New Zealand

Basic info• capital city: Wellington• area: 268 680 km²• population: 4,414,400• languages: English, Maori• religion: Christianity• state system: constitutional monarchy• currency: New Zealand dollar• regions: 16

Wellington• capital city• lies on the coast of Cook Strait• has 180 000 inhabitants (second largest city in NZ)• English settlers founded in 1840• there are the highest state institutions as the New

Zealand Parliament, Government and the Supreme Court

• there are Victoria university and Massey university

Wellington

History• arrival of Maori (9th century ) first community• arrival of Europeans (first discoverer was James Cook)• British settlers (end of 18 th century)• New Zealand became a British colony (1840 – 1907)• cruel wars between settlers and Maori for land (Maori

lost their land and rights)• in 1907 NZ became an independent state• New Zealand is now a multicultural state• it is now state with a high standard of living

Political system• state system: constitutional monarchy• queen: Elizabeth II.• governor – general: Jerry Mateparae (21.) represents the queen (Elizabeth II.) performs protocol functions• prime minister: John Key• political parties: National Party Labour Party Green Party ACT – New Zealand and other …• last elections (2011) were won by National Party

Elizabeth II.

Jerry Mateparae

John Key

Symbols

Populationethnic composition:• 78 % - immigrants of European origin • 10% - Maori (indigenous peoples) • 8% - immigrants from Asia • 4% - immigrants from Oceania

original inhabitants:• Maori

Maori• Aotearoa: Maori name for NZ (in translation: Land of

the Long White Cloud)• the first was a legendary Maori navigator Te Kupe• Polynesian population of New Zealand• came in 9th century from Polynesia• Europeans came to New Zealand in the 18th century

and brought guns and diseases Maori lost territory• in 20th century restoration of Maori culture• tikanga: Maori name for the habits place at a place called Marae

Geography/Nature • in the South Pacific Ocean

• consists of two main islands, numerous smaller islands

• mild and humid climate

• geysers, volcanos, fjords

• kiwi (special type of bird)

UNESCO sites Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand:• nature reserve with a diverse vegetation

Tongariro National Park:• the area of volcanoes and sacred sites of indigenous

peoples

New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands:• reservations on five islands in the Indian Ocean

Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand

Tongariro National Park

New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands

Main Cities• Auckland: the bigest city in New Zealand located on many of the extinct volcanoes Sky Tower (tallest building - 328 m)

• Christchurch: the bigest city in South Island

• Hamilton

• Dunedin

Auckland – Sky Tower

Christchurch

SportNew Zealand All Blacks Rugby team: • won the World Championship (in 1987 and 2011)

All Blacks• annually participate in the three Nations Cups (it won

10 times in total)• participate in the Rugby World Cup (it won 2 times in

total)• are also known for traditional Maori “haka” dance,

which shows the beginning of each match• haka: general term for many different dances is accompanied by screams, pointing language, stamping feet, and so on …

All Black haka dancing

Famous people• Russell Crowe (1964, Wellington): actor movies: Gladiator, Robin Hood …

• Kevin Smith (1963 – 2002): actor

• Janet Frame (1924): writer

• Michael Houston (1952): musician

Relations with the Czech Republic

for example:• Agreement between the Czech Republic and New

Zealand for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income

• Agreement on a Working Holiday Scheme between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of New Zealand

Puzzling World• Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World is a tourist

attraction near Wanaka• it started out as just a maze in 1973, but over the years

expanded to accommodate a "puzzling café" where guests could try out several puzzles, rooms with optical illusions, the Leaning Tower of Wanaka and so on …

• the operators of Puzzling World have for many years offered a monetary prize for anybody who can prove themselves to have psychic powers; all a potential winner needs to do is use their powers to locate a specific item located somewhere in Puzzling World's environs

Puzzling World

Questions?1)What is the name of the capital city?

2) Is it a republic or a monarchy?

3)What is a ,,haka‘‘ dance?

4) What is the name of New Zealand's most famous celebrity?

5) Write one thing that you are interested in New Zealand.