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Muriwai Surf
Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai Regional Park includes a nesting site for a large colony of gannets. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "water's end" for ''Muriwai''. Geology The Muriwai area was uplifted from the sea floor between 3 and 5 million years ago. Much of the landscape is formed by remnants of the eastern side of the Waitākere Volcano, notably the pillow lava formations seen along the cliffs south of Muriwai beach. History The Muriwai area is traditionally a part of rohe of the Tāmaki Māori tribe Te Kawerau ā Maki, known originally by the name One Rangatira ("The Chiefly Beach"), referring to the tohunga Rakatāura's visit to the beach. The beach has spiritual significance to Te Kawerau ā Maki, as it is a pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the northeast. The city of Gisborne is located on the northern shore of the bay and the small settlement of Muriwai is located at the bay's southern end. The name is often used by extension to refer to the entire area surrounding the city of Gisborne. Poverty Bay is the home of the Māori iwi (tribes) Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngāi Tāmanuhiri. History The first European known to have set foot in New Zealand, Captain James Cook of , did so here on 7 October 1769 (at which time it was known as Teoneroa). This first meeting led to the death of Te Maro during a skirmish with the crew. Although Cook was able to obtain some herbs to ward off scurvy, he was unable to gain many of the provisions he and his crew needed at the bay, and for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pillow Lava
Pillow lavas are lavas that contain characteristic pillow-shaped structures that are attributed to the extrusion of the lava underwater, or ''subaqueous extrusion''. Pillow lavas in volcanic rock are characterized by thick sequences of discontinuous pillow-shaped masses, commonly up to one meter in diameter. They form the upper part of Layer 2 of normal oceanic crust. Composition Pillow lavas are commonly of basaltic composition, although pillows formed of komatiite, picrite, boninite, basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite or even rhyolite are known. In general, the more felsic the composition (richer in silica - resulting in an Intermediate composition), the larger the pillows, due to the increase in viscosity of the erupting lava. Occurrence They occur wherever lava is extruded underwater, such as along marine hotspot volcano chains and the constructive plate boundaries of mid-ocean ridges. As new oceanic crust is formed, thick sequences of pillow lavas are erupted at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Submarine Communications Cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried telegraphy traffic, establishing the first instant telecommunications links between continents, such as the first transatlantic telegraph cable which became operational on 16 August 1858. Subsequent generations of cables carried telephone traffic, then data communications traffic. Modern cables use optical fibre technology to carry digital data, which includes telephone, Internet and private data traffic. Modern cables are typically about in diameter and weigh around for the deep-sea sections which comprise the majority of the run, although larger and heavier cables are used for shallow-water sections near shore. Submarine cables first connected all the world's continents (except Antarctica) when Java was connected to Darwin, Northern Terr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
COMPAC
COMPAC, the Commonwealth Pacific Cable System, was an undersea telephone cable system connecting Canada with New Zealand and Australia. It was completed by closing the last gap in Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii, at 6:25 a.m. B.S.T. on October 10, 1963. Public service of the cable commenced early in December 1963. History COMPAC was developed as a complementary system to CANTAT, the system linking Canada to the United Kingdom, which had begun operating in December 1961. COMPAC was designed to extend west towards Commonwealth nations in the Pacific, linking Vancouver to Auckland, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia, via Honolulu and Suva in Fiji. The Auckland – Sydney section was completed in early 1962, followed by the Auckland – Suva section in July, with the entire system completed by October 1963. The system cost a total of $100 million and spanned 14,000 miles, from Oban in Scotland via CANTAT to Newfoundland, by microwave link across Canada, then cable on to Hawaii, Suva (Fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kāinga
A kāinga ( Southern Māori ''kaika'' or ''kaik'') is the traditional form of village habitation of pre-European Māori in New Zealand. It was unfortified or only lightly fortified, and over time became less important to the well-defended pā. Description Kāinga were generally unfortified or only lightly fortified, as opposed to the well-defended pā. They were generally coastal, and often found near to a river mouth. The settlement was generally occupied by members of one ''hapū'' (sub-tribe), which would identify itself with the nearest mountain and river (even in modern Māori, when meeting someone new, "what is your mountain?" is not an unusual question). Kāinga were often regarded as only semi-permanent settlements, and they were often abandoned. Reasons for abandonment included invasion by other iwi or resource shortages. Traditionally, Māori were often semi-nomadic, with entire communities moving at harvest or to hunt, using the kāinga as a stable home base. An entir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paphies Ventricosa
''Paphies ventricosa'', or toheroa (a Māori word meaning "long tongue"), is a large bivalve mollusc of the family Mesodesmatidae, endemic to New Zealand. Distribution It is found in both the North and South Islands, but the main habitat is the west coast of the North Island. The best grounds are wide fine-sand beaches where there are extensive sand-dunes, enclosing freshwater, which percolates to the sea, there promoting the growth of diatoms and plankton. Description The toheroa is a very large shellfish with a solid white, elongated shell with the apex at the middle. Maximum length is 117 mm, height 81 mm, and thickness 38 mm. Human use The toheroa has long been a popular seafood, often made into a greenish soup, for which it has an international reputation. Toheroa were translocated across New Zealand by Māori using (kelp bags) made from southern bull kelp (''Durvillaea poha''). It was over-exploited in the 1950s and 1960s, and there has been a ban on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaipara Harbour
Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Auckland Council. The local Māori tribe is Ngāti Whātua. By area, the Kaipara Harbour is one of the largest harbours in the world. It covers at high tide, with exposed as mudflats and sandflats at low tide.Heath, RA (1975) ''Stability of some New Zealand coastal inlets.'' New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 9 (4):449-57. According to Māori tradition, the name Kaipara had its origins back in the 15th century when the Arawa chief, Kahumatamomoe, travelled to the Kaipara to visit his nephew at Pouto. At a feast, he was so impressed with the cooked root of the para fern, that he gave the name Kai-para to the district. ''Kaipara'' comes from the Māori meaning "food", and meaning "king fern". Geography The harbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngāti Whātua
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei. The four hapū can act together or separately as independent tribes. Ngāti Whātua's territory or ''rohe'' is traditionally expressed as, "''Tāmaki ki Maunganui i te Tai Hauauru''" and "''Tāmaki ki Manaia i te Rawhiti''". The northern boundary is expressed as, "''Manaia titiro ki Whatitiri, Whatitiri titiro ki Tutamoe, Tutamoe titiro ki Maunganui''". The southern boundary is expressed as, "''Te awa o Tāmaki''". The area runs from Tāmaki River in the south to Maunganui Bluff (at the northern end of Aranga Beach on the west coast) in the north, and to Whangarei Harbour on the east coast. By the time of European settlement in New Zealand, Ngāti Whātua's territory was around the Kaipara Harbour an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Reinga
, type =Cape , photo = Cape Reinga, Northland, New Zealand, October 2007.jpg , photo_width = 270px , photo_alt = , photo_caption = , map = New Zealand , map_width = 270px , map_caption = , map_alt = , relief = , label = Cape Reinga , label_position = , mark = , marker_size = , location = Northland, New Zealand , grid_ref = , grid_ref_UK = , grid_ref_Ireland = , coordinates = , coordinates_ref = , range = , part_of = , water_bodies = Tasman Sea , elevation_ft = , elevation_ref = , surface_elevation_ft = , surface_elevation_ref = , highest_point = , highest_elevation = , highest_coords = , length = , width = , area = , depth = , drop = , formed_by = , g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rakatāura
Rakatāura, also known as Hape, is a legendary Polynesian navigator and a progenitor of many Māori iwi. Born in Hawaiki, Rakatāura was the senior tohunga (priest/navigator) who led the ''Tainui'' migratory canoe to New Zealand. Rakatāura is associated with stories involving the Manukau Harbour, the Te Tō Waka (the Ōtāhuhu Portage) and the Waikato. Many place names in Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland) and the Waikato region reference Rakatāura, or are described in oral traditions as being named by Rakatāura. Oral history Rakatāura was born in Hawaiki, and was the eldest member of the senior line of his hapū. He received the name Hape, due to his inward-turning feet. Rakatāura was the senior tohunga (priest/navigator) of the ''Tainui'' migratory waka, and in some traditions, is identified as the shipbuilder of the vessel. In Waiohua oral tradition, Rakatāura / Hape travels supernaturally to New Zealand, ahead of the ''Tainui'' crew. In this version, Rakat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tohunga
In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teachers and advisors. "A tohunga may have also been the head of a whanau but quite often was also a rangatira and an ariki".Mead, S. M. (1997). ''Landmarks, bridges and visions: Essays''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press. (p. 197). The equivalent and cognate in Hawaiian culture is ''kahuna'', tahu'a in Tahitian. Callings and practices There are many classes of tohunga (Best 1924:166) including: *Tohunga ahurewa: highest class of priest *Tohunga matakite: foretellers of the future * Tohunga whakairo: expert carvers *Tohunga raranga: expert weavers *Tohunga tātai arorangi: experts at reading the stars *Tohunga kōkōrangi: expert in the study of celestial bodies (astronomer) *Tohunga tārai waka: expert canoe builders *Tohu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Government
, background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ministries = 32 ministries and departments , responsible = House of Representatives , budget = 119.3 billion (2018–19) , address = The Beehive and other locations across Wellington , url = The New Zealand Government ( mi, Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa) is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifically to the collective ministry directing the executive. Based on the principle of responsible government, it operates within the framework that "the Queen reigns, but the government rules, so long as it has the support of the House of Representatives".Sir Kenneth Keith, qu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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