Portal:New Zealand

Wikipedia portals: Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Natural sciences People Philosophy Religion Society Technology edit   THE NEW ZEALAND PORTAL New Zealand (Aotearoa in te reo Māori) is a country of two large islands and many much smaller islands in the south-western Pacific Ocean. Among South Pacific nations, New Zealand has the largest and most industrialised economy and is second only to Papua New Guinea in population. 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. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand is the Queen of New Zealand and is represented in the country by the non-partisan Governor-General. De facto political power is held by Prime Minister John Key who, as Head of the Government, requires the confidence of the democratically elected New Zealand House of Representatives. The Realm of New Zealand includes the self-governing Cook Islands and Niue, as well as Tokelau and New Zealand's claims in Antarctica. More about New Zealand... edit   Selected article Herbert James 'Burt' Munro (25 March 1899 – 6 January 1978) was a New Zealand motorcycle racer, famous for setting an under-1000cc world record, at Bonneville, 26 August 1967. This record still stands today. Burt Munro was 68 and was riding a 47-year old machine when he set his last record. Working from his home in Invercargill, he worked for 20 years to highly modify the 1920 Indian motorcycle which he had bought in 1920. Munro set his first New Zealand speed record in 1938 and later set seven more. He travelled to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats, attempting to set world speed records. During his ten visits to the salt flats, he set three speed records, one of which still stands today. His efforts, and success, are the basis of the motion picture The World's Fastest Indian (2005), starring Anthony Hopkins, and an earlier 1971 short documentary film Burt Munro: Offerings to the God of Speed ...Selection Read more... edit   Selected picture The West Coast region reaches from Kahurangi Point in the north to Awarua Point in the south, a distance of 600 km. Much of the land is rugged, although there are coastal plains around which much of the population resides. The land is very scenic, with wild coastlines, mountains, and a very high proportion of native bush, much of it native temperate rain forest. Picture archive edit   Did you know... ...that around two thirds of New Zealanders claim adherence to a religion, but not the leaders of both main political parties? ...that Albert F. A. L. Jones, awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1987 for his services to astronomy, is an amateur astronomer in New Zealand? ...Selection edit   Related portals Oceania Australia Antarctica Commonwealth realms British Empire edit   In the news 9 September: The Rugby World Cup begins. This is the first time it has been held in New Zealand since 1987. 31 August: Jerry Mateparae takes office as New Zealand's 20th Governor-General. 13 June: Aftershocks of 5.7 and 6.3 strike Christchurch, causing further damage and some injuries.[1] 12 June: Domestic and Trans-Tasman flights were cancelled by Qantas, Jetstar and other airlines due to volcanic ash from the 2011 Puyehue eruption. Air New Zealand continued flights but changed its flying altitudes to avoid the ash.[2] 5 May: The minimum driving age will rise from 15 to 16 on 1 August.[3] 30 April: Don Brash becomes leader of ACT New Zealand, replacing Rodney Hide.[4] 30 April: Hone Harawira launches the Mana Party, and announces his resignation from Parliament, resulting in a by-election in his seat of Te Tai Tokerau.[5] 6 April: Louisa Wall becomes an MP for the Labour Party, replacing Darren Hughes.[6] 6 April: The New Zealand Press Association is to be wound up after 132 years.[7] More current events... New Zealand on Wikinews edit   Categories New Zealand • Antarctic • Companies • Culture • Education • Elections • Environment • Foreign relations • Geography • Government agencies • History • Law • Law enforcement • Māori • Military • Natural history • People • Politics • Science • Tourism • Transport Populated places • Regions edit   WikiProjects New Zealand: New Zealand Wikipedians' Notice Board • New Zealand Wikipedians • New articles related to New Zealand New Zealand WikiProjects: WikiProject New Zealand • WikiProject New Zealand places and WikiProject Auckland edit   Things you can do Here are some Open tasks: Requests: Armageddon Pop Culture Expo · Dunedin Anime Experience · Lindsay Creek, New Zealand · Rowing in New Zealand · Race relations in New Zealand "Missing pages": Ray Columbus · Tukutuku · Kainga Requested pictures: 1981 Springbok Tour · New Zealand Expeditionary Force badge New Zealand stub articles: Geography stubs · Kupe field edit   Featured articles The following articles are examples of the best articles and lists in Wikipedia: Benjamin Mountfort - architect Francis Petre - architect The Catlins - geographical area Kakapo - bird Huia - bird Victoria Cross for New Zealand All Blacks - national rugby team Crusaders - rugby union team Caversham - suburb of Dunedin edit   New Zealand topics History Timeline | Treaty of Waitangi | Land Wars | Naval vessels | Fortifications | Antarctic history Geography Cities | Islands | Mountains | Regions | Rivers | Ecoregions | National Parks | Marine reserves | Lakes | Caves Government Constitution | List of Governments | Foreign relations | Military | Electoral system | Referendums | Honours | List of Statutes of New Zealand | Law of New Zealand Politics Political parties (Labour, National, New Zealand First, Greens, Māori Party, ACT, United Future) | Elections Economy Companies | Communications | Transport | Reserve Bank | Stock Exchange Culture Māori culture | New Zealand English | Cinema | Cuisine | Education | Literature | Music | Holidays | Media | Sport | Wine Society Demographics | Māori | Pākehā | Gays and lesbians Biodiversity Animals | Plants | Extinct animals Other List of New Zealand-related topics edit   Other NZ-connected WikiMedia Wikinews New Zealand News Wikibooks New Zealand Books Wikipedia Māori Encyclopedia Commons New Zealand Images Wikisource New Zealand Texts What are portals? · List of portals · Featured portals purge cache