What Do You Know About New Zealand?

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catholic03

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Pax Christi,

I know most people on the forum are American, and I am curious to know, as a New Zealander, how much you know about the country?

A relative used to go on business trips to Texas quite regularly about 20 years ago and stated that many there had not heard of New Zealand or knew very little about it.

We are one of the most developed countries and we have a population of almost 5 million.

Largest City: Auckland pop. 1.6 million).
Capital City: Wellington (pop. 400,000).
Prime Minister: Jacinda Ardern.
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II.
Languages: English, Māori.
Ethnic groups: European (70%), Māori (around 15%, indigenous), Asian and Pacific Islanders also significant minorities.
Religion: At one point, Anglicans were the majority and in 2013 around 12% of NZers were Anglican, 12% Catholic, as well as other Christians and non-religious people.
According to 2018 census data:
48% non religious.
45% religious including
6.3% Catholic.
6.7% Anglican.

The Catholic Church in New Zealand:

There is one archdiocese and suffragan five dioceses:

Archdiocese of Wellington (Archbishop: Cardinal John Dew)
Diocese of Palmerston North (sede vacante).
Diocese of Hamilton (Bishop: Stephen Lowe).
Diocese of Auckland (Bishop: Patrick Dunn).
Diocese of Christchurch (Bishop: Paul Martin).
Diocese of Dunedin (Bishop: Michael Dooley.

Until around 40-50 years ago, New Zealand society was very ‘British’, with immigrants from that country preferred although much has changed since then and many immigrants from the Philippines have a presence in our churches which is always great to see.

So, what do you know about New Zealand?
 
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…and that’s pretty much it. 😐
 
UpUpAndAway said:
…and that’s pretty much it. 😐
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Fair enough.

It gets a bit tedious as I personally find sports to be tremendously boring and couldn’t care less about rugby.

But yes, the rugby team is very much what New Zealand is associated with overseas and those of us who don’t have any interest in sports just have to live with it.
 
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The All-Blacks may well be NZ’s biggest export. They travel the world to humiliate everyone else’s national rugby squads in a way that makes them difficult to forget.

I have heard that New Zealanders are amongst the most well-traveled populations, but I couldn’t cite a source for that factoid.

The first New Zealander I ever met in real life was an exchange student. I, too, was an exchange student at the time. We met on a night train travelling the length of Sweden. That was at least two geologic eras ago, so I can’t remember anything he told me about NZ. We did talk about it, though. He was from Wellington. I was 18 at the time, he was 19. Good times.
 
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I am from Wellington and New Zealanders do travel a lot.

Although we love our country, we don’t have 15th century castles (oldest intact building here was built in around 1822) like in Europe, and in some ways the country is not so interesting compared to countries in Europe and North America.
 
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If I recall correctly, New Zealand and the US are the only countries that allow direct to consumer drug advertisements. Is that true or is it really only just us?
 
My bad—he was from Whangarei, not Wellington. Sorry.

I still have the address he gave me. Perhaps I’ll reach out and see if he or his family still lives there.
 
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redbetta said:
If I recall correctly, New Zealand and the US are the only countries that allow direct to consumer drug advertisements. Is that true or is it really only just us?
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Yes, that is true. Both New Zealand and the United States.
 
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catholic03 said:
I know most people on the forum are American, and I am curious to know, as a New Zealander, how much you know about the country?
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Without looking at the facts you listed:
  • You’re near Australia.
  • You’re a chain of islands.
  • Aotearoa!
  • Your head of state is Queen Elizabeth II and you likely have a Parliamentarian style of government.
  • Your most famous native ethnic group are the Maori people.
  • One of your national icons is the silver fern.
  • You have a lot of sports teams called the All Blacks, most notably your rugby team.
  • Speaking of rugby, they, and thus you all, are famous for Hakas (Kamate and others), a form of traditional war cries/chants from the Maori.
  • Your flag has a red star on it unlike the all white southern cross like Australia’s.
That’s all I can think of! 😅
 
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Fauken said:
You’re near Australia.
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Australia is our closest neighbour. But we are as far away from Australia as the Sahara Desert is from England.

We have two main islands but many other small ones that few live on.

We have a government system very similar to that of Britain’s.

The Maori are the indigenous ethnic group, comprising around 15% of the population.

Maori symbolism is a major aspect of New Zealand culture.

Our flag is often mixed up with that of Australia and some people think we’re part of Australia (we were originally part of the British colony of New South Wales, now a state of Australia).
 
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catholic03 said:
Australia is our closest neighbour. But we are as far away from Australia as the Sahara Desert is from England.
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Ah, I didn’t realize it was that far!
catholic03 said:
Our flag is often mixed up with that of Australia and some people think we’re part of Australia (we were originally part of the British colony of New South Wales, now a state of Australia).
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Yes, they do look similar, although I did know that you’re not a part of Australia!
 
Fauken said:
Ah, I didn’t realize it was that far!
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We’re just so far away from everyone else.

Funny that until 40-50 years ago New Zealanders were often regarded as very loyal and patriotic towards the United Kingdom (the ‘mother country’) even though the UK is essentially farther away than any other country.
 
catholic03 said:
We’re just so far away from everyone else.

Funny that until 40-50 years ago New Zealanders were often regarded as very loyal and patriotic towards the United Kingdom (the ‘mother country’) even though the UK is essentially farther away than any other country.
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Probably because you guys are the last to get the memo on the shenanigans going on in their Parliament. 😜
 
The native people are called Maoris, and New Zealand is the home of the Kiwi – a flightless bird with only the barest rudimentary “wings”, that lays one gigantic egg, is elusive, and the state bird of N.Z.
 
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