Geography of New Zealand

1. Geography of New Zealand

2. The Geography of New Zealand • Location and physical setting • Discovery and colonization • Sir Roger Douglas and economic restructuring • Cultural tensions

3. 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)

4. 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%

5. Source: US Geological Survey

6. Mt. Ruapehu

8. Lake Taupa

15. Historical Overview • Maöri arrive about 1,200 AD • Abel Tasman December 1642 • James Cook 1769-70 • 1790 Whaling basis established

16. Historical Overview (cont’d) • Treaty of Waitangi 1840 • Maöri Wars 1840 to 1872 • Invention of freezer ships 1880 • Dominion status 1907

17. Historical Overview (cont’d) • Full autonomy 1947 • Waitangi Tribunal 1980 • Election of Labour 1984

18. 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)

19. 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

20. 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

21. Exports: - Australia and Japan most important - Dairy products, meat, fish and wool

23. Agricultural Exports • Acc’t for 30% of exports (90% in ’80) • Agr’l sector has restructured since ’85 • Pastoral agriculture less important

24. New Zealand Wine: A Success Story • Wine grapes introduced in 1819 • Arrival of the Eastern Europeans • Industry survives prohibition • Expansion and restructuring

25. Regions Gisborne Hawke’s Bay Marlborough

26. Waitangi Auckland Wellington Christchurch Dunedin

27. Waitangi

28. Auckland

29. The Bee Hive Wellington

30. Christchurch

31. Dunedin

32. Life Expectancy

41. 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