This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
KiwiRailDL9020 on MetroPort train MP4 at Papakura, Auckland on 29 August 2011.
Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of 4,375.5 km (2,718.8 mi) of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail transport in New Zealand has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports, with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually, accounting for more than half of rail revenue.
Rail transport played an important role in the opening up and development of the hinterland outside of New Zealand's predominantly dispersed and coastal settlements. Starting with the Ferrymead Railway in 1863, most public railway lines were short, built by provincial governments and connected major centres to their nearest seaport (such as Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton Harbour). From the 1870s, the focus shifted to building a nationwide network linking major centres, especially during the Vogel Era of railway construction following the abolition of the provinces. Narrow gauge of 3ft 6in (1,067mm) was adopted nationally. Bush tramways or light industrial railways sprang up connecting to the national network as it expanded. Railways became centrally controlled as a government department under the names New Zealand Government Railways or New Zealand Railways Department (NZR), and land transport was heavily regulated from 1931 onwards. NZR eventually expanded into other transport modes, especially with the Railways Road Services, inter-island ferries and Rail Air service. NZR also had an extensive network of workshops. By 1981, NZR employed 22,000 staff. (Full article...)
Image 12The Forty-Fours viewed from the north; the leftmost islet is the easternmost point of New Zealand. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 13European settlers developed an identity that was influenced by their rustic lifestyle. In this scene from 1909, men at their camp site display a catch of rabbits and fish. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 22The scalloped bays indenting Lake Taupō's northern and western coasts are typical of large volcanic caldera margins. The caldera they surround was formed during the huge Oruanui eruption. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 26Hinepare of Ngāti Kahungunu, is wearing a traditional korowai cloak adorned with a black fringe border. The two huia feathers in her hair, indicate a chiefly lineage. She also wears a pounamuhei-tiki and earring, as well as a shark tooth (mako) earring. The moko-kauae (chin-tattoo) is often based on one's role in the iwi. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 29Men of the Māori Battalion, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, after disembarking at Gourock in Scotland in June 1940 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 36A 1943 poster produced during the war. The poster reads: "When war broke out ... industries were unprepared for munitions production. To-day New Zealand is not only manufacturing many kinds of munitions for her own defence but is making a valuable contribution to the defence of the other areas in the Pacific..." (from History of New Zealand)
Image 40Māori whānau (extended family) from Rotorua in the 1880s. Many aspects of Western life and culture, including European clothing and architecture, became incorporated into Māori society during the 19th century. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 41Richard Seddon, Liberal Prime Minister from 1893 to his death in 1906 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 42A meeting of European and Māori inhabitants of Hawke's Bay Province. Engraving, 1863.
Image 43The Mission House at Kerikeri is New Zealand's oldest surviving building, having been completed in 1822 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 50The Māori are most likely descended from people who emigrated from Taiwan to Melanesia and then travelled east through to the Society Islands. After a pause of 70 to 265 years, a new wave of exploration led to the discovery and settlement of New Zealand.
Image 51Percentages of people reporting affiliation with Christianity at the 2001, 2006 and 2013 censuses; there has been a steady decrease over twelve years. (from Culture of New Zealand)
...that the coal-mine railway at Denniston, New Zealand fell a precipitous 510 metres over a track length of only 1.7 kilometres?
...that New Zealand was the first modern nation to give its women the right to vote.
...that Sir Edmund Hillary, a Kiwi (New Zealander), was a beekeeper in Auckland before he became the first man to reach the summit of Nepal's Mount Everest; the highest peak on Earth.
...that Tim Shadbolt, mayor of Waitakere and then Invercargill, said 'I don't care where, as long as I'm mayor' for a television advertisement.
The New Zealand Bellbird (Anthoris melanura) is a passerinebirdendemic to New Zealand. It has greenish coloration and is the only living member of the genus Anthornis. The bellbird forms a significant component of the famed New Zealand dawn chorus of bird song that was much noted by early European settlers. It has a bell-like song which is sometimes confused with that of the Tui. The species is common across much of New Zealand an its offshore islands as well as the Auckland Islands. The Māori language name is Korimako.
The bellbird is found throughout both the main islands of New Zealand apart from the north of the North Island. Its population and distribution had been seriously affected by the introduction of European-style farming, which has led to the removal of native forests (the natural habitat of the bellbird). Another important factor is the introduction of predatory species such as cats, weasels, stoats, ferrets, rats and food-robbing species like wasps. Predators either eat the birds or consume eggs, while food robbers compete with the bellbird for its natural food sources of nectar, honeydew and insects. The decline occurred around the same time as many other New Zealand species, but for unknown reasons was reversed and the species is still common across much of New Zealand (Bartle & Sagar 1987). (Full article...)
... that New Zealand politician Tom Rutherford is a firefighter and hockey umpire?
... that New Zealand author Patricia Grace did not include a glossary for Māori terms in her book Potiki because she "didn't want the Māori language to be treated as a foreign language in its own country"?
... that more than 20 of Ernst Plischke's designs for the Abel Tasman Monument in New Zealand's Tarakohe were rejected before he designed a tall, tapering column referencing the Greek funerary stele?
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