Category:New Zealand

The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about 800 A.D.. In 1840 A.D., their chieftains entered into a compact with great Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 A.D. and 1872 A.D. ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 A.D. and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. English, Maori, and Sign Language are the official languages.

New` zea"land.

Defn: a group of islands in the south pacific ocean. New zealand Flax. (a) (bot.) A tall, liliaceous herb (phormium tenax), having Very long, sword-shaped, distichous leaves which furnish a fine, Strong fiber very valuable for cordage and the like. (b) the fiber Itself. -- new zealand tea (bot.), a myrtaceous shrub (leptospermum Scoparium) of new zealand and australia, the leaves of which are used As a substitute for tea.