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South Island Piopio
The South Island piopio (''Turnagra capensis'') also known as the New Zealand thrush, was a passerine bird of the family Oriolidae. Taxonomy and systematics The South Island piopio was originally described in the genus ''Tanagra'' (a synonym for '' Tangara'') and subsequently classified by some authorities in the genus ''Turdus''. For a long time the South Island piopio was considered conspecific with the North Island piopio that dwelt in New Zealand's North Island as the piopio, but later they were recognised as two distinct species due to pronounced differences in external appearance and osteology (Olson ''et al.'', 1983). Based on their smaller size, the description of the Stephens Island piopio was sometimes thought to be based on juvenile birds, but is now considered to be valid (Medway, 2004b). The assumption of a well-flying bird evolving into a distinct subspecies on the small (2.6 km2) island close (3.2 km) to the mainland seems hard to believe, but Ste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Te Papa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring from mother Earth here in New Zealand". Usually known as Te Papa (Māori language, Māori for "Waka huia, the treasure box"), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand and the National Art Gallery. An average of more than 1.5 million people visit every year, making it the List of most-visited art museums, 17th-most-visited art gallery in the world. Te Papa's philosophy emphasises the living face behind its cultural treasures, many of which retain deep ancestral links to the indigenous Māori people. History Colonial Museum The first predecessor to Te Papa was the ''Colonial Museum'', founded in 1865, with James Hector, Sir James Hector as founding director. The Museum was built on Museum Street, roughly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers , making it the world's 12th-largest island. At low altitude, it has an oceanic climate. The South Island is shaped by the Southern Alps which run along it from north to south. They include New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki / Mount Cook at . The high Kaikōura Ranges lie to the northeast. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the West Coast is famous for its rough coastlines such as Fiordland, a very high proportion of native bush and national parks, and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The main centres are Christchurch and Dunedin. The economy relies on agriculture and fishing, tourism, and general manufacturing and services. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum's main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road. The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The museum is a centre of research specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin. The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture—sometimes dubbed a ''cathedral of nature''—both exemplified by the large ''Diplodocus'' cast that domina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Buller
Sir Walter Lawry Buller (9 October 1838 – 19 July 1906) was a New Zealand lawyer and naturalist who was a dominant figure in New Zealand ornithology. His book, ''A History of the Birds of New Zealand'', first published in 1873, was published as an enlarged version in 1888 and became a New Zealand classic. Biography Buller was born at Newark, the Wesleyan mission at Pakanae in the Hokianga, the son of Rev. James Buller, a Cornish missionary who had helped convert the people of Tonga to Methodism. He was educated at Wesley College in Auckland. In 1854, he moved to Wellington with his parents, where he was befriended by the naturalist William John Swainson. In 1859 he was made Native Commissioner for the Southern Provinces. In 1871 he travelled to England and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple. Three years later he returned to Wellington and practised law. In 1862, he married Charlotte Mair at Whangārei. They were to have four children. Buller was the author of '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State Museum Of Zoology, Dresden
The State Museum of Zoology (german: Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde) in Dresden is a natural history museum that houses 10,000–50,000 specimens, including skeletons and large insect collections. Many are types. The collection suffered war damage and whilst catalogued the database is not computerized. Loans are possible and material can be studied in the collection. The address is Augustusstrasse 2, D-01067 Dresden, Germany. The museum's collections contain more than 6 million items from all over the world. The museum publishes the scientific journal ''Vertebrate Zoology''. External linksOfficial website (German only) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyall's Wren
Lyall's wren or the Stephens Island wren (''Traversia lyalli'') is a small, extinct, flightless passerine belonging to the family Acanthisittidae, the New Zealand wrens. It was once found throughout New Zealand, but when it came to the attention of scientists in 1894, its last refuge was Stephens Island in Cook Strait. Often claimed to be a species driven extinct by a single creature (a lighthouse keeper's cat named Tibbles), the wren in fact fell victim to the island's numerous feral cats. The wren was described almost simultaneously by both Walter Rothschild and Walter Buller. It became extinct shortly after. Taxonomy The bird's scientific name commemorates the assistant lighthouse keeper, David Lyall, who first brought the bird to the attention of science. It was described as a distinct genus, ''Traversia'', in honour of naturalist and curio dealer Henry H. Travers, who procured many specimens from Lyall. ''Traversia'' is a member of the family Acanthisittidae, or the New Z ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nelson, New Zealand
(Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm) , image_map = Nelson CC.PNG , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = New Zealand , subdivision_type1 = Unitary authority , subdivision_name1 = Nelson City , subdivision_type2 = , subdivision_name2 = , established_title1 = Settled by Europeans , established_date1 = 1841 , founder = Arthur Wakefield , named_for = Horatio Nelson , parts_type = Suburbs , p1 = Nelson Central , p2 = Annesbrook , p3 = Atawhai , p4 = Beachville , p5 = Bishopdale , p6 = Britannia Heights , p7 = Enner Gly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wairoa
Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Māhia Peninsula. It is on State Highway 2, northeast of Napier, and southwest of Gisborne. Wairoa is the nearest town to the Te Urewera protected area and former national park that is accessible from Wairoa via State Highway 38. It is the largest town in the district of Wairoa, and is one of three towns in New Zealand where Māori outnumber other ethnicities, with 62.29% of the population identifying as Māori. History Early history Te Wairoa was originally a Māori settlement. The ancestral waka (canoe) Tākitimu travelled up the river and landed at Mākeakea, near where Tākitimu meeting house stands today. The Wairoa river (full name: Te Wairoa Hōpūpū Hōnengenenge Matangirau) was an important source of food as well as a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gisborne, New Zealand
Gisborne ( mi, Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa "Great standing place of Kiwa") is a city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District (or Gisborne Region). It has a population of The district council has its headquarters in Whataupoko, in the central city. The settlement was originally known as Turanga and renamed Gisborne in 1870 in honour of New Zealand Colonial Secretary William Gisborne. Early history First arrivals The Gisborne region has been settled for over 700 years. For centuries the region has been inhabited by the tribes of Te Whanau-a-Kai, Ngaariki Kaiputahi, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. Their people descend from the voyagers of the Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru, Horouta and Tākitimu waka. East Coast oral traditions offer differing versions of Gisborne's establishment by Māori. One legend recounts that in the 1300s, the great navigator Kiwa landed at the Turanganui River first on the waka Tā ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patea
Patea ( ) is the third-largest town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Pātea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Whanganui on . Hāwera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the east. The Pātea River flows through the town from the north-east and into the South Taranaki Bight. History and culture Pre-European history Patea is the traditional final place where some Māori led by Turi aboard the '' Aotea'' settled, after it was beached at the Aotea Harbour. European settlement Patea, called Carlyle or Carlyle Beach for a time by European settlers, was originally nearer the Pātea River mouth than the present town. During the New Zealand Wars Patea was an important military settlement. General Cameron's force arrived at the river mouth on 15 January 1865 and constructed redoubts on both sides of the river.South Taranaki District Council Heritage files (Local Government Historical Body) Patea became a market town w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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