 New Zealand — (n ōō zē´lənd) |
About The People
Did You Know...... New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote.
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| World Region: Oceania
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Statistics
Capital Cities... Wellington »» History of Wellington
Population: 4,115,771
GDP: $112,600,000,000 (USD)
Total Area: 268,680 (sq km) 103,737 (sq mi)
Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZD)
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New Zealand History
Archaeological evidence indicates that New Zealand was populated by fishing and hunting people of East Polynesian ancestry perhaps 1,000 years before Europeans arrived. Known to some scholars as the Moa-hunters, they may have merged with later waves of Polynesians who, according to Maori tradition, arrived between 952 and 1150. Some of the Maoris called their new homeland "Aotearoa," usually translated as "land of the long white cloud."
In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch navigator, made the first recorded European sighting of New Zealand and sketched sections of the two main islands' west coasts. English Captain James Cook thoroughly explored the coastline during three South Pacific voyages »» More |