Facts and news in New Zealand

New Zealand

Facts & News in New Zealand

Facts and News in New Zealand

Facts

When the Europeans arrived in New Zealand, it was already inhabited by the Maori people. These were Eastern Polynesian settlers who arrived sometime between 800 and 1300. Oral history states that they came from a place named "Hawaiki," location unknown. However the very strong linguistic connection to Cook Island may suggest that they originated from that region of the Pacific.

New Zealand was first discovered by Europeans in 1642 when Dutch sailor Abel Tasman arrived. Tasman left New Zealand after several of his crew were killed by Maoris, and it was not until 1769 that English Captain James Cook arrived and mapped the land.

In 1893 New Zealand became the first major nation to have universal suffrage, granting voting privileges to all male and female citizens. New Zealand was once governed as a part of the territory of New south Wales. In 1901 Australia federated and New Zealand was offered a place as one of their states. However, New Zealand refused and became an independent nation.

Wellington, the Capital City of New Zealand is the southernmost capital city in the world. New Zealand is one of only three countries that have two official, and of equal standing, national Anthems. The first is God Save the Queen (the English National Anthem) and the other is God Defend New Zealand. The other two countries with two anthems are Denmark and Canada which both have a Royal Anthem and a State anthem.

New Zealand was forced out of the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, United States) alliance in the 1980s when it outlawed nuclear arms and power. To this day, there are no nuclear power stations in New Zealand, and a change of law would be required before one could be built. New Zealand retains its military ties with the United Kingdom.

Sir Edmund Hillary -- the first man to reach the peak of Mount Everest was a New Zealander, born in Auckland. His face is on the New Zealand $5 bill. New Zealand is a plastic nation, almost all personal financial transactions are made with a card, credit or otherwise. Most shops offer electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) and cash is seen less and less.

New Zealand is a fairly liberal nation with homosexual marriage (Civil Union) being legal and prostitution, soliciting, and brothel keeping being legal. The driving age is 15, the consensual sex age is 16, and the drinking age is 18, though minors accompanied by adults are allowed alcohol in restaurants.

Current News

New Zealand has slipped one place to sixth position in the world in the 2011 Global Gender Gap report that measures 135 countries, falling behind Ireland. The internationally recognized Global Gender Gap Report 2011's rankings and scores are produced by the World Economic Forum to quantify the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracks their progress over time.