X-Nico

100 unusual facts about New Zealand


2008 Rally New Zealand

The event was based on the northern island of the country near the city of Hamilton.

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Whangarei are the 7 cities chosen to host the competition.

Amandeep Singh

He attends Lincoln University and plays club cricket for Sydenham.

Angela McKee

Angela McKee (née Warner) (born 1 December 1974 in Henderson, New Zealand) is a former High Jump competitor for New Zealand.

Aramoana massacre

Gray then entered the home of Tim Jamieson, killing him and another elderly local, former Green Island mayor Vic Crimp.

Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams

In 1906, she married Harold Williams (1876–1928), a New Zealand-British Slavist who was working as a journalist in Saint Petersburg for the Morning Post.

Auckland City Hospital

Originally, a timber hospital occupied the Auckland City Hospital site from 1846 to 1877, providing four wards of 10 beds each, and having been designed by Frederick Thatcher, the architect of the St Mary's Church in Parnell.

Auckland Marathon

The course begins in the seaside suburb of Devonport on the North Shore and travels through Takapuna and Northcote before crossing the Harbour Bridge and heading toward the finish at Victoria Park.

Auckland Symphony Orchestra

In the beginning years the orchestra made its home at St. Mary’s Anglican Cathedral in Parnell, moving in the early 1990s to the newly constructed Aotea Centre and Bruce Mason Centre concert halls and later to the refurbished Auckland Town Hall.

BDORT

The New Zealand Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, ruled on two separate malpractice cases against Dr. Richard Warwick Gorringe, MB, ChB, of Hamilton, New Zealand.

Boobs on Bikes

Boobs on Bikes is a mostly annual parade of topless men and women riding on motorcycles through large New Zealand cities (in the past, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Wanganui and most prominently Auckland).

Bright Williams

Bright Ernest Williams, (27 February 1897 – 13 February 2003) was, at the time of his death, the last New Zealand World War I veteran out of the 100,444 New Zealanders to fight in that war.

Camborne

The town name inspired the name of Camborne, New Zealand, a seaside suburb of Porirua City developed by an investment company headed by an Arthur Cornish.

Cavalier Yachts

Under pressure from the New Zealand government, a sophisticated fibreglass production unit was developed in Glenfield, Auckland to meet the new health and safety regulations for fiberglass construction.

Charles Blakiston

The resulting village became known as Ashbourne (after Blakiston's birthplace) and is these days part of Woolston.

Christchurch South by-election, 1939

Macfarlane could increase the Labour vote at one polling booth only (Antigua Street in Sydenham).

Cornwall Park

The park around One Tree Hill, New Zealand (which is distinct from the hill, and much larger).

Coutts Crawford

He settled in Wellington and called his land holding Kilbirnie after the town in Scotland; the name is still in use as a Wellington suburb.

Daniel Gillies

When Gillies was five, his parents decided to return to their native New Zealand, and moved to Invercargill and then to Hamilton.

Decortica

Sessions were later moved to a makeshift studio on a farm in Coatesville, New Zealand.

Delaney Davidson

Delaney Davidson born in 1972, his hometown is Lyttelton, New Zealand.

Dent Island

Dent Island, New Zealand, an island belonging to the Campbell Island group

Edward Boddington

Edward Robert Boddington was born 29 April 1862 in Wakefield and died 4 March 1897 in Perth, Western Australia.

Endiandric acid C

Endiandric acids are also found in Beilschmiedia trees, which were categorized under the Endiandra genus, but now forms its own genus as they found in cold, high latitude areas, and even in New Zealand.

Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand

The flag is flown at places the Governor-General occupies or resides such as Governor-General's residence, Parliament of New Zealand while attending Executive Council meetings and on official vehicles.

A new design was adopted in January 1931, to reflect the Balfour Declaration of 1926 whereby the Governor General was now the representative of the monarch in the Dominion of New Zealand, rather than a representative of the British government.

To mark the transition to independence, the New Zealand Government requested that the garland of laurels on the Governor’s flag should be replaced by one of fern leaves, the fern leaf was already recognised as one of New Zealand's national symbols.

flag of the Governor-General takes precedence over the Flag of New Zealand and is second only to the Queen's Personal New Zealand Flag.

Frederick Lye

Frederick Arthur Lye (1881 – 3 October 1949) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party then of the Reform Party in the United Party coalition.

Gary S. Schofield

He attended Nawton School, then Southwell and St. Paul's Collegiate School, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Gisborne

Gisborne, New Zealand, the largest centre of population in the Gisborne Region

Goat Island, Otago

There are two places in Otago, New Zealand, called Goat Island

Gore District

Gore, New Zealand, a town, surrounding borough, and district in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand.

Grafton Bridge

Since 2009 the bridge has formed a core part of the Central Connector public transport route between the CBD and Newmarket, and is closed to private vehicles during the day.

For this project, somewhat controversial due to the interruption of the direct car connection to Grafton, the bridge was tested and in 2008–2009, strengthened.

Henderson Railway Station

It is near the town centre of Henderson and the new Council offices, as well as a major shopping centre, Westfield WestCity.

Henry family of New Zealand

The Encyclopedia of New Zealand recognises the Henry family as being one of the three great Scottish industrialist families that settled in New Zealand in the 19th Century.

Holden Royale

If keyless entry was specified, it was fitted by Remac Components in Napier, New Zealand.

Ilam School of Fine Arts

Located in the Christchurch suburb of Ilam, it is informally called the Ilam School of Fine Arts, although this can lead to confusion with the Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland.

InterACT Disability Arts Festival

The 2013 edition of the festival is scheduled for 23-25 October and the venue will be Corban's Estate Arts Centre, Henderson.

Janney coupler

Thus the heaviest coal trains in New Zealand use Janney couplings even though the remainder of the fleet has the "meat chopper" kind.

Jelal Kalyanji Natali

After investing in Taumarunui properties and businesses he moved to Browns Bay in Auckland, where his descendants still live.

Jennyfer Jewell

Born in England, her family moved to Wellington, New Zealand when she was a child and was later raised in the nearby suburb of Kelburn.

Joseph Greenwood

He served in the first and second New Zealand Parliaments, representing the Pensioner Settlements electorate consisting of the Auckland suburbs of Howick, Onehunga, Otahuhu, and Panmure.

Karaka Million

The race is restricted to two-year-olds who were sold through the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sales held at Karaka.

Kosmos 482

At 1 am on April 3, 1972, four red-hot 13.6 kg titanium alloy balls landed within a 16 km radius of each other just outside Ashburton, New Zealand.

Let's Elope

Bred by Highview Stud in Hamilton, New Zealand, Let's Elope was a giant chestnut mare who in 1991 became the first mare in more than 50 years to complete Australia's famed Caulfield Cup - Melbourne Cup double (the "Cups double").

Lyttelton by-election, 1933

A later meeting in the Labour stronghold of Woolston was much better frequented, with 200 attendees busy interjecting him during his speech.

Manawatu rugby league team

They represented the Central North Island of New Zealand, playing home games in Palmerston North and Levin and were run by the Manawatu Rugby League.

Maniototo

During the 1860s the region was one of the sites of the Central Otago goldrush, and relics from that era can still be seen around the towns of Kyeburn, Naseby, and St. Bathans.

Marcellin College, Auckland

They founded St Benedict's College (secondary) and St Benedict's School (primary) near St Benedict's Church, Newton in 1886, and in 1898 a large new school was built on the opposite corner from the church.

Marsden Bay

Marsden Bay, New Zealand, a bay at the entrance to Whangarei Harbour in New Zealand

Martin Krippner

He was chairman of the Puhoi Highway District Board in 1874, and in 1877 and 1878 served on the Rodney County Council.

Martyn Croy

Martyn Gilbert Croy (born 23 January 1974 in Hamilton) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played for the Otago Volts in the State Championship and the State Shield.

Mayor of Napier, New Zealand

The Mayor of Napier is the head of the municipal government of Napier City, New Zealand, and presides over the Napier City Council.

McNair Mynah

The McNair Mynar is a single seat single bay biplane microlight aircraft from New Zealand.

Mikaelar Whippy

She attended the Church College of New Zealand, a secondary school in Temple View, Hamilton, New Zealand before pursuing a college basketball career in the U.S. at Long Island University.

Mount Albert Railway Station

Mount Albert Railway Station is in the suburb of Mount Albert on the Western Line of the Auckland railway network, near Unitec, a local tertiary education provider, and is popular with Unitec students.

Murder of Sophie Elliott

At around 12:30 pm on 9 January 2008, Sophie Elliott and her mother Lesley were at the family home in the suburb of Ravensbourne northeast of the city centre when Weatherston arrived unannounced, saying he had a farewell present.

Netconcepts

In 2000 Netconcepts Limited was created, with offices in Browns Bay, Auckland and then later, Christchurch.

New Zealand State Highway 65

It is 71 km long and runs south to north down the Maruia river valley from SH 7 at Springs Junction, 15 km west of the main divide at the Lewis Pass, to SH 6 in the Buller Gorge, 11 km west of Murchison.

New Zealand State Highway 67

The road passes through alternating areas of farmland and temperate rainforest vegetation as it passes the settlements of Waimangaroa (turn right here for Denniston), Granity (turn right here for Millerton, Stockton and Stockton Mine), Ngakwau and Hector.

New Zealand's Next Top Model

Like its American counterpart, NZNTM features a photographer and international model on its judging panel, Chris Sisarich and Colin Mathura-Jeffree, respectively.

New Zealanders

Originally composed solely of the indigenous Māori, the ethnic makeup of the population has been dominated since the 19th century by New Zealanders of European descent, mainly of Scottish, English and Irish ancestry, with smaller percentages of other European ancestries such as French, Dutch, Scandinavian and South Slavic.

Between 1881 and the 1920s, the Parliament of New Zealand passed legislation that intended to limit Asiatic migration to New Zealand, and prevented Asians from naturalising.

Today, the ethnic makeup of the New Zealand population is undergoing a process of change, with new waves of immigration, higher birth rates and increasing interracial marriage resulting in the New Zealand population of Māori, Asian, Pacific Islander and multiracial descent growing at a higher rate than those of solely European descent, with such groups projected to make up a larger proportion of the population in the future.

North Head

North Head, New Zealand is a volcanic cone headland in North Shore City, New Zealand, at the east end of the Waitemata Harbour.

Painted apple moth in New Zealand

The moth is a native to Australia but in May 1999 it was found in Glendene, Auckland.

Peter Kenneth Newman

Peter Kenneth Newman (5 October 1928, Mitcham, Surrey, England – 6 November 2001, Hamilton, New Zealand) was an English economist and historian of economic thought.

Pinehill

Pinehill, New Zealand, a suburb of North Shore City in the Auckland region

Piopio

Piopio, New Zealand, a town in the Waitomo District in the North Island of New Zealand

Pompallier Catholic College

Pompallier Catholic College is a Catholic co-educational Secondary college located in the suburb of Maunu in Whangarei, New Zealand.

Rainy River, New Zealand

Rainy River is the name of two rivers in the north of New Zealand's South Island.

Raymond Firth

Firth was born in Tamaki, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand in 1901, to Wesley and Marie Firth.

Scouting sex abuse cases

In 1999 David John White, a scout leader in the Porirua suburb of Whitby, pleaded guilty to eight charges of indecently assaulting scouts at his home between 1984 and 1998.

Skin cancer

Australia and New Zealand exhibit one of the highest rates of skin cancer incidence in the world, almost four times the rates registered in the United States, the UK and Canada.

Socialism with no doctrine

"Socialism with no doctrine" (Socialisme sans doctrine) is a phrase coined by Albert Métin based on his observation of the experiments in labour and economic regulation by the nonsocialist governments of Australia and New Zealand that Métin described as effectively being a form of state socialism though these policies did not contain any reference recognizing socialist theory.

St Mary's College, Auckland

St Mary's College is a year 7 - 13 integrated Catholic girls' high school situated at 11 New Street, Ponsonby, Auckland.

Stephen Gellatly

Gellatly made his State Shield debut on 3 January 2008 against the Otago Volts at Molyneux Park, Alexandra, and his State Championship debut on 6 March 2008, scoring 67* as Wellington beat Auckland by an innings.

Stockton Plateau Hydro Project

Some of the water used will be drained from the Stockton coal mine which is expected to reduce the pollution levels in the Ngakawau River.

Suzuki Swift Sport Cup

The series is made up of Suzuki Swift's sourced through Winger Motor Group in Hamilton, Waikato region.

Takanini

An old highway, the Great South Road, runs through Takanini, forming its main street.

Tawa Railway Station

Tawa Railway Station, originally called Tawa Flat, is on the North Island Main Trunk Railway (NIMT) and is part of the suburban rail network of Wellington, New Zealand.

At this time, the railway followed a circuitous route via Johnsonville to reach Wellington, and Tawa was 16.48 km from the terminus.

Tiostrea chilensis

In New Zealand, they are a prized delicacy, and harvested from March to August from the Foveaux Strait oyster fishery based around the town of Bluff (hence the local name).

Unitec Institute of Technology

The main campus is situated in Mt Albert, Auckland City, while a secondary campus is situated in Henderson, Waitakere City, and a third campus in Albany, North Shore City which opened in August 2011.

Venus Bay, New Zealand

Venus Bay is located on Perseverance Harbour on New Zealand's subantarctic Campbell Island.

Waikare River

Waikare River is the name of two rivers in the North Island of New Zealand.

Waikato Draught

From this time production of Waikato Draught was moved to the Lion Breweries in Newmarket, Auckland.

Waikawa

Waikawa is the name of three small settlements and a river in New Zealand.

Waimea River, New Zealand

There are two Waimea River at opposite ends of New Zealand's South Island.

Waiorongomai River

Waiorongomai River is the name of two rivers in the North Island of New Zealand.

Waipapa River

Waipapa River is the name of three rivers in New Zealand's North Island.

Wakatipu

Wakatipu is the name of a district in inland Otago, New Zealand.

Warkworth AFC

Warkworth AFC or Warkworth Jennian for sponsorship purposes is a semi-professional association football club in the Warkworth, New Zealand.

Westfield Glenfield

Westfield Glenfield is a shopping centre in Glenfield, part of North Shore City, in Auckland.

Westpoint Performing Arts Centre

Legend says that the building was named 'Westpoint' because it is located right on the border between three Auckland suburbs - Western Springs, Westmere, and Point Chevalier.

Whirinaki River

Whirinaki River is the name of two rivers in New Zealand's North Island.

William Lankham

William Lankham was born 4 December 1861 in Auckland and died 2 December 1886 in Devonport.

World Confederation for Physical Therapy

In 1951 the World Confederation for Physical Therapy had 11 founding member organisations from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, West Germany, Sweden and the United States of America.


2013 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II

Group A of the Division II tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand, from April 7 to 13.

Acanthochitona thileniusi

The only specimens have been found in Tauranga Harbour in New Zealand.

Addington, New Zealand

The New Zealand Railways Department's Addington Workshops were situated here until their closure in the 1980s; the historic concrete water-tower survives, next to the new Christchurch railway station.

Ali Campbell

In 2012, Campbell was announced as one of the three judges on the judging panel of the TV show, New Zealand's Got Talent.

Armin Hahne

1988 saw him in a Mark Petch Racing Ford Sierra RS500 with New Zealand racer Robbie Francevic, the car engineered by its previous owner, and Hahne's team boss in the 1988 ETCC, former Wolf Racing Formula One team owner Walter Wolf.

Body and the Beat

Body and the Beat is an album recorded by Australian/New Zealand rock band Dragon in 1984.

Charles William Andrews

He noticed the connections among widely separated flightless rails of Mauritius, the Chatham Islands and New Zealand and deduced that their flightless character had been independently evolved on the spot.

Cyprian Bridge Island

The island is named after Major Cyprian Bridge (1807-1885) who was a British army officer, particularly famed for his activities in the Flagstaff War, which was fought against the Māori in New Zealand in 1845.

Double-decker tram

Double-deck trams were once popular in some European cities, like Berlin and London, throughout the British Empire countries in the early half of the 20th century including Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington in New Zealand; Hobart, Tasmania in Australia and in parts of Asia.

Echo Point

TV3 in New Zealand picked up the series for just a few weeks in 1996 but then later cancelled, the show featured former Shortland Street actor Martin Henderson.

Edgar Kain

He went to Croydon School, Wellington and Christ's College, Canterbury later studying under Professor Von Zedlitz in Wellington.

Flag of Kuwait

It was made in New Zealand by Peter Lynn, launched to the public for the first time in 2004 in the United Kingdom, officially launched in Kuwait in 2005, and has not been surpassed since.

Francis Joseph Mace

Chief among his awards was the New Zealand Cross, the highest colonial gallantry award available in New Zealand.

Gisborne region

Gisborne is named for an early Colonial Secretary William Gisborne.

Goffal

Specifically suburbs mainly in Bulawayo (Thorngrove nicknamed Groove, Barham Green nicknamed B.G., Forrest Vale, Queens Park, Morningside) and Harare (Arcadia, Braeside,St. Martins) began to grow and gain a significant population but in recent years many have gone in diaspora with large groups in London, Milton Keynes, Dublin, Canada in cities and towns like St.Catharines/Hamilton/Burlington/Toronto and New Zealand.

Guy Overton

Guy William Fitzroy Overton (8 June 1919 in Dunedin – 7 September 1993 in Winton, Southland) was a New Zealand cricketer who played three Tests in 1953-54.

High Dependency Unit

High Dependency Unit is a psychedelic rock band originating from Dunedin, New Zealand.

Homing pigeon

Possibly the first regular air mail service in the world was Mr. Howie's Pigeon-Post service from the Auckland New Zealand suburb of Newton to Great Barrier Island, starting in 1896.

Hoyts

Their only well known release was the film version of New Zealand comic strip Footrot Flats, entitled Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale.

Imakane, Hokkaido

Imakane Junior High School has an exchange program with Burnside High School, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Jaffas

In Dunedin, New Zealand every year a vast quantity of Jaffas are raced down Baldwin Street—the World's Steepest Street, as part of the Cadbury Chocolate carnival, which is held in conjunction with the New Zealand International Science Festival.

James Hume Cook

Hume Cook was born in Kihikihi, New Zealand, son of a failed farmer and he had to leave school at 13 to work selling books.

Janet Elaine Paul

Booksellers and publishers Blackwood and Janet Paul Ltd. had, by the mid 1960s, overtaken Caxton as New Zealand’s leading publishers of poetry, and in 1968 Janet had published Glover’s Sharp Edge Up: Verses and Satires.

Joggie Viljoen

Viljoen, a native of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, currently resides in New Zealand and is the first choice scrum-half for Manawatu in the NPC.

Jonathan Winter

Jonathan Winter (born August 18, 1971 in Masterton) is a member of the Ngai Tahu Maori tribe and a former backstroke swimmer from New Zealand, who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, for his native country.

Joshua Kadison

It peaked at #19 on the U.S. Billboard charts, and Filipino actor/singer Jericho Rosales recorded and released a version of it on his own 2009 album Change. Painted Desert Serenade went platinum in the US and Germany, and went multi-platinum in Australia and New Zealand.

Lance Shaw

Lance Joseph Shaw (born 24 August 1983) is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for the Auckland Aces in the State Championship and the Auckland Stars in the NBL, and has recently signed as the marquee player of the New Zealand Breakers in the HUMMER NBL Championship.

Large kelpfish

The large kelpfish, Chironemus marmoratus, is a kelpfish of the genus Chironemus, found in southern Australia, and between North Cape and East Cape on the North Island of New Zealand, in depths down to 30 m.

Madeleine Sami

She has since featured in various New Zealand television shows including Outrageous Fortune, The Jaquie Brown Diaries, 7 Days and the Jane Campion series, Top of the Lake.

Mars Hills

The name was proposed in 1977 by New Zealand geologist Christopher J. Burgess in association with the Viking Hills and because of the color resemblance to that of the planet Mars.

Mayor of Manukau

The Mayor of Manukau was the head of the municipal government of Manukau City, New Zealand, from 1965 to 2010, and presided over the Manukau City Council.

Merriott

Francis Trask (1840 – 6 April 1910) was a 20th-century Member of the New Zealand Legislative Council and Mayor of Nelson.

Midnight Youth

Midnight Youth came together while at Rangitoto College in Auckland's North Shore with three members of the band playing together in New Zealand's high school Rockquest competition.

Murupara Branch

The Murupara Branch (incorporating the Kawerau Branch) was a branch railway line from the East Coast Main Trunk at Hawkens Junction near Edgecombe via Kawerau to Murupara; built to serve a new pulp and paper mill havesting the radiata pine trees of the Kaingaroa Forest on the Kaingaroa Plateau in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

My Own Private Amsterdam

"Frankfurt" is the first single released from the album, and has had airplay on New Zealand radio station The Rock

New Zealand–United Kingdom relations

Subsequently, separate appointments were made; this distinguished the representation of the British Government in New Zealand from that of the shared monarch, in sympathy with the principles set out under the Balfour declaration thirteen years earlier.

Philip Nitschke

He was detained for an hour for questioning on arrival at Auckland Airport in New Zealand on a trip to hold public meetings and launch the kit.

Power Rangers RPM

Australian actor Eka Darville, who previously starred in series three of Blue Water High, was reported to have a role in September 2008 in what was then unknown as RPM or Racing Performance Machines which began production in September 2008 in New Zealand.

Ralph L. Boyce

His area of responsibility included Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.

Rimutaka Tunnel

The Rimutaka Tunnel (officially Tunnel 2, Wairarapa Line) is a railway tunnel through New Zealand's Rimutaka Ranges, between Maymorn, near Upper Hutt, and Featherston, on the Wairarapa Line.

Rory Fallon

After originally representing England at youth level, he has been capped by New Zealand at international level and scored the goal that took them to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Roy Dalgarno

In 1975 he moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where he worked as a Lecturer in drawing and composition at the Auckland Society of Arts.

Sel Belsham

Selwyn Eric Belsham is a New Zealand former rugby league player who represented his country in the 1957 World Cup.

Shotgate

The Hurricane fighter recalls the incident on 31 May 1940, when RAF Pilot Officer William Henry Hodgson, a New Zealander, engaged hostile bombers and fighters over the River Thames in his Hawker Hurricane, but it was hit and caught fire.

Southland Boys' High School

Southland Boys' High School (SBHS) is an all-boys school in Invercargill, New Zealand, and has been the only one in the city since Marist Brothers was merged with St Catherines to form Verdon College in 1982.

Starcom IP Asia

Starcom IP Asia consists of 17 countries and 29 offices, with locations in Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane) Bangalore, Bangladesh, China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong), India (New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai), Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington), Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Devil Makes Work for Idle Hands

The Devil Makes Work for Idle Hands is a greatest hits album released by New Zealand band, Head Like A Hole in 2009 in support of their 2009 reunion tour.

Waitakere, Auckland

Waitakere is a small mostly rural suburb in the northwest of Auckland, New Zealand.

Women's Rugby League World Cup

Women's Rugby League had been played in both Oceania and the United Kingdom for several years but it was not until 1985 in Britain and 1993 in Australia and New Zealand where female only organizations and governing bodies were established and while the Rugby Football League recognized the British women in 1985 it took another five years for the Australian Rugby League to officially recognize the Australian Women's rugby league.

Zealandopterix zonodoxa

It is known from the northern North Island of New Zealand, from Te Paki south to Puketitri, Hawkes Bay and including Poor Knights, Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands.