New Zealand is an island nation situated in the south western part of the Pacific Ocean. It consists of 2 big land masses and several tiny islands. The island nation is located at a distance of 900 miles (1500 kms) to the eastern direction of Australia, diagonally the Tasman Sea. New Zealand is approximately at a distance of 600 miles (1000 kms) in the southern direction of Pacific island countries of Fiji, New Caledonia, and Tonga.

The nation possesses varied topography and jagged mountain peaks due to land uplifts and eruption of valcanoes created by the Indo – Australian and Pacific plates conflicting underfoot.

In 1250-1300 AD, the Polynesians inhabited the island country and expanded a specific culture called the Maori culture. .In the 1642 AD, the Europeans established initial contacts with New Zealand. The tomatoes and potatoes were introduced, which activated disturbance among the Maori in the early part of the nineteenth century, which culminated the outbreak of Musket war, and inter-tribal conflict. Later in the year 1840, the Maori and the British came to an agreement thereby making Newzealand a British colony.

Capital: Wellington

Independence: From the UK, 25th May 1854 (first parliament).

Language: English

Currency: NewZeland Dollar (NZD)

Religion: Christianity (55.6%), 34.7% do not belong to any religion, & the remaining population belongs to other religions like Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam.

Time: NZST [UTC+12), summer (DST) NZDT (UTC+13) (From Sept to Apr)

History

New Zealand was first inhabited by the eastern Polynesian in between the period of 1250 to 1300. The settlers later established a unique culture called the Maori culture. The settlers were later divided into tribes (iwi) and sub tribes (hapu). These people would assist, contest and sometimes quarrel against each other .At a particular period, a group of Maori migrated to the Chatham Islands and established another culture called the Moriori culture. In between the new Moriori culture was destroyed because of the Maori invasion and the spread of a European contagious disease.

In the year 1642, Abel Tasman, the Dutch explorer was the first person Europe to land in Newzealand. Later after a lapse of more than a century, James cook, the explorer from Britain, discovered the entire coastland of NewZealnd. Later a number of Europeans came to New Zealand for the purpose of whaling and for trading. The Europeans traded weapons, metal tools, and food in exchange for timber, artifacts, and water.

In 1832, James Busby was appointed the British government as its British Resident in NewZealand. In 1841, NewZealand was affirmed as a separate British colony. In 1852, a separate government was formed for the colony and in the year 1854, the first parliament was convened.

In 1907, with the British Empire, NewZealand was declared as a Dominon and in 1947; the island nation followed the Statute of Westminster. In the first and second world wars, New Zealand supported the British and the allied forces and fought along with them against the enemies in both the wars.