New Zealand is a small country in the Southern Pacitic Ocean. There are two main islands, the North island and the South Island, as well as many smaller islands. New Zealand is 268,000 square kilometres, about the same size as the United Kingdom.

Maori people arrived from the Pacitic in the 10th century, and by the 12th century there were many Maori settlements along the coasts of New Zealand. The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, which means The land of the long white cloud’. Seven hundred years later, large numbers of Europeans started to settle in New Zealand. According to Government figures, the population of New Zealand in 2015 was over four million, and of these, about 75 percent lived in the North Island.

There are four main cities. Auckland, in the north, is the largest City with a population of over one million people. Auckland’s population includes many different nationalities. For example, there are large groups of European, Maori, Pacitic island, Chinese and Indian people. Together with other smaller groups, they make Auckland an interesting and exciting place to live.

Although Wellington is the Capital, the centre of government, it is smaller and quieter than Auckland with a population of 350,000. The main cities in the South Island are Christchurch, known as the Garden City, and Dunedin, which is often compared to a small Scottish City.

1. Where is New Zealand located?

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2. When did Maori people first come to New Zealand?

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3. What does”Autoeroa” mean?

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4. Where do most New Zealanders live?

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5. Why is Auckland an interesting City?

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