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New Zealand has a population (1995) of 3.5 million. Most New Zealanders are of European descent and all speak English. Nearly three-fourths of the population resides on North Island, one of the two main islands. This uneven distribution is due to the milder northern climate, the availability of more land suitable for specialized agriculture, and the growth of light manufacturing in the large northern urban centers. New Zealand is one of the world's most heavily urbanized countries, despite the importance of agriculture in the development of the country. Nearly 85 percent of the population is now clustered in urban centers. Over half of the population is located in the five principal cities Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Dunedin. Maoris make up over 10 percent of the population. Polynesian people approximately 4 people of New Zealand's multi-cultural society. Chinese, Indian and Asian ethnic groups are increasing in population size within New Zealand.
Most New Zealanders are of European descent and all speak English. New Zealand today is made up primarily of the decedents of British settlers who account for nearly 85 percent of the population. The culture that the British brought with them now dominates the New Zealand people. Much of the country's remaining population is the country's indigenous people, the Maoris. Much that is unique to New Zealand is derived from the rich culture of the Maori people. In recent years, there has been a significant immigration of people from neigboring Pacific islands and to a lesser extent other Asian countries. Some New Zealanders trace their ancestry to a many other Asian, European, and Pacific Island countries. The Pacific Island population is especially important in Auckland.
Figure 2.--Many New Zealanders have Scottish ancestors. This is reflected in the Sottish traditions at many schools. At Palmerston North Boys High School and many other schools there is a Scottish band. |
Most Pakea (European) New Zealanders trace their ancestry to British settlers who began to arrive in numbers in the 1840s founding most of the original settlements. English settlers founded Nelson, Wanganui, and Wellington. English settlers also founded Auckland, but Irish settlers were an important part of the early population. Scottish settlers founded Dunedin on South Island and their influence is especially strong in the Dunedin-Invergargill area. Irish Catholics founded no settlements on their own, but after the Potato famine of the 1840s, important numbers came to New Zealand as farm laborers or during the 19th century gold rushes and for years were looked down on by the protestant English and Scots.
Small numbers of New Zealanders trace their origins to a large number of different European countries. The numbers of these hyphenated New Zealanders, however, is relatively small.
The Maoris are composed of 20 clans which were pacified in the 1870s after a series of bloody land wars. The Maori population is about 300,000 (1988?). The Maori population declined sharply after the land wars of the 1860s and the debilitating impact of European diseases. Some observers felt at the turn of the century that the Maori were disappearing as an important element of the population. The Maori population declined to only about ???? (18??). The Maori population has since recovered and is now growing much more rapidly than the Pakeha population. Through the 19th and early 20th century the Maoris lived primarily in rural areas, but most have since migrated to urban areas, primarily on North Island, seeking employment and improved living conditions.
Immigrants from various Pacific Islands began immigrating to New Zealand in numbers during the 1960s. New Zealand's population now includes about 100,000 other Polynesians, primarily Samoans which are heavily concentrated in the urban centers of North Island.
New Zealand has a small Chinese population, the decedents of laborers attracted by railroad construction and the gold rushes of the 19th Century. Only small numbers of New Zealanders trace their origin to other Asian countries, but changing immigration laws in recent years has meant that increasing numbers of immigrants have come from a variety of Asian countries.
Modern New Zealand is a country composed primarily of European immigrants. Steady European immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries played a major role in population growth. Basic changes in immigration trends have occurred in recent years. Government officials reported in 1980 that for the first time since 1840, emigrants exceeded immigrants. The country for years has employed an immigration system giving priority to individuals with needed job skills, this helped to ensure that the majority of immigrants came from Australia and the United Kingdom where other English speaking countries with economies likely to provide job skills needed in New Zealand and to maintain a homogeneous population of mostly British origins.
New Zealand in recent years has made some major changes in its immigration policy which combined with the population growth of native Maoris is affecting the country's ethnic complexion. The country seems the most British of all of the former colonies, but is today becoming less British and less white.
New Zealand has permitted large numbers of Pacific islanders to immigrate during the 1980s as part of a policy of developing close ties with the newly independent Pacific Island countries.
New Zealand has in recent years adopted much more restrictive immigration laws. Economic problems have prompted the Government to reserve jobs for New Zealand citizens. The university system now produces trained specialists in most professional occupations, reducing the need for foreign-trained job seekers in all but a few areas.
Investment capital: A new immigration scheme introduced in 1991 provides priority to immigrants with capital assets. As a result, immigration from Asia is increasing, especially from Hong Kong where wealthy citizens are concerned with the 1997 return to China.
New Zealand is becoming a much more ethnically and culturally diverse country. The growth of the Maori population, the influx of Pacific islanders, and increasing Asian immigration is profoundly affecting New Zealand, especially in the urban areas of North Island where these groups have clustered. The country's comfortable, insular society that since the 1870s has been unquestionably dominated by British immigrants and culture is slowly adapting to their new more diverse society. The resurgent Maori population and Pacific and other new Asian immigrants have proven unsettling to some New Zealanders. The Government for the first time since the 1860s is now seriously addressing the issues of multi-culturalism. The urban centers of North Island have made major adjustments, but some of the more traditional areas in South Island have yet to fully come to turns with the developing new multi-cultural society.
The youthful age structure of the Pacific Island immigrants as well as the native Maoris mean that these are the two most rapidly growing segments of the population. Much of the Pacific Island and Asian immigration has been concentrated in Auckland. Recent immigration, however, has had a relatively small impact on New Zealand. Only about 2 percent of the population growth between 1970-90 has been attributable to immigration a sharp contrast to neighboring Australia where over 35 percent of the population growth during the same period was due to immigration.
New Zealanders have developed a characteristic, but hard to define cultural identity. Cultural and legal norms are distinctly British reflecting the British ancestry of most Kiwis. New Zealanders are, however, much less formal and more open than most Brits, perhaps reflecting the frontier experience familiar to Americans. Formality and reserve had little value for a people carving a new life out of an unsettled wilderness. The Maori and other nationalities as well as the geographic isolation of the islands have played important roles in molding the national character of modern New Zealand.
New Zealanders are a physical people and enjoy outdoor activity made possible throughout the year because of the temperate climate. Cheap food help to produce a healthy, well nourished population producing healthy workers. New Zealanders view themselves as large and physically powerful. It is no accident that the New Zealand national sport is rugby football, a sport emphasizing strength and muscularity. Interestingly, rugby--as few other national institutions--unite both Pakea and Maori New Zealanders.
Self-reliance: New Zealanders pride themselves in their sturdy self reliance. Early immigrants faced the problem of building new lives in isolated rural communities. They had to depend on themselves to creating farms and ranches in isolated areas with few or no neighbors. The settlers had to produce the basic necessities of life themselves. This approach fostered on the country's farms was carried to the cities as population migrated to urban centers.
New Zealanders tend to prefer practical, non-academic approaches. For years a young man could earn a good living and support a family through manual labor, often in agriculture. Teenagers left school at relatively young ages instead of pursuing academic qualifications which were seen of marginal value. Few had the money or saw the need for extended education. Advanced and even basic qualifications seemed to many as unnecessary, even a expensive, unproductive luxury. Occupied with building the basic infrastructure of a new country, few New Zealanders beyond a privileged few had the time or inclination to engage in intellectual pursuits. Educational achievement is now rising, but is still well below that prevalent in most other modern, developed countries.
New Zealanders as many pioneering people tend to opt for pragmatic, practical solutions to problems. This approach learned on the farm has been carried on to modern urban life. New Zealanders tend to have little patience with dogmatic, ideological solutions It is no accident that the country's Labor (socialist) party stressed welfare reforms in the 1930s and then led the way with free market reforms in the late 1980s.
Egalitarianism: Another key feature of the national character is a deeply felt egalitarian attitude. This feeling does not appear to be due to any ideology or political philosophy, but results from over a century of national experience. Most New Zealanders are convinced that social equality has lead to a stable prosperous society. Early New Zealand settlers, as did Americans, found that old-world privileges and titles counted for little in confronting the myriad problems of developing the new colony.
Not only did early New Zealanders lived in isolated rural communities, but the country as a whole was isolated from the mother country by more than 15,000 miles. Steamer voyages to New Zealand normally sailed around Cape Horn and through the Indian Ocean. Not only was New Zealand further from England than Australia, but the New Zealand population was much smaller than Australia's. In addition to the physical isolation, the early New Zealand settlers faced determined opposition from the substantial indigenous Maori population. No English colonizing population felt so isolated from the mother country. This feeling of isolation in the face of the untamed wilderness had a profound impact on the New Zealand character. In stark contrast to their British homeland where stone structures chronicle civilization stretching back thousands of years, the settlers found a truly unspoiled land in New Zealand, unmarked by stone monuments and other marks of civilization. The lack of stone buildings helped to create the image of an uninhabited land, despite the Maori population. In fact, the conflict with the Maori over the land further added to the feeling of isolation. These experiences caused a feeling of loneliness, even emptiness, that is reflected in much early New Zealand writing.
New Zealanders despite their sturdy self-reliance, also have a strong since of community. Their emphasis on self-reliance has not prevented them from adopting community approaches to common problems. Several factors have helped to build this sense of community. The lack of an entrenched aristocracy and other social divisions may have helped New Zealanders perceive social problems as common national problems--meriting national approaches. Certainly the physical isolation from Britain must have helped to promote a sense of community among the settlers. The strong Maori sense of community may have been a contributing factor. New Zealand was one of the leading countries building the modern welfare state beginning with the Liberal Governments in the late 19th Century. This was well before many similar social reforms appeared in Britain. New Zealand's generous social welfare system eliminated the fear of destitution. Most New Zealanders have come to view the right to work is a fundamental national right. Unemployment by international standards has been low, but the economic difficulties experienced during the 1980s have forced some major reforms and cost-cutting measures which have scaled back the social welfare system.
New Zealanders are an informal, gregarious people with a friendly, open way. They have developed an informal somewhat in contrast to their British ancestors. This may be the natural outcome of the settlement of a new country. Unlike their more reserved British ancestors, New Zealanders are seem more prepared to strike up a conversation with strangers. The isolation of early New Zealanders have perhaps helped to create an outgoing, friendly people. New Zealanders living in isolated, but retained ties with the old country through letters and publications. People living in rural communities welcomed visitors with news about the outside world. The lack of a deeply ingrained social hierarchy has all played a role in the more easy going New Zealand approach to life.
Ethnicity: New Zealand national life since the 1870s has been dominated by British settlers. Since the 1960s the growing minority Maori population has become increasingly assertive. The increasing participation of the Maori and rising immigration from Pacific Islands combined with increasing intermarriage is steadily creating a new multi-ethnic identity in New Zealand which is becoming an important aspect of the national character.
Race relations in New Zealand were for have been generally harmonious. This is partly because for years after the Land Wars of the 1860s many Maori withdrew from participation in the Pakeha-dominated society. Faced with a hostile Government the declining Maori population was not assertive and the Pakeha population for years gave little though to the Maori. Even during this period, however, there was never a formal attempt to introduce legal segregation. The New Zealand Government is now attempting to address Maori claims.
Interestingly the sharp racial attitudes that developed in other former English-speaking colonies never developed in New Zealand. The Pakeha racial attitudes toward the Maori was never as hate tinged as American and South African attitudes toward blacks. The less negative stereotypes would appear to make the effort to promote racial justice easier. As a result, intermarriage and the melding of population has proceeded to a greater extent than in other English colonies.-easier
Early New Zealand Governments initially made some effort to mediate even handedly between the settlers and the Maori. The Maori in the early years of the colony attempted to participate in the new British economic system. The political domination of Pakehas after their victory in the Land Wars of the 1860s ended all efforts at fairly dealing with the Maori, especially their land claims. The Maori population subsequently declined as a result of the Land Wars, the resulting economic difficulties, and exposure to European diseases. Pakea New Zealanders by the turn of the century gave little thought to the Maori people who were concentrated in rural areas with limited interactions with Pakehas. The Maori population benefitted greatly from the social legislation instituted by the Labor Party during the Depression of the 1930s, even though that legislation was not specifically designed to aid the Maori. Since World War II (1945) the Maori population has grown faster than the overall population. Maoris have migrated from rural areas to the urban centers on North Island where they are more visible. At the same time they have become more active politically and culturally assertive.
Most Pakeha New Zealanders were in fact surprised during the 1960s when the growing and increasingly urbanized Maori population began to more aggressively participate in the political process and complain about the Government's failure to address their problems. While there were and continue to be significant problems, they have generally been handled in a progressive, sensitive manor, with little reported violence. Difficulties have been minor when compared to problems reported by many other countries with significant ethnic and cultural differences. Significant problems do exist. Maoris continue to report lower academic achievement and difficulties competing in the job market.
New Zealand has begun to serious address racial problems. The Race Relations Act of 1971 affirmed and promoted racial equality. It is unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of color, race, or ethnic and national origins. It is a legal offense to incite racial disharmony. Violation of any of the Act's provisions may be investigated by a race relations conciliator, who is empowered to intervene when racial misunderstanding exists. Government efforts to promote minority rights, especially efforts to champion minority employment, have caused some negative feelings among New Zealanders of European origin. A major television campaign has been initiated to promote positive racial attitudes. Schools actively promote Maori culture. Pre-schools have been created specifically for Maori (????) and Pacific Island (?????) children. Increased resources have been devoted to Maori language studies. The New Zealand Government is attempting to reach financial settlements with the Maori over land and fishery claims under a scheme established in 1985 to addresses violations of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Government even has a special Treaty Negotiations Minister to address these claims. Multi-million dollar claim settlements are being negotiated, but the Government is trying to put a NZ$ 1 billion cap on all settlements.
The indigemous people of New Zealand are the Tangata Whenua (people of the land)--the Maori. The Polynesian navigator, Kupe was the first man to sight New Zealand around 950 AD and then returned home to tell of his findings. About 1350 AD seven great migratory canoes (whaka) are reported to have sailed from Hawaiki to New Zealand. The Maori named the country "Aotearoa", Land of the Long White Cloud, and quickly adapted to the cooler climate and spread throughout the country. Here they developed a culture quite distinct from the
rest of Pacific Polynesia. Given the long distances and treacherous ocean conditions, return voyages and comunications with the homeland were not feasible.
The Maori have a close kinship with their environment, with legends and gods representing certain
spheres, such as Tane Mahuta (God of the Forest) and Tangaroa (God of the Sea), who are remembered through song and dance. Ancient Maori traditions and artforms have become precious taonga (treasures) of the modern
Maori. Status and prestige are gained from ancestors who contribute to the living by giving spiritual
strength and guidance to those who call on them. It is for this reason that traditional artforms such
as the carved walking sticks, greenstone necklaces and bone carvings are treated with respect, as
they carry the spirit of the original owners.
The whakapapa (family tree) is retold in the intricate carvings on every marae. The marae, or
meeting house is still today the main focus for ceremony and community identity. Visitors are
welcomed onto the marae with a strict formal protocol and traditional welcome which includes the haka (challenge) and a hongi (pressing of noses). The haka has been become a feature of ceremonial and athletic events in New Zealand schools. Once ritually practiced by fierce Maori warriors, it now proudly reinacted by News Zealand choolboys, both Maori and pakea. The visitor might sample kai (food), cooked in a hangi (feast steamed in an earth oven).
