeys up to the Wanganui River and down to Marlborough. The sea nearby was a nursery for whales, and during whaling times 2,000 people were based on the island. Oil was melted from the blubber and shipped to America for use in machinery (pre petroleum). Few whales are seen there now. The conservation potential of the island was seen as early as 1870, and it was reserved as a bird sanctuary in 1897 but it was not until 1987 that the New Zealand Department of Conservation took over the island. In the 1980s and 1990s efforts were made to return the island to a natural state: first sheep and possums were removed, and then in an action no one thought possible (for an island of more than 20,000 m²), rats were eradicated in 1998.

Current day

The island is the site of Kapiti Island Nature Reserve and adjoins the Kapiti Marine Reserve. Most of it is in public ownership. The island is home to a number of native birds (mostly re-introduced), including takahe, kokako, brown teal, stitchbirds, and tieke (saddleback), miromiro, piwakawaka, ruru, weka (hybrid of North and South Island subspecies), hihi, and toutouwai. The brown kiwi and little spotted kiwi had been previously released on the island (between 1890 and 1910). The rat eradication has led to increases in red-crowned parakeets, New Zealand robins, bellbirds, and saddlebacks; and the island is considered one of New Zealand's most important sites for bird recovery, as well as a major breeding site for sea birds. Due to the proximity of Wellington, there are regular tourist trips to the island (limited to 50 people on the island per day), and is an especially popular destination for birders. Having no natural predators, New Zealand birds are trusting, and a visitor to the island is likely to be rewarded by seeing a number of species. Category:Islands of New Zealand Category:Wellington Region

External link

[http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/001~Other-Places/008~Wellington/Kapiti-Island-Nature-Reserve/index.asp DOC: Kapiti Island Nature Reserve ]

Kawau Island, New Zealand

Kawau Island is located in the Hauraki Gulf, close to the north-eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies only 2km off the coast of the North Auckland Peninsula, and shelters Kawau Bay to the north-east of Warkworth. The island is located 50km north of the Auckland city centre. The island has a small population of residents and many holiday dwellings, and is a popular destination for pleasure craft cruising the Hauraki Gulf. Most of the land is privately owned and covered in forest. The island is 8km by 5km at its longest axes, and is almost bisected by the long inlet of Bon Accord Harbour. It was rumoured to have been the base for seaborne raiding Maori in the early 18th century. Manganese and copper were mined in the first years of European ownership until the island was bought by Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand in 1862 as a private retreat. He extended the original copper mine manager's house (built 1845) to create the Kawau Island Mansion House which still stands, and made the surrounding land into a botanical and zoological park, importing many plants and animals. The house is now in public ownership in the Kawau Island Historic Reserve, administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. The reserve is open to the public and covers 10 per cent of the Island, and includes the old copper mine; the site of New Zealand's first underground mining venture. The island is home to kiwi and two thirds of the entire population of North Island weka. Among the animals that Grey introduced were four species of wallabies which do considerable damage to the native vegetation, thus harming the habitat for these flightless birds and other native fauna. The wallabies destroy all emerging seedlings which means that the present native trees are the last generation. The usual understorey forest species are absent due to wallaby browsing and in many cases the ground is bare. Possums, also introduced by Grey, destroy mature native trees. The result has been a considerable loss of biodiversity, with bird numbers plummeting due to loss of both food supply and habitat. Even the surrounding marine environment has been severely compromised by silt carried from the bare ground by rainwater. A local organisation, Pohutukawa Trust New Zealand, was founded in 1992 by Ray Weaver and other private landowners who own 90 per cent of the Island, specifically "to rehabilitate the native flora and fauna of Kawau Island". The long established plan is to complete eradication of significant animal pests including wallabies and possums, eradicate certain weed species and control others, and enable sustainable land use in a restored ecological setting of native flora and fauna. Possum numbers have already been reduced, saving a New Zealand icon the coastal pohutukawa tree. The response has been increasing native bird numbers, including increased kiwi calls, brown teal, kaka, Kererū, and bellbirds. After assisting with capturing all of the rare Brushtail rock wallabies that could economically be recovered for relocation to a successful captive breeding program developed by Waterfall Springs Conservation Association in Wahroonga, Australia, the Pohutukawa Trust New Zealand is now humanely eradicating the remaining feral wallabies from the island, to enable ecological restoration (mainly by natural regeneration), and to provide for sustainable land use for the future of the Kawau community. Other animal pests the Trust intends to eradicate in time and as resources allow include stoats, feral cats, and ship rats. Plants unpalatable to the wallabies have become significant weeds, and the Trust intends to eradicate or control these also as part of the ecological restoration process. Kawau Island is an extreme example of the consequences of exotic animals being brought to a place and ecosystems where they do not belong. See www.pohutukawatrust.org.nz and www.waterfallsprings.com.au. Category: Hauraki Gulf category: Islands of New Zealand

Matakana Island

Matakana Island is located in the western Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. A long, flat island, it is 20 kilometres in length but rarely more than three kilometres wide. The island protects the entrance to Tauranga harbour and stretches from Athenree to Mount Maunganui. It is largely covered by pine forests. Category:Bay of Plenty-East Coast category: Islands of New Zealand

Matiu/Somes Island

Matiu/Somes Island is the largest of several islands in the northern half of Port Nicholson (Wellington Harbour, New Zealand). It lies three km south of the suburb of Petone and the mouth of the Hutt River. It became part of Lower Hutt in 1989 and came under the full control of the Department of Conservation ("DoC") in 1995. The island is largely predator-free, an unusual state for an island so close to an urban centre. The island is a sanctuary for tuatara. The island was known for over a century as Somes Island until it was renamed to restore an ancient Maori name for it. To the north lies a much smaller island, Mokopuna Island.

External links

- [http://www.angelfire.com/ak/Paul56/soams.html Photos and history from an enthusiast]
- [http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/001~Other-Places/008~Wellington/Matiu-Somes-Island/ Dept of Conservation page] category: Islands of New Zealand Category:Wellington Region

Mercury Islands

The Mercury Islands lie off the north coast of New Zealand's North Island. They are located eight kilometres off the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, and 35 kilometres northeast of the town of Whitianga. The main chain of the Mercury Islands consists of the large Great Mercury Island (also known as Ahuahu) to the west, Red Mercury Island to the east, and five much smaller islands between the two. Only the main island is inhabited - the others form part of a nature reserve. To the south of this chain numerous tiny islets lie to the north of the mouth of Mercury Bay. One lone island, Cuvier Island, lies 18 kilometres to the north of Great Mercury Island, although this island is not normally considered part of the Mercury Island group. The group is still occasionally referred to by the earlier name of Iles d'Hausse. category: Islands of New Zealand Category:Thames-Coromandel

Motiti Island

Motiti Island is located off the Bay of Plenty coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 15 kilometres northeast of Tauranga. A relatively flat island covering some 10 km², it has a small population. The principal activity on the island is agriculture.

External links

- [http://motiti.co.nz Motiti Island]
- [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/MotitiIsland/MotitiIsland/en Motiti Island] from the 1966 Encylopaedia of New Zealand category: Islands of New Zealand Category:Bay of Plenty-East Coast

Motukawao Islands

The Motukawao Islands are the northernmost of several small groups of islands that lie in the Hauraki Gulf off the west coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. They lie some five kilometres to the southwest of Colville, and are uninhabited. The largest of the islands are Motuwi and Ngamotukaraka Islands; others include Moturua and Motukaramarama Islands. category:Islands of New Zealand Category:Thames-Coromandel

Ponui Island

Ponui Island is located in the Hauraki Gulf, to the east of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located to the southeast of Waiheke Island, at the eastern end of the Tamaki Strait, which separates the island from the Hunua Ranges on the mainland to the south. The island is virtually uninhabited (the population was 9 in 2001), and has an area of 18 km². It is a popular site for youth camps for organisations such as scouts. The island is the home of New Zealand's only feral donkey breed, the Ponui donkey.