More Facts about New Zealand

1. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand (like the American Indians in the USA). They arrived from Polynesia by canoe more than 400 years before Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas. Today, Maoris make up 15.4 percent of the population.
2. New Zealand is known as the Land of the Long White Cloud, an English translation of Te Whenua o Aotearoa, the name given to the island country by its original settlers.
3. Before the arrival of Europeans in the mid-18^th century, the Maoris led a sophisticated social and material life. They had gods, generals, warriors, priests, chiefs, artists, slaves, even puhi tapu or sacred virgins, the daughters of great chiefs who were protected until a useful political marriage could be arranged. They had forts, villages, beach cottages, plantations, and lovely clothes. Since the Maiori lifestyle was so foreign to early European settlers, they considered the native people as savages.
4. The kiwi is a flightless bird that is distinct and unique to New Zealand. The Maori always regarded the kiwi as a special bird and associated it with their god of the forest. Even early Europeans described the kiwi as a most remarkable and curious bird. Today it is the national bird of the country.  By the early 20^th century, the people of New Zealand became known as Kiwis, perhaps because they are as distinct and unique as the bird.
5. Did you pump gasoline this week? A Kiwi invented the electronic gas pump. Ever read a story about law enforcement officers taking down a rabid animal or violent criminal with a tranquilizer gun? A Kiwi invented that. Feeling more physically fit now that you’ve started jogging? You can either thank or curse a Kiwi. Do you have a neighbor who contains his dog in the yard with an electric fence? Yep, that came from a Kiwi. Ever watch a daredevil bungy jump from a bridge and wonder who came up with the idea? That would be A. J. Hackett, a Kiwi. Feel safer now that you have bugler-proof windows installed? Thank a Kiwi. The idea for the whistle blown by the referee to stop action play at your favorite sporting event came from a Kiwi. And the list goes on.