Wellington (New Zealand)
According to SIMPLYYELLOWPAGES, Wellington has been the capital of New Zealand since 1865. It is located in the very south of the North Island and is the oldest city in the country. Its main attractions are the most beautiful panorama of the city, which is best viewed from Mount Victoria. From here you have a view of Lambton Bay, where the port is located, giving Wellington a special charm. In general, the whole city is “sandwiched” between the sea and the mountains, which determined the need for a kind of planning, the city “on different tiers”.
A visit is definitely worth recommending the local Botanical Garden, located on the hill of Tinakori, which has a unique collection of plants, as well as the Maritime Museum on the Queens Warf waterfront and the New Zealand Art Gallery.
Outside the city limits, there are also many tourist attractions. Starting by visiting the suburbs from the magnificent beaches and the legendary bird sanctuary of Kapiti Island (there is a special attitude towards birds here), it is quite appropriate to continue with a visit to the town of Martinborough, which produces excellent wines, where to devote time to tasting noble drinks. After that, you can go to Ruakokoputana Cave, known to the whole world as the “cave of fireflies”.
Christchurch (New Zealand)
Christchurch is the central city of the South Island, and holds the title of “the most English” city in the country. Here it is worth visiting the art gallery, the local botanical garden, as well as Canterbury University, where Ernest Rutherford, the founder of modern atomic physics, began his scientific career.
Also of interest are Cathedral Square with the City Cathedral, which recently celebrated its centenary, the Antarctic Museum, and the local aquarium.
In the nearest suburbs, the world’s first tunnel, laid directly through the crater of a volcano, is interesting – it connects Christchurch and its port of Lyttelton.
Auckland (New Zealand)
Auckland, New Zealand ‘s most populated city, is also the only millionaire city with a population of 1.3 million. Its amazingly picturesque location – in the narrowest part of the North Island, allows you to watch amazing panoramas from the observation decks of the city. Most of these sites are located on the tops of extinct volcanoes.
Here you should definitely visit the highest point of the city – Mount Eden, from where the best of the panoramas opens. Also of interest is the openwork bridge Auckland Harbor, from which you can jump down on the “bungee”, a widely popular sports equipment in New Zealand.
A relatively young city is not yet very rich in sights, but within Oceania it already holds the record for high-rise construction – here is the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the region, whose height reaches 328 meters.
History of New Zealand
The process of settling New Zealand has more than a thousand years of history. The Polynesian Maori tribes, whose level of development already in the Middle Ages allowed them to make long sea voyages, repeatedly set off from Polynesia to the South Pacific Ocean.
The first Europeans came much later – only in 1642 did the Dutchman Abel Tasman visit New Zealand, and in the next century, the English discoverer James Cook, who in 1769 mapped the coastline of New Zealand.
The colonization of the islands took a rather gentle path – in 1840, the Maori tribal leaders signed the Treaty of Waitangi with the British Monarchy, accepting British rule in exchange for a number of guarantees regarding the ownership of their land, forests, fisheries and treasures. Even today, the Treaty of Waitangi is the main government document that guarantees Maori a special place in New Zealand.
However, it was not without conflicts. When, at the end of the century before last, the growing need for the development of new lands for farms and settlements of Europeans began to threaten the interests of the indigenous population, a series of clashes occurred between Maori and British troops. The conflict was hushed up, but the New Zealand government is still pursuing a compensatory policy towards the Maori, whose interests were seriously infringed.
This historical period, in addition to the growth of interethnic tension, was also marked by a noticeable economic and cultural development of the state. The discovery of gold deposits, and subsequently the development of pasture animal husbandry, seriously strengthened the economic power of the state. There were also shifts in the social structure – in 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world to give a woman the right to vote.
The country did not remain aloof from extensive military conflicts. In the First World War, New Zealand participated on the side of Great Britain, which is quite understandable – after all, by that time the country had not yet gained full independence. Its citizens fought in France and the Middle East. After the war, New Zealand, together with Great Britain and the Commonwealth of Australia, received a mandate to govern Nauru and the former German colony of Western Samoa.
In 1931, New Zealand became a completely independent state, nevertheless remaining a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. In this status, New Zealand saw action in World War II in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. After the end of the war, New Zealand became one of the founding countries of the United Nations (UN).
