|
Moutohora Island
Moutohora Island (previously known as Whale Island) () is a small uninhabited island located off the Bay of Plenty coast of New Zealand's North Island, about north of the town of Whakatāne. The island is a remnant of a complex volcano which has eroded, leaving two peaks. This is still an area of volcanic activity and there are hot springs on the island in Sulphur Valley, McEwans Bay, and Sulphur Bay. Name The Māori name, , is a contracted form of , meaning "Whale Island" or "Captured Whale". The spelling "Moutohorā" (with a Macron (diacritic), macron) is sometimes also used in English, although the official name of the island omits it. The spelling "Motuhora" is also used. ( is the Māori name for the southern right whale.) History Numerous archaeological sites of both Māori people, Māori and European origin have been recorded, including an extensive Pa (Māori), pa (fortified earthworks) site on Pa Hill and a number of house terraces and garden sites, middens (food re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori Language
Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost member of the Austronesian language family, it is related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan language, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian language, Tahitian. The Māori Language Act 1987 gave the language recognition as one of New Zealand's official languages. There are regional dialects of the Māori language. Prior to contact with Europeans, Māori lacked a written language or script. Written Māori now uses the Latin script, which was adopted and the spelling standardised by Northern Māori in collaboration with English Protestant clergy in the 19th century. In the second half of the 19th century, European children in rural areas spoke Māori with Māori children. It was common for prominent parents of these children, such as government officials, to us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Right Whale
The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20° and 60° south. In 2009 the global population was estimated to be approximately 13,600. Taxonomy Right whales were first classified in the genus '' Balaena'' in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, who at the time considered all right whales (including the bowhead) to be a single species. In the 19th and 20th centuries the family Balaenidae was the subject of great taxonometric debate. Authorities have repeatedly recategorised the three populations of right whale plus the bowhead whale, as one, two, three or four species, either in a single genus or in two separate genera. In the early whaling days, they were all thought to be a single species, ''Balaena mysticetus''. The southern right whale was initially described as ''Balaena australis'' by Des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pōhutukawa
Pōhutukawa (''Metrosideros excelsa''), also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, or iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the Myrtus, myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red (or occasionally orange, yellow or white) flowers, each consisting of a mass of stamens. The pōhutukawa is one of twelve ''Metrosideros'' species Endemism, endemic to New Zealand. Renowned for its vibrant colour and its ability to survive even perched on rocky, precarious cliffs, it has found an important place in New Zealand culture for its strength and beauty, and is regarded as a chiefly tree (') by Māori people, Māori. Etymology The generic name ''Metrosideros'' derives from the Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek ' or 'heartwood' and ' or 'iron'. The specific name (botany), species name ''excelsa'' is from Latin language, Latin ', 'highest, sublime'. ' is a Māori language, Māori word. Its closest equivalent in other Polynesian languages is the Cook Island Māo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of Internal Affairs (New Zealand)
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling laws; registering births, deaths, marriages and civil unions; supplying support services to ministers; and advising the government on a range of relevant policies and issues. Other services provided by the department include a translation service, publication of the ''New Zealand Gazette'' (the official government newspaper), a flag hire service, management of VIP visits to New Zealand, running the Lake Taupō harbourmaster's office (under a special agreement with the local iwi) and the administration of offshore islands. History 19th century The Department of Internal Affairs traces its roots back to the Colonial Secretary's Office, which from the time New Zealand became a British colony, in 1840, was responsible for almost all central government duties. The d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Territorial Authorities Of New Zealand
Territorial authorities ( Māori: ''mana ā-rohe'') are a tier of local government in New Zealand, alongside regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. District councils serve a combination of rural and urban communities, while city councils administer the larger urban areas.City councils serve a population of more than 50,000 in a predominantly urban area. Auckland, Gisborne, Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough each have a unitary authority, which performs the functions of both a territorial authority and a regional council. The Chatham Islands Council is a ''sui generis'' territorial authority that is similar to a unitary authority. Territorial authority districts are not subdivisions of regions, and some of them fall within more than one region. Regional council areas are based on water catchment areas, whereas territorial authorities are based on community of interest and road access. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, and which has a total population of as of It is the List of cities in New Zealand, most populous city of New Zealand and the List of cities in Oceania by population, fifth-largest city in Oceania. The city lies between the Hauraki Gulf to the east, the Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitākere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with 53 volcanic centres that make up the Auckland Volcanic Field. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitematā Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. Auckland is one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulphur
Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical elements, abundant, Polyvalency (chemistry), multivalent and Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetallic. Under standard conditions for temperature and pressure, normal conditions, sulfur atoms form octasulfur, cyclic octatomic molecules with the chemical formula octasulfur, S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow, crystalline solid at room temperature. Sulfur is the tenth most abundant element by mass in the universe and the fifth most common on Earth. Though sometimes found in pure, native element minerals, native form, sulfur on Earth usually occurs as sulfide minerals, sulfide and sulfate minerals. Being abundant in native form, sulfur was known in ancient times, being mentioned for its uses in Outline of ancient India, ancient India, ancient G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16th century, it had become the principal industry in the Basque coastal regions of Spain and France. The whaling industry spread throughout the world and became very profitable in terms of trade and resources. Some regions of the world's oceans, along the animals' migration routes, had a particularly dense whale population and became targets for large concentrations of whaling ships, and the industry continued to grow well into the 20th century. The depletion of some whale species to near extinction led to the banning of whaling in many countries by 1969 and to an international cessation of whaling as an industry in the late 1980s. Archaeological evidence suggests the earliest known forms of whaling date to at least 3000 BC, practiced by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hāngī
Hāngī () is a traditional New Zealand Māori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven, called an ''umu''. It is still used for large groups on special occasions, as it allows large quantities of food to be cooked without the need for commercial cooking appliances. Process To "lay a hāngī" or "put down a hāngī" involves digging a pit in the ground, heating stones in the pit with a large fire, placing baskets of food on top of the stones, and covering everything with earth for several hours before uncovering (or lifting) the hāngī. Hāngī experts have developed and improved methods that have often, like the stones themselves, been handed down for generations. Common foods cooked in a hāngī are meats such as lamb, pork, chicken and seafood (''kaimoana''), and vegetables such as potato, kūmara (sweet potato), yams (oca), pumpkin, squash, taro and cabbage. A hāngī pit is dug to a depth of between , sufficient to hold the rocks and two stacked ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Shearwater
The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori language, Māori name , and is harvested by Māori people for muttonbirding, muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (''A. pacificus'') and the Australian short-tailed shearwater (''A. tenuirostris''). Taxonomy The sooty shearwater was species description, formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the binomial name ''Procellaria grisea''. The shearwater had been briefly described in 1777 by James Cook in the account of his Second voyage of James Cook, second voyage to the Pacific, but without a valid scientific name; and also in 1785 the English ornithologist John Latham (ornithologist), John Latham had described a museum specimen, again without giving it a scientific name. The sooty shearwater is now placed in the genus ''Ardenna'', that was described in 1853 by Ludwig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midden
A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation. These features provide a useful resource for archaeologists who wish to study the diets and habits of past societies. Middens with damp, anaerobic conditions can even preserve organic remains in deposits as the debris of daily life are tossed on the pile. Each individual toss will contribute a different mix of materials depending upon the activity associated with that particular toss. During the course of deposition sedimentary material is deposited as well. Different mechanisms, from wind and water to animal digs, create a matrix which can also be analysed to provide seasonal and climatic information. In some middens individual dumps of material can be discerned and analysed. Shells A shell midden or shell mound is an arc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pa (Māori)
Pa, pa, PA, P.A. or pA may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment * Parental Advisory, abbreviated PAL or PA, a warning label placed on audio recordings *P.A. (group), a southern hip hop band in Atlanta, Georgia, United States *''Penny Arcade'', a webcomic *'' Planetary Annihilation'', a 2014 video game * "Pa" (song), by Tini *Live PA Businesses and organisations Government, military, and politics * Palestinian National Authority, also called Palestinian Authority, interim governing body of the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank * Pakistan Army * Patriotic Alliance, a South African political party * Patriotic Alternative, a British nationalist group * People's Association (Singapore), a Singaporean grassroots statutory board * Philippine Army * Patrulla Águila * Planning Authority (Malta), a government agency of Malta * Progressive Alliance, a political international of social-democratic, socialist and progressive political parties and organisations Airlines * Pan Ame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
