Geography of
New Zealand
The Geography of New Zealand
• Location and physical setting
• Discovery and colonization
• Sir Roger Douglas and economic
restructuring
• Cultural tensions
• Located 2,000 km
SE of Australia
• North and South
Islands separated by
the Cook Strait
• Central part of
North Island
dominated by
volcanic plateau
• Southern Alps
dominate South
Island
• Mt Cook (3,754 m)
Geographic Overview
• Humid-temperate (no dry season – cool
summer) climate predominantly (Cfb)
• Straddles the Pacific and Australian continental
plates
• Earthquakes are the most common natural
hazard – although …..
• Land Use
•
•
•
•
•
Arable Land 9%
Permanent crop 5%
Permanent pastures 50%
Forests and Woodland 28%
Other 8%
Source: US Geological Survey
Mt. Ruapehu
Lake Taupa
Historical Overview
• Maöri arrive about 1,200 AD
• Abel Tasman December 1642
• James Cook 1769-70
• 1790 Whaling basis established
Historical Overview (cont’d)
• Treaty of Waitangi 1840
• Maöri Wars 1840 to 1872
• Invention of freezer ships 1880
• Dominion status 1907
Historical Overview (cont’d)
• Full autonomy 1947
• Waitangi Tribunal 1980
• Election of Labour 1984
New Zealand’s Social
Democratic History
• World's first country to give women the
right to vote (1893)
• Adopted old-age pensions (1898)
• National child welfare program (1907)
New Zealand’s Social
Democratic History (cont’d)
• Socialized medicine (1941)
• Various social safety social nets (1938)
– 40-hour workweek
– Unemployment insurance
– Health insurance
– Survivor benefits
Current pop’n approx 4 million
– 80% urban
Four main cities
“Pakeha” account for 75% of
population, Maöri for 10%
Fertility rate below the
replacement rate
Pacific Islander and Asian
populations the fastest growing
Exports:
- Australia and Japan most important
- Dairy products, meat, fish and wool
Agricultural Exports
• Acc’t for 30% of exports (90% in ’80)
• Agr’l sector has restructured since ’85
• Pastoral agriculture less important
New Zealand Wine: A
Success Story
• Wine grapes
introduced in 1819
•Arrival of the
Eastern
Europeans
•Industry survives
prohibition
• Expansion and
restructuring
Regions
Gisborne
Hawke’s Bay
Marlborough
Waitangi
Auckland
Wellington
Christchurch
Dunedin
Waitangi
Auckland
The Bee Hive
Wellington
Christchurch
Dunedin
Life Expectancy
Male
76.3
Female
81.1
Maori Male
68.9
Maori Female
73.2
Non-Maori Male
77.2
Non-Maori Female
81.9
Summary
• First colonized by Maöri, then by the
British
• Parliamentary democracy
• Adopted a form of proportional
representation
• Second tier economic power
• Economic development constrained by:
– Small population
– Distance from larger markets