New Zealand is located in Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia. Background & History The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereign...
The North Island (Māori: Te Ika-a-Māui) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the South Island by Cook Strait. The island is 113,729 square kilometres (43,911 sq mi) in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of 3,287,600 (June 2009 esti...
The South Island (Māori: Te Wai Pounamu) is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The territory of the South Island...
Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly over 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban. (Wikipedia GNU Free Documentation License. If incor...
