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

http://www.nzallblacks.net/downloads.asp

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

Auckland

Christchurch

Waitangi

Wellington

Dunedin

Waitangi

Auckland

The Bee Hive Wellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

Male 76.3

Female 81.1

Maori Male 68.9

Maori Female 73.2

Non-Maori Male 77.2

Non-Maori Female 81.9

Life Expectancy

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

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