With a
patchwork history of Māori, European, Pacific Island and Asian cultures, New
Zealand has become a melting-pot population - but one with some uniting
features that make it unique in the world.
Today,
of the 4.4 million New Zealanders (informally known as Kiwis), approximately
69% are of European descent, 14.6% are indigenous Māori, 9.2% Asian and 6.9%
non-Māori Pacific Islanders.
Geographically,
over three-quarters of the population live in the North Island, with one-third
of the total population living in Auckland. The other main cities of
Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are where the majority of the remaining
Kiwis dwell.
Early Voyagers
Over four hundred years before
Christopher Columbus and the rest of Europe worried about falling off the edge
of the world; Maori people voyaged thousands of miles across the vast unknown
Pacific Ocean in small ocean-going canoes and became the first inhabitants of Aotearoa New Zealand. To this day, Maori cultureis a core part of New Zealand’s national identity.
Rugged Pioneers
This resourcefulness and ingenuity has greatly
contributed to the New Zealand character. The same qualities can be seen today
in the new pioneers - a generation of young Kiwi business executives, computer
software builders, film-makers, fashion designers, and sportspeople making
waves around the world.
Since before Sir Ernest Rutherford ‘split’ the atom
early in the twentieth century, Kiwis have been discovering and inventing
things. Many of these inventions have literally been created in a backyard.
While frozen meat, the Hamilton Jet boat, and the bungy jump are probably our
most famous Kiwi inventions, there are many others.
Rugged Pioneers
New Zealand’s European pioneers were also brave,
rugged and independent. Before establishing farms and settlements, they had to
first clear the land - a painstaking and sometimes dangerous activity. Their
isolation and exposure to the elements forced these early New Zealanders to
become hardy and multi-skilled.
This resourcefulness and ingenuity has greatly
contributed to the New Zealand character. The same qualities can be seen today
in the new pioneers - a generation of young Kiwi business executives, computer
software builders, film-makers, fashion designers, and sportspeople making
waves around the world.
Backyard Genius
Since before Sir Ernest Rutherford ‘split’ the atom
early in the twentieth century, Kiwis have been discovering and inventing
things. Many of these inventions have literally been created in a backyard.
While frozen meat, the Hamilton Jet boat, and the bungy jump are probably our
most famous Kiwi inventions, there are many others.
New Zealanders are also responsible for the
tranquilliser gun, seismic ‘base’ isolators (rubber and lead blocks which
minimise earthquake damage), electric fences, the fastest motorbike in the
world, freezer vacuum pumps, stamp vending machines, wide-toothed shearing
combs, and the electronic petrol pump - to name a few!
Mateship on the sporting field
The two World Wars saw heavy casualties inflicted on the New Zealand male population. But it also saw loyalty to your friends and comrades — ‘mateship’ — become a prized social value. This quality is still seen on the sporting field today.
Rugby football is the most popular spectator sport in New Zealand, with the legendary All Blacks recently winning the Rugby World Cup. Though the sport has public school beginnings in England, in New Zealand, rugby is definitely the grass-roots sport of the ‘average bloke’.
