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Portal:New Zealand

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New Zealand
Aotearoa (Māori)
A map of the hemisphere centred on New Zealand, using an orthographic projection.
Location of New Zealand, including outlying islands, its territorial claim in the Antarctic, and Tokelau
ISO 3166 codeNZ

New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland.

A developed country, it was the first to introduce a minimum wage, and the first to give women the right to vote. It ranks very highly in international measures of quality of life, human rights, and it has low levels of perceived corruption. It retains visible levels of inequality, having structural disparities between its Māori and European populations. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture; international tourism is also a significant source of revenue. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, UKUSA, OECD, ASEAN Plus Six, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum. It enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies; the United Kingdom; Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga; and with Australia, with a shared "Trans-Tasman" identity between the two countries stemming from centuries of British colonisation. (Full article...)

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Dale in 2009

Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale enjoyed theatre and rugby. After retiring from the sport, he took on a number of occupations, before deciding to become a professional actor at age 27. Dale subsequently moved to Australia, where he played Dr. John Forrest in The Young Doctors from 1979 to 1982. He later appeared as Jim Robinson in Neighbours, a part he played from 1985 until 1993. He left the series when he fell out with the producers over the pay he and the rest of the cast received. In 2018, it was revealed that Dale would reprise his role as Jim for one episode of Neighbours, 25 years after his last appearance.

After leaving Neighbours, Dale found he had become typecast as Jim Robinson in Australia and struggled to find work. His career was revitalised after he relocated to the United States in 2000. Since then, he has had roles in many American series including prominent parts in The O.C. (as Caleb Nichol) and Ugly Betty (as Bradford Meade), as well as recurring and guest roles in Lost, 24, NCIS, ER, The West Wing, The X-Files, Entourage and Once Upon a Time. Dale has also appeared in minor roles in films such as Star Trek: Nemesis, Hollywood Homicide, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as well as the London West End production of Spamalot. Dale has been married to former Miss Australia Tracey Pearson since 1990 and has four children. From 2017 to 2021, Dale starred in the soap opera Dynasty as Joseph Anders. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various New Zealand-related articles on Wikipedia.

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William Cotton
William Cotton

...that Rev William Cotton (pictured), vicar of Frodsham, Cheshire, introduced the skills of beekeeping to New Zealand in the 1840s?

...that the New Zealand Journal of Forestry was first published in 1925 with a title in Māori?

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In Māori mythology, Māui is a culture hero famous for his exploits and his trickery. Cast into the sea by his mother Taranga, Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga (or Māui of the topknot of Taranga) was rescued by ocean spirits and raised by his divine ancestor, Tama-nui-ki-te-rangi (Rangi).

Māui emerged from the sea and found his four brothers, Māui-taha, Māui-roto, Māui-pae, and Māui-waho. Māui's brothers at first are wary of the new-comer but, after he performs several feats such as transforming himself into different kinds of birds, they acknowledge his power and admire him.

With the help of his brothers, Māui netted the Sun and beat him severely with a jaw-bone club until the Sun promised to go slower in future, because the days were getting too short for people to get their work done.

Later, Māui took his brothers fishing, this time using the jaw-bone as a fish-hook. Māui, using blood from his nose for bait, hauled a great fish up from the depths, which became the North Island of New Zealand, or Te Ika-a-Māui (The Fish of Māui).

When the people need to recover the lost secret of fire, it is up to Māui to face Mahuika the Fire-goddess. He succeeds through trickery, infuriating the goddess, and he barely escapes with his life. (Full article...)

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Stormy sunset over Waimakariri River basin, New Zealand
Stormy sunset over Waimakariri River basin, New Zealand

The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for 151 kilometres (94 mi) in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean. (Full article...)

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