New Zealanders today feel self-confident and
independent, but this has not always been the
case. Until recently almost all of the settlers who
came to New Zealand were from Britain. They
copied British society and its system of democracy.
Towns were laid out in the same way as Britain's
and even churches were copied. New Zealanders
called Britain home and felt that their own way of
life was inferior.
New Zealand's links with Britain were first shaken during World War I, when many Australian and New Zealand soldiers (ANZACs) were killed because of bad British leadership.
New Zealand's economy depended on the food it exported to Britain and when the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community in 1973, New Zealand was left to find new markets for its agricultural products. Now it sells its wine, meat, cheese, and wool worldwide, but most of all in the Pacific region.
In 1984, the government declared the country a nuclear-free zone. This meant ending a defence treaty with Australia and the USA, which indirectly resulted in a further weakening of ties with Britain.
Kia ora
New Zealand has two official languages today, English and Maori. Pakeha New Zealanders sometimes use the Maori names of plants, animals, places, and many expressions of Maori origin, though the pronunciation of the words is not always exactly the same. Here are some examples:
Kia ora May there be health! Hello, Thank you, Cheers!
kai food, eat
pakaru smashed, damaged or out of action
koha a gift or donation
taihoa wait before doing something
"In the English-speaking World"