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| New Zealand - Land of the Kiwi
New Zealand - Land of the Kiwi
New
Zealand - Land of the
Kiwi
1 Introduction
Surrounded by the huge Pacific Ocean, New Zealand lies far away from
other countries. The nearest country is Australia and that is 1600 km away. The
country which is as larg as Germany has a population of only 3 ¼ million.
It seems unbelievable that early Polynesian explorers, many centuries before the
first Europeans came here, found this land at all. These early explorers were
the early ancestors of the Maori.
2 A settlers´ land
Like Maui, who was in Maori legends a mythical hero who was intelligent,
clever, quick and brave, the ancestors of the Maori were skilled navigators.
They discovered and settled on many of the Pacific Islands. With their ships
like canoes, they could carry a lot of people and plenty of food. They used the
stars to find their way across the ocean. They watched the clouds because they
knew that clouds close to land look different from the clouds over the sea, and
they watched the birds at night as they knew that the birds fly back to land
then. Today many people think that a man called Kupe discovered New Zealand by
following migrating
birds.
2.1 The first settlers
The first Polynesian who arrived at New Zealand about 1000 years ago
were hunters. They moved from place to place and lived on fish, birds and fruit.
Later they settled in villages and grew sweet potatoes and other plants in
gardens. As the population became larger and fertile land became important,
tribes began to fight over the land. To defend themselves, they built villages
on hills, which they protected by fences and called
‘pa’.
Of course they did not fight all the time. Some tribes were related or
were friends and traded with one another. When a group of strangers visited a
pa, its owners tried to find out if the strangers were friendly or not. If they
were, then they would be welcomed in a ceremony and given food. The same
speeches and songs are still used today when people visit a tribe´s meeting
house. If they weren´t friendly, then they would be killed.
Although there were names for the individual tribes, before the
Eurpoeans came there was no name for the first New Zealanders. The word
‘maori’, which means ordinary or normal, was only used after the
Europeans arrived.
Most Maori welcomed the first Europeans and traded with them. They were
happy to have tools made of metal. Some Europeans were missionaries who wanted
the Maori to be Christians. When the missionaries turned Maori, which had been
an oral language so far, into a written language, many Maori in fact became
Christians simply because they wanted to learn to read and write. Unfortunately,
the Europeans also brought illnesses, alcohol and guns. Because of these things,
the Maori population became smaller. When the tribes fought each other with
guns, many more of them were killed.
2.2 The invasion of the Europeans
The first European who found New Zealand was Abel Tasman, a Dutch
explorer. That was in 1642. Because of Maori fighters, who attacked
Tasman´s ship and killed some of the Dutch sailors, Tasman did not even
land. Over 100 years later an English explorer, James Cook, arrived in New
Zealand. Cook made several voyages from England to New Zealand and was able to
draw the first maps of the country.
Not all of the first Europeans came to stay. Some came to hunt for seals
and whales, others to find gold or take back flax and wood.
Most people who came to settle on farms did not know what they had to
expect. Some were told that once they had cleared the land of trees, they would
be given land for farms. But they had no idea what New Zealand bush was like. It
was very hard to clear the land without machines to help them. People often had
accidents or got lost in the bush and were never found. At first the settlers
built wooden huts with dirt floors and windows without glass. Even the children
had to work. When the land was cleared of trees, it could finally be used for
farms. The farmers grew their own food and often kept sheep for wool, which was
sold to England. Later a way was found to freeze meat, butter and cheese so that
these could be sold in England, too.
The women settlers were hard-working and independent. Some women came to
New Zealand on their own. New Zealand was the first country in the world to give
women the right to vote, which was in 1863.
The
Treaty of Waitangi
In 1840, a treaty was signed between the Maori and the Queen of Great
Britain, called the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty is an important part of New
Zealand history as it made New Zealand a British colony. There is still a lot of
discussion about it and people disagree about its meaning. One reason for this
is that the Maori translation which the chiefs signed is different from the
English. The chiefs did not realize that they were giving their full powers to
the Queen, but thought they would have the same rights as British people, and
that their land would be protected. Some chiefs did not sign at all because they
were suspicious of the treaty. Those chiefs that actually signed were given two
blankets each and some tobacco. Although the treaty said that the Maori would
remain owners of their land, once it was signed the British tried to get as much
land as
possible.
2.4 The Maori struggled for their land
Many immigrants came to New Zealand because they expected to be able to
buy cheap land. Some settlers simply took land which was not being used by the
Maori for farming. Others bought land for small amounts of money and some paid
only one member of the tribe for land that was owned by the whole tribe. When
the Maori realized that the promises that were made to them were not kept, they
started to defend their land. Wars between colonists and Maori were the result -
and these wars gave the British government an excuse to take even more land. The
government also made laws which made it easier for them to take, buy or control
Maori land. Many Maori thought that what was happening was the opposite of what
the treaty said. Over the 150 years since it was signed, the Maori have
struggled to keep their land.
An example of the situation at this time was that during the Second
World War, the government took some land for an airport. The tribe who owned the
land was told that this would be temporary. However when the war was over, the
land was given to a golf
club!
2.5 Maori today
Today the Maori still have many problems. They are often poorer than the
Pakeha. Pakeha is the name of the white inhabitants of New Zealand. Many of then
Maori had to leave their land and go to the cities to find jobs. There they
found it hard to keep their language and culture alive. Although the Maori have
solved some of these problems themselves, they are now a minority and still
don’t have the political power to control their own
future.
2.6 God´s own country
The money that New Zealand earned from farming was used to help other
New Zealanders in the 1930s. Old people were given pensions. Visits to doctors
and hospitals were free for everyone and cheap houses were made available. Life
was made easier for many people.
Later, when there were plenty of jobs, it became popular to describe New
Zealand as ‘God´s own country’. ‘God´s own’
sounded like ‘Godzone’ and this name is still used as a joke by New
Zealanders, although New Zealand is no longer such a rich
country.
2.7 A Pacific nation
Since the Second World War, there have been about 200 nuclear explosions
in the Pacific region. Although Britain and the USA have stopped testing their
nuclear weapons here, France continues to test in the Pacific. Since 1975, these
tests have been underground. Many New Zealanders are worried about the effect of
these nuclear tests on the environment.
Since 1985 nuclear weapons and nuclear-powered ships have not been
allowed into New Zealand harbours. When a visit by the United States warship was
refused, the relationship between the two countries, which before had always
been friendly, was affected.
Most countries in the South Pacific have signed a Nuclear Free Zone
Treaty to prevent the use of nuclear weapons and the dumping of nuclear waste.
The New Zealand people have often protested about the way larger nations use the
Pacific. In the 1970s, the New Zealand government actually sent a protest ship
to the French colony where nuclear tests were performed. However, this did not
stop the tests. In 1985, the Greenpeace ship ‘Rainbow Warrior’ was
going to protest where the New Zealand ship once protested. But before the
protest, the ‘Rainbow Warrior’ was bombed and sunk in Auckland
harbour. One person was killed. It was the first terrorist attack in New
Zealand. Many people were very upset, especially when it was realized that the
terrorists were French secret
agents.
3 Some call it paradise
Almost everywhere the scenery is beautiful. The weather is sunny, but
not too hot - even in winter it only snows in the mountains. No matter where you
live in this country, you are always close to the sea. There are many empty
beaches along the rocky coastline and a lot of small islands in the sea that are
home to birds and seals only. Some islands are nature reserves and people must
have permission to visit them. No wonder that New Zealand seems like paradise to
many
people.
3.1 Different landscapes
In part of the North Island is one of the world´s most active
volcanic zones. There are geysers which can blow water up to 30m high. There are
many extinct volcanoes in New Zealand, too. The city of Auckland is built on old
volcanoes. New Zealand´s largest lake, Lake Taupo, is the crater of a
volcano. The South Island is divided by a mountain group called the Southern
Alps. Here is Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand, which is over
3700m high. A number of glaciers can be found in the Southern Mountains. Among
the explorers in New Zealand was Julius von Haast, a German scientist. He was
one of the first people who walked on the glaciers. He gave one of the glaciers
the name Franz Josef, the name of our Emperor a long time ago. There is a own
called Haast and also a road through the mountains called the Haast Pass. The
Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are easy to get to and it’s possible to walk
on
them.
3.2 Outdoor activities
The long coast and the many lakes, rivers and harbours are perfect for
water sports. Kiwis enjoy sailing, diving, water-skiing, windsurfing and
fishing. Many of the rivers are fast-flowing and white-water rafting is an
exciting experience. Black-water rafting is the name given to rafting on rivers
inside caves. There are many limestone caves in New Zealand and the glow worms
which live in them are a tourist attraction. One of the most popular activities
of all is tramping. In the many forests and National Parks are thousands of
tracks.
3.3 Some New Zealand animals
New Zealand is known for its unusual birds. Many of them cannot fly!
Before the Europeans came to the country, New Zealand used to have many more
unusual birds that did not live anywhere else. The European settlers, however,
did a lot of damage to the bird population. They cut down much of the forests in
which the birds lived and they brought cats, rats and other animals which killed
many birds. Some species did not survive. Even today, when people try to save
birds species, 30 percent of the birds are in danger of dying out.
New Zealanders are often called Kiwis, yet very few have ever seen a
kiwi outdoors. This is because these flightless birds live in the bush and only
come out at night.
Several kinds of parrots live here. The kakapo, another flightless bird,
is the heaviest parrot in the world. Only 60 of these birds are now alive. The
kea is a parrot which lives in the mountains. Most tourists think that the keas
are funny, but they need to keep an eye on these birds. Keas steal things from
open tents and destroy things like windscreen wipers.
But it is not only birds that are typical of New Zealand. There are
seals, sea-lions, dolphins, whales and many kinds of fish that live in the sea
surrounding the islands; the so-called Hector´s dolphins are only found
here.
New Zealanders are thankful that there are no snakes living here. The
only poisonous animal is the katipo spider and very few people have ever been
bitten.
Probably the most unusual animal of all is the tuatara. Often called a
living fossil, it has not changed since the dinosaurs were alive. It is not a
lizard, although it looks like one. Tuataras sometimes live to be 100 years old
and their eggs take about 15 months to
hatch.
3.4 Paradise in danger
Because New Zealand has such a small population, pollution has often
been ignored. Raw sewage in many places still goes into the sea and only
recently has attention been drawn to the dumping of harmful
chemicals.
New Zealand´s economy depends on farming and other activities like
logging and mining. There are often conflicts between those people who wish to
keep the forests and birds and those who earn a living from the land. The
government made laws to protect many plants, animals and areas of
land.
Glossary
|
English
|
Deutsch
|
|
Polynesian
|
Polynesier/in, polynesisch
|
|
ancestor
|
Vorfahr, Ahn
|
|
plenty
|
eine Menge, Fülle
|
|
migrate
|
auswandern
|
|
fertile
|
fruchtbar
|
|
stranger
|
Fremde
|
|
Christians
|
Christ/in, christlich
|
|
Dutch
|
holländisch
|
|
voyages
|
längere Luft- oder Seereise
|
|
suspicious
|
mißtrauisch
|
|
blanket
|
Wolldecke
|
|
refuse
|
abschlagen, verweigern
|
|
affect
|
beeinflussen, betreffen
|
|
upset
|
verwirren, beunruhigen
|
|
permission
|
Erlaubnis
|
|
geysers
|
geogr. Geysir
|
|
glacier
|
Gletscher
|
|
glow worm
|
Glühwurm
|
|
parrot
|
Papagei
|
|
windscreen wipers
|
Scheibenwischer
|
|
hatch
|
ausbrüten
|
|
raw sewage
|
unbearbeitet Abwässer
|
|
logging
|
Hollfällen
|
|
mining
|
Bergbau
|
Handout
Topic: New Zealand - the
land of the kiwi
Contents:
New Zealand, with a population of only 3 ¼ million, lies far away
from other countries. The nearest country is Australia, 1600 km
away.
It’s amazing that Polynesian explorers, many centuries before the
first Europeans came here, found this land at all. These early explorers were
the early ancestors of the Maori.
The first
settlers
The first Polynesians who arrived at New Zealand about 1000 years ago
were hunters. To defend themselves, they built villages on hills, which they
protected by fences and called ‘pa’.
Although there were names for the individual tribes, before the
Eurpoeans came there was no name for the first New Zealanders. The word
‘maori’, which means ordinary or normal, was only used after the
Europeans arrived.
The invasion of the
Europeans
The first European who found New Zealand was Abel Tasman, a Dutch
explorer. That was in 1642. Tasman did not even land because his ship was
attacked. Later an English explorer, James Cook, arrived in New Zealand. He was
able to draw the first maps of the country.
New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the right
to vote, which was in 1863.
The Treaty of
Waitangi
In 1840, a treaty was signed between the Maori and the Queen of Great
Britain, called the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty is an important part of New
Zealand history as it made New Zealand a British colony.
Some call it
paradise
Almost everywhere the scenery is beautiful. The weather is sunny, but
not too hot, even in winter it only snows in the mountains. No matter where you
live in this country, you are always close to the sea.
A number of glaciers can be found in the southern mountains. Among the
explorers in New Zealand was Julius von Haast, a German scientist. He was one of
the first people who walked on the glaciers. He gave one of the glaciers the
name ‘Franz Josef’, the name of our Emperor a long time
ago.
Some New Zealand
animals
New Zealand is known for its unusual birds. Many of them cannot fly!
Before the Europeans came to the country, New Zealand had many more unusual
birds that did not live anywhere else. The European settlers, however, did a lot
of damage to the bird population.
Paradise in
danger
Because New Zealand has such a small population, pollution has often
been ignored. Raw sewage in many places still goes into the sea and only
recently has attention been drawn to the dumping of harmful
chemicals.
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