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Hen And Chickens Islands
The Hen and Chicken Islands (usually known collectively as the ''Hen and Chickens'') lie to the east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of northern New Zealand. They lie east of Bream Head and south-east of Whangarei with a total area of . History Approximately 18,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, the islands were hilly features surrounded by a vast coastal plain. Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, after which the islands separated from the rest of New Zealand. These islands were given their European name by Captain James Cook, who first sighted them on 25 November 1769. It has been suggested that the name was inspired by an old name for the star cluster usually known as the Pleiades. Originally owned by the Māori Ngā Puhi iwi, they were sold to the New Zealand Government in 1883. The islands were made a scenic reserve in 1908 owing to the rarity of their flora and fauna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuatara
Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and means "peaks on the back". The single extant species of tuatara is the only surviving member of its order. Rhynchocephalians originated during the Triassic (~250 million years ago), reached worldwide distribution and peak diversity during the Jurassic and, with the exception of tuatara, were extinct by 60 million years ago. Their closest living relatives are squamates (lizards and snakes). For this reason, tuatara are of interest in the study of the evolution of lizards and snakes, and for the reconstruction of the appearance and habits of the earliest diapsids, a group of amniote tetrapods that also includes dinosaurs (including birds) and crocodilians. Tuatara are greenish brown and grey, and measure up to from head to tail-tip and wei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Islands Of New Zealand
New Zealand consists of more than six hundred islands, mainly remnants of a larger land mass now beneath the sea. New Zealand is the seventh-largest island nation on earth, and the third-largest located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. The following is a list of islands of New Zealand. The two largest islands – where most of the human population lives – have names in both English and in the Māori language. They are the North Island or ''Te Ika-a-Māui'' and the South Island or ''Te Waipounamu''. Various Māori iwi sometimes use other names, with some preferring to call the South Island ''Te Waka o Aoraki''. The two islands are separated by Cook Strait. In general practice, the term ''mainland'' refers to the North Island and South Island. However, the South Island alone is sometimes called "the mainland" – especially by its residents, as a nickname – because it is the larger of the two main islands. To the south of the South Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uretiti Beach
Uretiti Beach () is a stretch of beach between Ruakākā and Waipu on Bream Bay to the south of Whangarei in Northland, New Zealand. It comprises the coastal side of the Uretiti Recreation Reserve and Uretiti Scenic Reserve, and is served by a Department of Conservation (DOC) campground within the Recreation Reserve. Uretiti Beach is popular for swimming, surfing, and fishing, and a well-known clothing-optional beach and gay cruising site. Name The name ''Uretiti'' dates to before the British colonization of New Zealand. DOC consulted with the local Patuharakeke hapū before setting the official names of the reserves, but were given no advice on the meaning of ''Uretiti''. In Māori, ''ure'' means "penis", and ''titi'' means "peg" or "to poke". It is also local belief that the area was named after the breeding ground of the ''titi'' bird, also known as muttonbird or Sooty shearwater. The translation of ''ure'' insinuates the meaning of breeding ground, instead of the dire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori People
The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian cultures. Some early Māori moved to the Chatham Islands, where their descendants became New Zealand's other indigenous Polynesian ethnic group, the Moriori. Initial contact between Māori and Europeans, starting in the 18th century, ranged from beneficial trade to lethal violence; Māori actively adopted many technologies from the newcomers. With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the two cultures coexisted for a generation. Rising tensions over disputed land sales led to conflict in the 1860s, and massive land confiscations, to which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Fergusson
Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet, (17 January 1865 – 20 February 1951), was a British Army officer and the third Governor-General of New Zealand. Early life and military career Fergusson was the son of Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet, the 6th Governor of New Zealand. He was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, before joining the Grenadier Guards in 1883. He served in Sudan from 1896 to 1898, becoming Commanding Officer of the 15th Sudanese Regiment in 1899 and Commander of the Omdurman District in 1900. He was made Adjutant General of the Egyptian Army in early 1901 and Commanding Officer of 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards in 1904 before becoming a Brigadier-General on the staff of the Irish Command in 1907. He was appointed Inspector of Infantry in 1909 and General Officer Commanding 5th Division in Ireland in 1913 – in this capacity he played a key role during the Curragh incident, ensuring his officers obeyed orders. He took the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Araara Island
Araara Island is an island in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is one of the Hen and Chicken Islands, lying immediately south and east of Mauitaha (West Chicken). See also * List of islands of New Zealand * List of islands * Desert island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ... References Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Islands of the Northland Region {{Northland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynesian Rat
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, and like its relatives has become widespread, migrating to most of Polynesia, including New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii. It shares high adaptability with other rat species extending to many environments, from grasslands to forests. It is also closely associated with humans, who provide easy access to food. It has become a major pest in most areas of its distribution. Description The Polynesian rat is similar in appearance to other rats, such as the black rat and the brown rat. It has large, round ears, a pointed snout, black/brown hair with a lighter belly, and comparatively small feet. It has a thin, long body, reaching up to in length from the nose to the base of the tail, making it slightly smaller than other human-associated r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngati Wai
''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written and directed by Māori. Producer John O'Shea, an icon in New Zealand's film industry, was the founder of independent film company Pacific Films. The film is set in 1948 in a small town on the east coast of New Zealand during the impending closure of a freezing works and the threat of unemployment for the local community. ''Ngati'' was screened as part of Cannes' Critics Week. Synopsis Set in and around the fictional town of Kapua in 1948, Ngati is the story of a Māori community. The film comprises three narrative threads: a boy, Ropata, is dying of leukaemia; the return of a young Australian doctor, Greg, and his discovery that he has Māori heritage; and the fight to keep the local freezing works open. Unique in tone and quietly powerful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest island. The world's 28th-most-populous island, Te Ika-a-Māui has a population of accounting for approximately % of the total residents of New Zealand. Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in the North Island. From north to south, they are Whangārei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Napier, Hastings, Whanganui, Palmerston North, and New Zealand's capital city Wellington, which is located at the south-west tip of the island. Naming and usage Although the island has been known as the North Island for many years, in 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that, along with the South Island, the North Island had no official name. After a public consultation, the board officially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Island Saddleback
The North Island saddleback (''Philesturnus rufusater'') is a forest-dwelling passerine bird species endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It was once considered conspecific with the South Island saddleback. The IUCN lists the species as Near Threatened, while it is listed as a "recovering" species in the New Zealand Threat Classification System. Saddlebacks are known in Māori as ''tīeke''. Taxonomy and systematics René Lesson first described the species in 1828 from a specimen collected in the Bay of Islands four years earlier, using the binomial name ''Icterus rufusater''. The specific name ''rufusater'' refers to the saddleback's plumage – a combination of the Latin words ''rufus'' 'reddish-brown', and ''ater'' 'black'. Their placement in the genus '' Icterus'' has since been revised, and the two saddleback species are now in their own genus, '' Philesturnus''. The name of this genus, created by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1832, comes from a portmanteau of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yacht
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasure vessel is likely to be at least in length and may have been judged to have good aesthetic qualities. The Commercial Yacht Code classifies yachts and over as . Such yachts typically require a hired crew and have higher construction standards. Further classifications for large yachts are: —carrying no more than 12 passengers, —solely for the pleasure of the owner and guests, or by flag, the country under which it is registered. A superyacht (sometimes ) generally refers to any yacht (sail or power) longer than . Racing yachts are designed to emphasize performance over comfort. Charter yachts are run as a business for profit. As of 2020 there were more than 15,000 yachts of sufficient size to require a professional crew. Etymology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
