1.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
2.
George V
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George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. He was the son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. From the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession behind his father and his own brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. From 1877 to 1891, George served in the Royal Navy, on the death of his grandmother in 1901, Georges father became King-Emperor of the British Empire, and George was created Prince of Wales. He succeeded his father in 1910 and he was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar. His reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, the Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords. In 1917, George became the first monarch of the House of Windsor, in 1924 he appointed the first Labour ministry and in 1931 the Statute of Westminster recognised the dominions of the Empire as separate, independent states within the Commonwealth of Nations. He had health problems throughout much of his reign and at his death was succeeded by his eldest son. George was born on 3 June 1865, in Marlborough House and he was the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Albert Edward and Alexandra. His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and he was baptised at Windsor Castle on 7 July 1865 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Longley. As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was expectation that George would become king. He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother, George was only 17 months younger than Albert Victor, and the two princes were educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed as their tutor in 1871, neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. For three years from 1879, the brothers served on HMS Bacchante, accompanied by Dalton. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean, South Africa and Australia, and visited Norfolk, Virginia, as well as South America, the Mediterranean, Egypt, Dalton wrote an account of their journey entitled The Cruise of HMS Bacchante. Between Melbourne and Sydney, Dalton recorded a sighting of the Flying Dutchman, after Lausanne, the brothers were separated, Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge, while George continued in the Royal Navy. He travelled the world, visiting many areas of the British Empire, during his naval career he commanded Torpedo Boat 79 in home waters then HMS Thrush on the North America station, before his last active service in command of HMS Melampus in 1891–92. From then on, his rank was largely honorary
3.
Governor-General of New Zealand
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The Governor-General of New Zealand is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The office is mandated by letters patent and the officeholder is formally titled the Governor-General, when travelling abroad, the governor-general is seen as the representative of New Zealand, and of the Queen of New Zealand. For this reason, the governor-general is viewed by some as the de facto head of state, under the Niue Constitution Act, the governor-general also represents the monarch in Niue. The governor-general initially represented the British monarch and the government of the United Kingdom, therefore, many officeholders have been British statesmen. In 1972, Sir Denis Blundell became the first New Zealand resident to be appointed to the office, governors-general are not appointed for a specific term, but are generally expected to serve for five years. The current Governor-General is Dame Patsy Reddy, who has served since 28 September 2016, administrative support for the governor-general is provided by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Appointment to the Office is made by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Prime Ministers advice has sometimes been the result of a decision by Cabinet, although there is no requirement for this. The appointment of Anand Satyanand met with the approval of every leader in the House of Representatives, by convention the Leader of the Opposition is also consulted on the appointment, however this too has not always been the case. This suggestion was in turn criticised by the Government, as Sir Edmund had backed Labour in 1975 as part of the Citizens for Rowling campaign, however, the right granted by the convention was not exercised directly by a New Zealand Prime Minister until 1967. Although non-partisan while in office, there have been a number of appointments of Governors-General to the office that have attracted considerable controversy, despite their political backgrounds, neither of these appointments could be said to have discharged their duties in a partisan way. There has often been speculation that a member of the Royal Family might take up the position, before the Governor-General enters office, his or her commission of appointment is publicly read in the presence of the Chief Justice of New Zealand and the members of the Executive Council. The Governor-General must take the Oath of Allegiance and the oath for the due execution of the office, from time to time, there have been proposals to elect the Governor-General. When first drafted by then Governor George Grey, the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 contained provision for the Governor to be elected by New Zealands Parliament. This provision was removed from the enactment, probably because the Colonial Office wanted to keep a check on New Zealands colonial government. In 1887 Sir George Grey, by then also a former Premier, the Bill was narrowly defeated 46–48, being opposed by the government of Harry Atkinson. In 2006 political commentator Colin James suggested that the Governor-General could be elected by a 60% majority of votes cast in Parliament, James argued that the New Zealand public should be given the ability to choose the Queens representative, and that the current system is undemocratic and not transparent. National MP Nikki Kaye queried whether several one-member parties in parliament could veto the decision, the Republican Movement responded that the method would ensure appointments were made that most MPs and parties found acceptable. The Governor-General holds office at the pleasure of the Queen, under clause II of the Letters Patent
4.
New Zealand Reform Party
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The Reform Party, formally the New Zealand Political Reform League, was New Zealands second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. It was in government between 1912 and 1928, and later formed a coalition with the United Party, and then merged with United to form the modern National Party. The Liberal Party, founded by John Ballance and fortified by Richard Seddon, was dominant in New Zealand politics at the beginning of the 20th century. The conservative opposition, consisting only of independents, was disorganised and demoralised, gradually, however, the Liberals began to falter — the first blow came with the death of Richard Seddon, their popular leader, but other factors contributed to their decline. Importantly for conservatives, the Liberals were slowly losing support from small farmers, having achieved the land reforms, farmers had little reason to continue their support the Liberals, and drifted towards the socially conservative opposition. The Liberals were split between the farmers and the workers, attempting to both and therefore satisfying neither. The attempts of the Liberals to win back the vote were decried by conservatives as socialistic. The conservative opposition, which pledged its opposition to the alleged socialist tendencies of the Liberals, was strengthened, the foundation of the Reform Party was closely associated with this return of the opposition to political significance, and with growing agitation against the Liberal Partys alleged socialism. Also closely linked to the group were the Political Reform League, Aucklands National Association, the opposition began referring to itself as the Reform Party in 1909, and adopted a common platform for contesting elections. Among the partys important policy planks were farmers freehold and the reform of the public service, despite campaigning heavily against the governments socialism, it did not propose to undo the Liberal Partys labour and welfare reforms. In the 1911 elections, the Reform Party managed to win thirty-seven seats compared with thirty-three for the Liberals, supporters of the Liberals denied that Reform had won a mandate to rule, however, pointing out that the country quota worked to inflate Reforms vote. Nevertheless, it did not take long for the Liberal government, now ruling only with the support of independents, william Massey became Prime Minister on 10 July 1912. In government, the Reform Party implemented many of its policies regarding freehold, many other Liberal-era policies were not changed, however, and Reform gained further support from disillusioned members of the Liberal Party. A dockworkers strike in 1913 was also broken, the strikes prompted considerable concern about socialism in certain sectors of society, boosting Reforms results in the 1914 elections. In the 1919 elections, Reform further strengthened its position, despite the emergence of a single united Labour Party, in the 1922 elections, however, the approach of depression cost the government considerably, and Reform was forced to build an unstable coalition of independents. After a period under interim leader Francis Bell, Reform chose Gordon Coates as its new leader, Coates, while not regarded as politically astute, was relatively popular with the public, and campaigned well. In the 1925 elections, Reform won a high number of seats — fifty-five, compared with twelve for Labour. This victory was not as pronounced in the statistics for the vote, however — many believed that Reform had profited from the three-party configuration
5.
Joseph Ward
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Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, GCMG, PC was the 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand on two occasions in the early 20th century. Ward was born in Melbourne on 26 April 1856 to a Roman Catholic family of Irish descent and his father, who is believed to have been an alcoholic, died in 1860, aged 31 – Ward was raised by his mother, Hannah. In 1863, the moved to Bluff, in New Zealands Southland region, seeking better financial security – Hannah Ward established a shop. Ward received his education at primary schools in Melbourne and Bluff. He did not go to secondary school and he did, however, read extensively, and also picked up a good understanding of business from his mother. In 1869, Ward found a job at the Post Office, later, with the help of a loan from his mother, Ward began to work as a freelance trader, selling supplies to the newly established Southland farming community. Ward became involved in local politics very quickly and he was elected to the Campbelltown Borough Council in 1878, despite being only 21 years old – at age 25 he became Mayor, the youngest in New Zealand. He also served on the Bluff Harbour Board, eventually becoming its chairman, in 1887, Ward stood for Parliament, winning the seat of Awarua. Politically, Ward was a supporter of such as Julius Vogel and Robert Stout. Ward became known as a strong debater on economic matters, in 1891, when the newly founded Liberal Party came to power, the new Prime Minister, John Ballance, appointed Ward as Postmaster General. Later, when Richard Seddon became Prime Minister after Ballances death, Wards basic political outlook was that the state existed to support and promote private enterprise, and his conduct as Treasurer reflects this. Wards increasing occupation with government affairs led to neglect of his own interests, however. In 1896, a judge declared Ward hopelessly insolvent and this placed Ward, as Treasurer, in a politically difficult situation, and he was forced to resign his portfolios on 16 June. In 1897, he was forced to file for bankruptcy, which legally obligated him to resign his seat in Parliament, a loophole meant that there was nothing to stop him contesting it again, however. In the resulting by-election he was elected with an increased majority, gradually, Ward rebuilt his businesses, and paid off his creditors. Seddon, still Prime Minister, quickly reappointed him to Cabinet where he served as Minister of Railways, Ward gradually emerged as the most prominent of Seddons supporters, and was seen as a possible successor. As Seddons long tenure as Prime Minister continued, some suggested that Ward should challenge Seddon for the leadership, Ward was in London at the time. It was generally agreed in the party that Ward would succeed him, Ward was sworn in on 6 August 1906
6.
Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand)
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The Leader of the Opposition in New Zealand is the politician who, at least in theory, commands the support of the non-government bloc of members in the Parliament of New Zealand. In the debating chamber the Leader of the Opposition sits directly opposite the Prime Minister, the current Leader of the Opposition is Andrew Little, the Leader of the Labour Party. By convention, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest party of the Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition does not have a large official role, as most of the posts functions are ceremonial. Nevertheless, there are ways in which the Leader of the Opposition participates directly in affairs of state. The Leader of the Opposition also receives a higher salary than other members of the Opposition, for much of the countrys early history, the role was not a formal one. It was only when the Liberal Party was formed that any unified leadership appeared in Parliament, john Ballance, leader of the Liberals is usually considered the first Leader of the Opposition in the modern sense. When Ballance led the Liberals into government in 1891, they faced no opposition in a party sense. However, their opponents gradually coalesced around a leader, William Massey, who became Opposition leader in 1903, and in 1909 became the first leader of the new Reform Party. After this, the Leader of the Opposition would always be the leader of the largest party in the House of Representatives that had not undertaken to support the Government of the day. One notable exception to this was during World War I, when the opposition Liberal Party accepted the governing Reform Partys offer to form a wartime coalition, Prime Minister Massey also extended the offer to the new Labour Party who rejected it. This made Labour the largest party not in government, however their leader Alfred Hindmarsh was not recognized as the Leader of the Opposition, joseph Ward, who became Deputy Prime Minister in the wartime cabinet still retained the title, albeit in name only. During the 1910s and 1920s, the role of Opposition alternated between the Liberal and Reform parties, after the 1925 Election there was no official Leader of the Opposition until Rex Mason of Labour won the seat of Eden in the by-election held on 15 April 1926. Labour became superseded the Liberals as the opposition and their leader Harry Holland became Leader of the Opposition. The 1928 General Election put United in government for the last time, Reform then became the Opposition, however in 1931 Reform entered into coalition with the Liberals, and Labour then became the Opposition, despite being the third party. With the introduction of the MMP voting system, first used in the 1996 general elections, now, though the leader of the largest non-Government party still becomes the Leader of the Opposition, there will usually be several parties who are in opposition. An example of this arose after the 2002 general elections, when the National Party gained only 27 seats and this prompted calls from a number of parties, notably New Zealand First and the Greens, for the abolition or reform of the post. It was argued by these parties that the position had become an anachronism in the modern multi-party environment, however, with the resurrection of the National Party in the 2005 general election, a more traditional relationship between Government and Opposition has been restored. A table of Leaders of the Opposition is below, the table begins in 1891, when the first real political party was founded
7.
Mayor of Wellington City
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The Mayor of Wellington City is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, New Zealand, and presides over the Wellington City Council. Adjacent local bodies – Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua – have their own mayors, the Mayor is directly elected using STV. The current Mayor is Justin Lester, elected in October 2016, the development of local government in Wellington was erratic. The first attempt to establish governmental institutions, the so-called Wellington Republic, was short lived and based on rules written by the New Zealand Company, colonel William Wakefield was to be the first President. The office of mayor was established, but there were two holders of this office under the Ordinance. George Hunter received the most votes in the election for 12 Burgesses to the new council on 3 October 1842 and was declared mayor and he died suddenly on 19 July 1843. William Guyton was then declared mayor, as runner-up in 1842, after a brief period of little local government, the Province of Wellington was established in 1852, and most of Wellingtons affairs were handled by the provincial government. Initially, the elected one of their own as mayor towards the end of the year. The role was awarded to the longest serving councillor. The system changed upon the introduction of The Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act,1875 and it legislated that mayors must be elected at large by eligible voters. The inaugural mayoral election was held in 1875 resulting in William Hutchison being the first mayor to be elected by voters, in 1863, a Town Board was established with three wards, but no Mayor. On 16 September 1870, Wellington was officially incorporated as a city, and a new mayoralty created, the establishment of the new council was primarily driven by John Plimmer, called by some the Father of Wellington. Since then the office of Mayor has been held by 34 people, five people have been Mayor on two separate occasions, and the longest-serving Mayor was Sir Frank Kitts, from 1956 to 1974
8.
Mayor of Dunedin
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The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the municipal government of Dunedin, New Zealand, and presides over the Dunedin City Council. The Mayor is directly elected, using the Single Transferable Vote system in 2007, the current Mayor is Dave Cull who was first elected in 2010 and confirmed in 2013. The mayor has always elected at large, with the inaugural election in 1865. Up until 1915, the term of mayor was for one year only, from 1915 to 1935, the term was two years. Since the 1935 mayoral election, the term has been three years, the role of Deputy Mayor was established in 1917. City Of Dunedin, A Century of Civic Enterprise, DCC website - election results DCC website - councillors since 1865
9.
New Zealand Division
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The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was commanded by Major General Andrew Hamilton Russell for the duration of the war, the division saw service on the Western Front in France and Belgium, fighting in major battles at the Somme, Messines and Broodseinde Ridge throughout 1916 and 1917. All were notable successes for the New Zealanders but the division suffered a defeat at Passchendaele on 12 October 1917. In early 1918, the division helped blunt the German Spring Offensive at the Somme, during the Hundred Days Offensive that followed, it was one of the lead divisions of the Third Army and advanced 100 kilometres in 75 days. The divisions last major engagement of the war was at Le Quesnoy in early November 1918, during the latter stages of the war, the New Zealand Division was one of the strongest divisions of the Dominion serving on the Western Front. After the armistice, it served on occupation duties in Germany before being disbanded in 1919, by October 1914, there were sufficient volunteers to form two brigades, the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and the New Zealand Mounted Brigade. In December 1915, the much depleted New Zealand and Australian Division was evacuated from Gallipoli, although there were concerns that the Turks might attack the canal, it was envisaged that the division would soon be called upon to serve elsewhere. Commanded by Major General Andrew Hamilton Russell, it was replenished with reinforcements from Australia and New Zealand and began a program of intensive training. Since the deployment of the body of the NZEF, the numbers of volunteers had steadily increased to the point that they could no longer be integrated into either of the two existing brigades. The New Zealand Division officially came into being at Moascar, Egypt, on 1 March 1916, Russell, a well regarded senior officer of the Territorial Force who had performed well during the Gallipoli Campaign, was appointed the commander of the new formation. The former New Zealand Infantry Brigade was to be the first of three brigades of the division. The 1st Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General Francis Earl Johnston, the 2nd Brigade was formed from reinforcements currently in Egypt, this was commanded by another Gallipoli veteran, Brigadier General William Garnett Braithwaite. The third infantry brigade, known as the Rifle Brigade, was commanded by Brigadier General Harry Fulton, there were also three brigades of field artillery and one of howitzers. In total, the division had some 15,000 men in its ranks, along with the Australian 1st and 2nd Divisions, the New Zealand Division was to form part of I ANZAC Corps, under the command of Godley. In early March, the New Zealand Division assumed responsibility for the section of the Suez Canal guarded by the 2nd Division, after three weeks of sentry duty, the New Zealand Division returned to its Moascar base before it too was shipped to France in early April. The Armentières front line was regarded by the Allies as a sector where new units could undergo familiarisation without being called upon for intensive offensive operations. Nevertheless, it was not an introduction to the front for the New Zealanders. On arriving in their sector, they found the arrangements to be poor and immediately set about improving the trenches
10.
Battle of Passchendaele
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The Battle of Passchendaele was a major campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres,5 miles from a junction at Roulers. The next stage of the Allied plan was an advance to Thourout–Couckelaere, to close the German-controlled railway running through Roulers, further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuwpoort, combined with Operation Hush, were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. The campaign ended in November, when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele, apart from attacks in December. In 1918, the Battle of the Lys and the Fifth Battle of Ypres were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast, a campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, opposed the offensive, field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July. Belgian independence had been recognised in the Treaty of London which created a sovereign, the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914, in violation of Article VII of the treaty, was the reason given by the British government for declaring war on Germany. British military operations in Belgium began with the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons on 22 August. On 10 October, Lieutenant-General Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff, ordered an attack towards Dunkirk and Calais, followed by a turn south to gain a decisive victory. On 16 October, the Belgians and some French reinforcements began the defence of western Belgium, when the offensive failed, Falkenhayn ordered the capture of Ypres to gain a local advantage. By 18 November, the First Battle of Ypres ended in failure, large British offensive operations in Flanders were not possible in 1915, due to the consequent lack of resources. The Germans conducted their own Flanders offensive at the Second Battle of Ypres, Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF on 19 December 1915. A week after his appointment, Haig met Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, Haig preferred an advance from Ypres, to bypass the flooded area around the Yser and the coast, before a coastal attack was attempted, to clear the coast to the Dutch border. Other operations were begun by the British to regain territory or to evict the Germans from ground overlooking their positions, engagements took place on 12 February at Boesinghe and on 14 February at Hooge and Sanctuary Wood. There were actions from 14–15 February and 1–4 March at The Bluff,27 March –16 April at the St. Eloi Craters, in January 1917, the Second Army held the line in Flanders from Laventie to Boesinghe with eleven divisions and up to two in reserve. There was much trench mortaring, mining and raiding by both sides and from January to May, the Second Army had 20,000 casualties. In May, reinforcements began moving to Flanders from the south, in January 1916, General Herbert Plumer, the Second Army commander, began to plan offensives against Messines Ridge, Lille and Houthulst Forest. General Henry Rawlinson was also ordered to plan an attack from the Ypres Salient on 4 February, planning continued but the Battle of Verdun, at meetings in November 1916, Haig, the French commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre and the other Allies met at Chantilly
11.
Military history of New Zealand
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The military history of New Zealand is an aspect of the history of New Zealand that spans several hundred years. When first settled by Māori almost a millennium ago, there was land and resources. Initially being fought with close range weapons of wood and stone, colonisation by Britain led to the New Zealand land wars in the 19th century in which settler and imperial troops and their Māori allies fought against other Māori and a handful of Pākehā. In the first half of the 20th century, New Zealanders of all races fought alongside Britain in the Boer War, in the second half of the century and into this century the New Zealand Defence Force has provided token assistance to the United States in several conflicts. New Zealand has also contributed extensively to multilateral peacekeeping operations. The level of intertribal warfare amongst pre-European Māori is unknown, oral histories, legends and whakapapa include many stories of battles and wars but little research has been carried out into how often wars actually happened. Archaeological evidence suggests that population growth and the extinction of the moa, warfare increased as tribes. At some point, perhaps before this change, one group migrated to the Chatham Islands. Their pacifism left the Moriori unable to defend themselves when the islands were invaded by mainland Māori in the 1830s. In the classic Māori culture of 1550 CE onward, warriors were held in high esteem, Māori were unusual in having no distance weapons such as bows or slings, so all fighting took place at close range. Defence was based on hill forts, the remains of which can be all over New Zealand. The largest battle recorded was that of Hingakaka with several thousand combatants, the Musket Wars were a series of battles in the early 19th century, fought between various Māori tribal groups, mainly on the North Island. In time, all the tribes traded to obtain muskets and the conflict reached an uneasy stalemate. The wars gave Māori experience in fighting with and defending against guns – experience which would be vital in the New Zealand Wars. The expedition was sent by Governor Bourke from Sydney, but was criticised for use of excessive force by a British House of Commons report in 1835. The New Zealand or Land Wars were a series of wars fought between Māori on one side and a mixture of troops, imperial troops and other Māori on the other. The name Māori Wars has fallen into disuse, a Māori name for the conflict is Te Riri Pākehā. While the fighting began in 1843 and the last shots were fired in the early 20th century
