Marae
A marae, malaʻe, meʻae, malae is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term means "cleared, free of weeds, etc". Marae consist of an area of cleared land rectangular, bordered with stones or wooden posts with paepae which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes. In the Rapa Nui culture of Easter Island, the term ahu has become a synonym for the whole marae complex. In some modern Polynesian societies, notably that of the Māori of Aotearoa New Zealand, the marae is still a vital part of everyday life. In tropical Polynesia, most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of Christianity in the 19th century, some have become an attraction for tourists or archaeologists; the place where these marae were built are still considered tapu in most of these cultures. The word has been reconstructed by linguists to Eastern Oceanic *malaqe with the meaning "open, cleared space used as meeting-place or ceremonial place".
In Māori society, the marae is a place where the culture can be celebrated, where the Māori language can be spoken, where intertribal obligations can be met, where customs can be explored and debated, where family occasions such as birthdays can be held, where important ceremonies, such as welcoming visitors or farewelling the dead, can be performed. Like the related institutions of old Polynesia, the marae is a wāhi tapu, a'sacred place' which carries great cultural meaning. In Māori usage, the marae ātea is the open space in front of the wharenui; the term marae is used to refer to the whole complex, including the buildings and the ātea. This area is used for pōwhiri featuring oratory; some iwi and hapū do not allow women to perform oratory on their marae. The wharenui is the locale for important meetings and craft and other cultural activities; the wharekai is used for communal meals, but other activities may be carried out there. Many of the words associated with marae in tropical Polynesia are retained in the Māori context.
For example, the word paepae refers to the bench. Marae vary in size, with some wharenui being a bit bigger than a double garage, some being larger than a typical town hall. A marae is a meeting place registered as a reserve under the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993; each marae has a group of trustees. The Act governs the regulation of marae as reservations and sets out the responsibilities of the trustees in relation to the beneficiaries; each marae has a charter which the trustees have negotiated with the beneficiaries of the marae. The charter details matters such as: the name of the marae, a description of it; the methods used to select trustees. The New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Act 1963 was passed and the institute built to maintain the tradition of whakairo; the Institute is responsible for the restoration of over 40 marae around the country. Most iwi, hapū, many small settlements have their own marae. An example of such a small settlement with its own marae is at Hongoeka Bay, the home of renowned writer Patricia Grace.
Since the second half of the 20th century, Māori in urban areas have been establishing intertribal marae such as Maraeroa in eastern Porirua. For many Māori, the marae is just as important to them as their own homes; some New Zealand churches operate marae of their own, in which all of the functions of a traditional marae are carried out. Churches operating marae include the Anglican and Catholic churches. In recent years, it has become common for educational institutions, including primary and secondary schools, technical colleges, universities, to build marae for the use of the students and for the teaching of Māori culture; these marae may serve as a venue for the performance of official ceremonies relating to the school. The marae of the University of Auckland, for instance, is used for graduation ceremonies of the Māori Department, as well as welcoming ceremonies for new staff of the university as a whole, its primary function is to serve as a venue for the teaching of whaikōrero, Māori language and culture, important ceremonies for distinguished guests of the university.
Two spectacular secondary-school marae are located in the Waikato at Te Awamutu College and Fairfield College. The latter was designed by a Māori architect with a detailed knowledge of weaving. In addition to school activities it is used for weddings; as in pre-European times, marae continue to be the location of many ceremonial events, including birthdays and anniversaries. The most important event located at marae is the tangih
Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kilometres northeast of Ohakune and 23 km southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park; the North Island's major ski resorts and only glaciers are on its slopes. Ruapehu, the largest active volcano in New Zealand, is the highest point on the North Island and has three major peaks: Tahurangi, Te Heuheu and Paretetaitonga; the deep, active crater is between the peaks and fills with water between major eruptions, being known as Crater Lake. Ruapehu is composed of andesite and began erupting at least 250,000 years ago. In recorded history, major eruptions have been about 50 years apart, in 1895, 1945 and 1995–1996. Minor eruptions are frequent, with at least 60 since 1945; some of the minor eruptions in the 1970s generated small ash falls and lahars that damaged skifields. Between major eruptions, warm acidic Crater Lake forms, fed by melting snow. Major eruptions may expel the lake water.
Where a major eruption has deposited a tephra dam across the lake's outlet, the dam may collapse after the lake has refilled and risen above the level of its normal outlet, the outrush of water causing a large lahar. In 2000, the ERLAWS system was installed on the mountain to detect such a collapse and alert the relevant authorities; the 1945 eruption dammed the outlet with tephra. The crater refilled with water, until on 24 December 1953 the tephra dam collapsed causing a lahar in the Whangaehu River; the lahar caused the Tangiwai disaster, with the loss of 151 lives, when the Tangiwai railway bridge across the Whangaehu River collapsed while the lahar was in full flood, just before an express train crossed it. It was known that the river had undermined one of the bridge piers and the lahar finished the job, causing the bridge to collapse. Although warned of the collapsed bridge, the train driver was unable to stop the train in time and six of the carriages fell into the river. Spectacular eruptions occurred during 1995 and 1996.
Ruapehu had been showing signs of increased activity since late November 1994, with elevated Crater Lake temperatures and a series of eruptions that increased in intensity over about nine months. Several lahars were observed, both in the Whangaehu River and other areas of the mountain, between 18 September and 25 September 1995, indicating Crater Lake was being emptied by the eruptions; the Department of Conservation issued hazard warnings and advised people to keep off the mountain, thus ending the ski season. The eruption cloud disrupted air travel closing airports and the central North Island airspace. Black sand-like ash fell on surrounding stock had to be moved; the ash entered streams and was washed into the pen stocks and turbines of the Rangipo power station causing rapid corrosion on the turbine blades which had to be rebuilt. Episodic eruptions continued until the end of November 1995. Within hours of a major eruption during the night being reported on 25 September 1995, news media were trying to get live video of the eruption and amateur photographers had published eruption images on the World Wide Web.
A web camera, dubbed the world's first "Volcano Cam", was set up. Since Ruapehu has been monitored by at least one and sometimes several volcano cams. Another, eruption phase began on the morning of 17 June 1996. Despite a series of small eruptions that spread thin layers of ash across both Whakapapa and Turoa ski areas, the ski fields opened for the 1996 season. Turoa closed on 29 September -- earlier than usual. After the 1996 eruption it was recognised that a catastrophic lahar could again occur when Crater Lake bursts the volcanic ash dam blocking the lake outlet; this is the same mechanism. The lake filled with snowmelt and had reached the level of the hard rock rim by January 2005; the lahar occurred on 18 March 2007. Ruapehu erupted at 10.30pm on 4 October 2006. The small eruption created a volcanic earthquake at a magnitude of 2.8, sending a water plume 200 m into the air and 6 metres tall waves crashing into the wall of the crater. On 18 March 2007, the tephra dam, holding back Crater Lake burst, sending a lahar down the mountain.
An estimated 1.4 million cubic metres of mud and water travelled down the Whangaehu river. The Department of Conservation had received warning signals from the lahar warning system at around 10:30 that morning and closed all major roads in the area, preventing thousands of motorists from travelling, shut down the main rail system for the North Island; the river banks held and no spillovers occurred. There was no injuries. One family was trapped for around 24 hours after the lahar swept away the access route to their home. At about 8:20 p.m. on 25 September 2007, a hydrothermal eruption occurred without warning. One man, a 22-year-old primary school teacher, had a leg crushed by a rock during the eruption and a rescue operation was mounted to rescue him from the Dome Shelter near the crater; the rock crashed into the Dome Shelter, landed on the man and was too heavy for his companion to lift off. Two lahars that travelled down the mountain activated warning signals from the lahar warning system and prompted the evacuation of some ski lodges on the mountain and the closure of roads in the area.
The eruption was accompanied by a 7-minute-long earthquake. On 2 May 2008, a level-1 warning was issued after GNS scientists who were monitoring the lake found irregular signs of volcanic activity. Th
Trout
Trout is the common name for a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus and Salvelinus, all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word trout is used as part of the name of some non-salmonid fish such as Cynoscion nebulosus, the spotted seatrout or speckled trout. Trout are related to salmon and char: species termed salmon and char occur in the same genera as do fish called trout. Lake trout and most other trout live in freshwater lakes and rivers while there are others, such as the steelhead, which can spend two or three years at sea before returning to fresh water to spawn. Steelhead that live out their lives in fresh water are called rainbow trout. Arctic char and brook trout are part of the char family. Trout are an important food source for humans and wildlife, including brown bears, birds of prey such as eagles, other animals, they are classified as oily fish. The name'trout' is used for some species in three of the seven genera in the subfamily Salmoninae: Salmo, Atlantic species.
Fish referred to as trout include: Genus Salmo Adriatic trout, Salmo obtusirostris Brown trout, Salmo trutta River trout, S. t. morpha fario Lake trout/Lacustrine trout, S. t. morpha lacustris Sea trout, S. t. morpha trutta Flathead trout, Salmo platycephalus Marble trout, Soca River trout or Soča trout – Salmo marmoratus Ohrid trout, Salmo letnica, S. balcanicus, S. lumi, S. aphelios Sevan trout, Salmo ischchan Genus Oncorhynchus Biwa trout, Oncorhynchus masou rhodurus Cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki Coastal cutthroat trout, O. c. clarki Crescenti trout, O. c. c. f. crescenti Alvord cutthroat trout O. c. alvordensis Bonneville cutthroat trout O. c. utah Humboldt cutthroat trout O. c. humboldtensis Lahontan cutthroat trout O. c. henshawi Whitehorse Basin cutthroat trout Paiute cutthroat trout O. c. seleniris Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout, O. c. behnkei Westslope cutthroat trout O. c. lewisi Yellowfin cutthroat trout O. c. macdonaldi Yellowstone cutthroat trout O. c. bouvieri Colorado River cutthroat trout O. c. pleuriticus Greenback cutthroat trout O. c. stomias Rio Grande cutthroat trout O. c. virginalis Oncorhynchus gilae Gila trout, O. g. gilae Apache trout, O. g. apache Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss Kamchatkan rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss mykiss Columbia River redband trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri Coastal rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus Beardslee trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus var. beardsleei Great Basin redband trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii Golden trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita Kern River rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita var. gilberti Sacramento golden trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita var. stonei Little Kern golden trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita var. whitei Kamloops rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss kamloops Baja California rainbow trout, Nelson's trout, or San Pedro Martir trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss nelsoni Eagle Lake trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss aquilarum McCloud River redband trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss stonei Sheepheaven Creek redband trout Mexican golden trout, Oncorhynchus chrysogaster Genus Salvelinus Brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis Aurora trout, S. f. timagamiensis Bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus Dolly Varden trout, Salvelinus malma Lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush Silver trout, † Salvelinus agassizi Hybrids Tiger trout, Salmo trutta X Salvelinus fontinalis Speckled Lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush X Salvelinus fontinalis Trout that live in different environments can have different colorations and patterns.
These colors and patterns form as camouflage, based on the surroundings, will change as the fish moves to different habitats. Trout in, or newly returned from the sea, can look silvery, while the same fish living in a small stream or in an alpine lake could have pronounced markings and more vivid coloration. In general trout that are about to breed have intense coloration, they can look like an different fish outside of spawning season. It is impossible to define a particular color pattern as belonging to a specific breed. Trout have fins without spines, all of them have a small adipose fin along the back, near the tail; the pelvic fins sit well back on each side of the anus. The swim bladder is connected to the esophagus, allowing for gulping or rapid expulsion of air, a condition known as physostome. Unlike many other physostome fish, trout do not use their bladder as an auxiliary device for oxygen uptake, relying on their gills. There are many species, more populations, that are isolated from each other and morphologically different.
However, since many of these distinct populations show no significant genetic differences, what may appear to be a large number of species is considered a much smaller number of distinct species by most ichthyologists. The trout found in the eastern United States are a good example of this; the brook trout, the aurora trout, the silver trout all have physical characteristics and colorations that distinguish them, yet genetic analysis shows that they are one species, Salvelinus fontinalis. Lake trout, like brook trout, belong to the char genus. Lake trout inhabit many of the larger lakes in North America, live m
Auckland
Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. Auckland is the largest urban area in the country, with an urban population of around 1,628,900, it is located in the Auckland Region—the area governed by Auckland Council—which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,695,900. A diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world; the Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki or Tāmaki-makau-rau, meaning "Tāmaki with a hundred lovers", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions. The Auckland urban area ranges to Waiwera in the north, Kumeu in the north-west, Runciman in the south. Auckland lies between the Hauraki Gulf of the Pacific Ocean to the east, the low Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west; the surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with dozens of dormant volcanic cones.
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 the few cities in the world to have a harbour on each of two separate major bodies of water; the isthmus on which Auckland resides was first settled around 1350 and was valued for its rich and fertile land. The Māori population in the area is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 before the arrival of Europeans. After a British colony was established in 1840, William Hobson Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, chose the area as his new capital, he named the area for Earl of Auckland, British First Lord of the Admiralty. It was replaced as the capital in 1865 by Wellington, but immigration to Auckland stayed strong, it has remained the country's most populous city. Today, Auckland's central business district is the major financial centre of New Zealand. Auckland is classified as a Beta + World City because of its importance in commerce, the arts, education.
The University of Auckland, established in 1883, is the largest university in New Zealand. Landmarks such as the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Harbour Bridge, the Sky Tower, many museums, parks and theatres are among the city's significant tourist attractions. Auckland Airport handles around one million international passengers a month. Despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world, Auckland is ranked third on the 2016 Mercer Quality of Living Survey, making it one of the most liveable cities; the isthmus was settled by Māori circa 1350, was valued for its rich and fertile land. Many pā were created on the volcanic peaks; the Māori population in the area is estimated to have been about 20,000 before the arrival of Europeans. The introduction of firearms at the end of the eighteenth century, which began in Northland, upset the balance of power and led to devastating intertribal warfare beginning in 1807, causing iwi who lacked the new weapons to seek refuge in areas less exposed to coastal raids.
As a result, the region had low numbers of Māori when European settlement of New Zealand began. On 27 January 1832, Joseph Brooks Weller, eldest of the Weller brothers of Otago and Sydney, bought land including the site of the modern city of Auckland, the North Shore, part of Rodney District for "one large cask of powder" from "Cohi Rangatira". After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840, the new Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, chose the area as his new capital and named it for George Eden, Earl of Auckland Viceroy of India; the land that Auckland was established on was given to the Governor by a local iwi, Ngāti Whātua, as a sign of goodwill and in the hope that the building of a city would attract commercial and political opportunities for iwi. Auckland was declared New Zealand's capital in 1841, the transfer of the administration from Russell in the Bay of Islands was completed in 1842; however in 1840 Port Nicholson was seen as a better choice for an administrative capital because of its proximity to the South Island, Wellington became the capital in 1865.
After losing its status as capital, Auckland remained the principal city of the Auckland Province until the provincial system was abolished in 1876. In response to the ongoing rebellion by Hone Heke in the mid-1840s, the government encouraged retired but fit British soldiers and their families to migrate to Auckland to form a defence line around the port settlement as garrison soldiers. By the time the first Fencibles arrived in 1848, the rebels in the north had been defeated. Outlying defensive towns were constructed to the south, stretching in a line from the port village of Onehunga in the west to Howick in the east; each of the four settlements had about 800 settlers. In the early 1860s, Auckland became a base against the Māori King Movement, the 12,000 Imperial soldiers stationed there led to a strong boost to local commerce. This, continued road building towards the south into the Waikato, enabled Pākehā influence to spread from Auckland; the city's population grew rapidly, from 1,500 in 1841 to 3,635 in 1845 to 12,423 by 1864.
The growth occurred to other mercantile-dominated cities around the port and with problems of overcrowding and pollution. Auckland's population of ex-soldiers was far greater than that of other settlements: about 50 percent of the popula
Waikato
Waikato is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, parts of Rotorua District, it is governed by the Waikato Regional Council. The region stretches from Coromandel Peninsula in the north, to the north-eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the south, spans the North Island from the west coast, through the Waikato and Hauraki to Coromandel Peninsula on the east coast. Broadly, the extent of the region is the Waikato River catchment. Other major catchments are those of the Waihou, Piako and Mokau rivers; the region is bounded by Auckland on the north, Bay of Plenty on the east, Hawke's Bay on the south-east, Manawatu-Wanganui and Taranaki on the south. Waikato Region is the fourth largest region in the country in area and population: It has an area of 25,000 km² and a population of 468,800; the region encompasses all or part of eleven territorial authorities, the most of any region of New Zealand.
It is centred on the Waikato which consists of Waikato District, Matamata-Piako District, Waipa District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City. In descending order of land area the eleven territorial authorities are Taupo District, Waikato District, Waitomo District, Thames-Coromandel District, Otorohanga District, South Waikato District, Matamata-Piako District, Waipa District, Hauraki District, Rotorua District, Hamilton City; the name for the region is taken from the Waikato River. When Waikato is used in spoken language it takes the definite article: the Waikato, but this refers to a smaller region than the Waikato local government region. Two definitions that would meet with wide acceptance are those of the Waikato rugby football union and of Hamilton Waikato tourism; the former takes in the local government areas of Hamilton City, the southern part of Waikato district, Waipa district, most of Matamata-Piako district and the South Waikato district. Hamilton Waikato tourism takes in additionally the northern part of Waikato district, the northern King Country, the Te Aroha district.
The parts of Waikato region beyond these limits are identified as Thames Valley and/or Hauraki/Coromandel and Taupo, on the Volcanic or Central Plateau. To the west, the region is bounded by the Tasman Sea; the coastal region is rough hill country, known locally as the Hakarimata Range, though it is more undulating in the north, closer to the mouth of the Waikato River. The coast is punctured by three large natural harbours: Raglan Harbour, Aotea Harbour, Kawhia Harbour; the area around Raglan is noted for its volcanic black sand beaches and for its fine surfing conditions at Manu Bay and Ruapuke beach. To the east of the coastal hills lies the broad floodplain of the Waikato River; this region has a wet temperate climate, the land is pastoral farmland created by European settlers draining the extensive natural swamps, although it contains undrained peat swamp such as the 200km2 peat dome south of Ngatea. It is in the broad undulating Waikato Plains that most of the region's population resides, the land is intensively farmed with both livestock dairy cattle but with sheep farming on the hillier west margins, crops such as maize.
The area around Cambridge has many thoroughbred stables. The north of the region around Te Kauwhata produces some of New Zealand's best wines. Dozens of small shallow lakes lie in this area, the largest of, Lake Waikare. To the east, the land rises towards the forested slopes of the Mamaku Ranges; the upper reaches of the Waikato River are used for hydroelectricity, helped by several large artificial lakes in the region's south-east. The lowest and earliest-created such lake is Lake Karapiro, now developed as a world-class rowing centre, where the world championships were held in 2010; the river flows out of the country's largest lake, Lake Taupo, served by several important fishing rivers such as the Tongariro, on the Central Plateau, draining the eastern side of Mount Ruapehu and its neighbours. The climate is mild and temperate with moderate rainfall of 1200–1600mm per annum, with the higher western hills having the most rain. Summers are drier with maximum temperatures of 25–28 degrees Celsius.
Summer droughts occur one year in ten. Winter maxima are 12–15 degrees Celsius; the lower areas experience regular morning fog, under anticyclonic conditions, which burns off by late morning to produce many still, clear sunny days. Morning frosts are common during winter anticyclones. Another distinctive feature is the low average wind speed in the interior basin due to the sheltering influence of the hills and mountains to the west and south-west; the prevailing winter wind is from the south-west. The Waikato has high sunshine hours by world standards, averaging 2200 hours per year or about 40% higher than in the UK; this results in rapid growth of grass and ornamental plants. The largest city in the Waikato Region is Hamilton, with an urban and peri-urban population of 203,100, it is home to the Waikato Institute of Technology. Other major towns in the region are Tokoroa, Te Awamutu and Taupo with respective populations of 14,050, 17,500, 20,600 and 24,700.. The region includes the smaller towns of Huntly, Morrinsville, Otoroha
Matamata
Matamata is a town in the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits, it is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes in the surrounding rural areas as well as Morrinsville and Te Aroha. State Highway 27 and the Kinleith Branch railway run through the town; the town has a population of 7,920 as of June 2018. A nearby farm was the location for the Hobbiton Movie Set in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings; the New Zealand government decided to leave the Hobbit holes built on location as tourist attractions, since they were designed to blend seamlessly into the environment. During the interim period filming The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey they had no furniture or props, but could be entered with vistas of the farm viewed from inside them. A "Welcome to Hobbiton" sign has been placed on the main road.
In 2011 parts of Hobbiton began to close in preparation for the three new movies based on the first Tolkien novel, The Hobbit. In the early nineteenth century, the area including and surrounding the present-day Matamata township was part of the territory of the Ngāti Hauā; the Matamata pā itself was located near the present-day settlement of Waharoa 6 kilometres to the north. The first European thought to have visited the Matamata area was the trader Phillip Tapsell in about 1830. In 1833 the Reverend Alfred Nesbit Brown visited the area and in 1835 opened a mission near Matamata Pa, but this closed the following year when intertribal warfare broke out. In 1865 Josiah Firth negotiated with Ngāti Hauā leader Wiremu Tamihana and leased a large area of land, including the future site of the town which he named after the pā. Firth constructed a dray road to Cambridge and cleared the Waihou River so that it was navigable by his boats. Peria, on the outskirts of Matamata, was the scene of the Kīngitanga meeting of 1863.
Firth's estate failed and by 1904 had been wholly obtained by the Crown and was subdivided into dairy farm units to take advantage of the new technology of refrigeration. It became a dependent Town District in 1917, an independent Town District in 1919 and was constituted a borough in 1935. With the re-organisation of territorial authorities in New Zealand in 1989, Matamata became part of the Matamata-Piako District. Matamata was a station on the Kinleith Branch, from 8 March 1886 40 minutes north of the temporary terminus at Oxford and about an hour from Morrinsville, it was 6.03 km south of Waharoa, 7.91 km north of Hinuera and for a while seems to have become a flag station, though it did have a goods shed. It had 2 members of staff from 1913 and by 1950 8,868 tickets were sold at Matamata and it transported 42,322 sheep and pigs, it closed to passengers on 12 November 1968, but reopened to serve the Geyserland Express from 9 December 1991 until 7 October 2001. The station building was replaced in the 1960s and has been the Railside by the Green community centre since 2002, though it is fenced off from the platform.
Occasional excursions still use the platform. Matamata is the home of various media outlets, including studios for tvCentral, TV Rotorua and iTV Live, unusual for a town of such size. Matamata Chronicle Scene Matamata is home to the Matamata Swifts soccer team, who compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1A. Matamata College Matamata Intermediate Firth Primary School Matamata Primary School Matamata Christian School St Josephs Catholic School Hinuera School Te Poi School Te Kura O Waharoa Waharoa School Wairere School Walton School Shane Dye Casey Kopua Lance O'Sullivan Tim Mikkelson Hon Mike Rann CNZM Dame Patsy Reddy Dame Catherine Tizard Matthew Stanley Claudia Pond Eyley Kyle Wealleans Smaller towns nearby are: Hinuera Peria Turanga-O-Moana Te Poi Waharoa Walton, New Zealand Wardville, New Zealand List of towns in New Zealand List of reduplicated place names
World War II
World War II known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries; the major participants threw their entire economic and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China, it included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, the only use of nuclear weapons in war. Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific, was at war with China by 1937, though neither side had declared war on the other. World War II is said to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and the United Kingdom.
From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Finland and the Baltic states. Following the onset of campaigns in North Africa and East Africa, the fall of France in mid 1940, the war continued between the European Axis powers and the British Empire. War in the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain, the Blitz, the long Battle of the Atlantic followed. On 22 June 1941, the European Axis powers launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the largest land theatre of war in history; this Eastern Front trapped most crucially the German Wehrmacht, into a war of attrition. In December 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States as well as European colonies in the Pacific. Following an immediate U. S. declaration of war against Japan, supported by one from Great Britain, the European Axis powers declared war on the U.
S. in solidarity with their Japanese ally. Rapid Japanese conquests over much of the Western Pacific ensued, perceived by many in Asia as liberation from Western dominance and resulting in the support of several armies from defeated territories; the Axis advance in the Pacific halted in 1942. Key setbacks in 1943, which included a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy, Allied victories in the Pacific, cost the Axis its initiative and forced it into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and turned toward Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in Central China, South China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key Western Pacific islands; the war in Europe concluded with an invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops, the suicide of Adolf Hitler and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945.
Following the Potsdam Declaration by the Allies on 26 July 1945 and the refusal of Japan to surrender under its terms, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August respectively. With an invasion of the Japanese archipelago imminent, the possibility of additional atomic bombings, the Soviet entry into the war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria, Japan announced its intention to surrender on 15 August 1945, cementing total victory in Asia for the Allies. Tribunals were set up by fiat by the Allies and war crimes trials were conducted in the wake of the war both against the Germans and the Japanese. World War II changed the political social structure of the globe; the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The Soviet Union and United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the nearly half-century long Cold War. In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia.
Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic expansion. Political integration in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities and create a common identity; the start of the war in Europe is held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred and the two wars merged in 1941; this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935; the British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the fo
