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Government type is parliamentary democracy. Administrative division is the following: 93
counties, 9 districts, and 3 town districts.
Legal system is based on the English law, with special land legislation and land courts for
Maoris.
Since 6 February 1952 the chief of the state is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor
General Dame Silvia Cart-wright since 4 April 2001.
Since 10 December 1999, the Head of the government is Prime Minister Helen Clark and
Deputy Prime Minister James Anderton. Since 1984 the government has accomplished major
economic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from an agrarian economy to a more
industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. New Zealand is heavily
dependent on trade — particularly in agricultural products. The main industries are mining,
food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment. New
Zealand's currency is New Zealand dollar. New Zealand is the name of the country that has
volcanoes, mountains, tropical forests and rivers of ice. New Zealand is an insular country. It
is made up of two big islands: the North and South Islands and many small islands around.
The aborigines of New Zealand are the Maoris. They call New Zealand the Land of the
Long White Cloud. The Maoris are one of the Polynesian nations, who made their great
journey to New Zealand from Indonesia and the South Pacific in the middle of the 14th
century. They sailed in double canoes, open to all weathers. They knew the winds, the ocean
flows and the star navigation that is why they reached this land, later called New Zealand and
we can call them the Vikings of the Sunrise. Most population of New Zealand lives on the
North Island. Here you can also find big volcanoes like Egmont and Tonga-riro, geysers and
lakes of bubbling mud.
The biggest cities of New Zealand are Auckland, Chris-tchurch and Wellington. Wellington
is the present capital of New Zealand since 1865, and one of its busiest ports, located at the
southern end of North Island, lying among hills an the western side of a natural harbour. It is
the third largest city of New Zealand. Auckland or former capital of New Zealand is the
largest city of the state. Christchurch is the second largest city.
South Island is larger than North Island. There are the highest mountains in this part of the
country. There you can find the snow-capped Southern Alps, rising 3 764 meters to the tip of
Mount Cook (named after Captain Cook» who visited the islands before sailing westwards and
discovering the eastern coast of Australia).
South Island is very beautiful with its mountains, called Alps, lakes, glaciers and fiords.
Here you can see the Sunder-land Falls, where water drops from the height of six hundred
meters, making these falls one of the highest waterfalls in the world.The climate is mild at all
seasons. There is no much difference of temperature between winter and summer.
Notwithstanding New Zealand is close to Australia, New Zealand does not have such terrible
heat of Australian summers, because the ocean tempers its climate-North Island is where you
can find the Maoris, fine people who had lived on these islands hundreds of years before the
white man came. Most of them live near Auckland.
The first colonist or settler appeared on the present territory of Wellington in 1840. They
called their settlement Britannia.
By the year 1842, there were 3 700 colonists in the settlement of Britannia and later it was
renamed into Wellington.
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