the country new zealand (nz) is located south-east of australia. the population is 5 mio, and the capital city is wellington. the largest city on the northern island is auckland, on the southern island it's christchurch. the geography of nz varies enormously, from sub-tropic landscaptes to high mountains and glaciers. there are also active volcanos. nz has not been settled that long. around 1250 polynesian settlers arived. for several centuries the maori people 'owned' nz. in 1841 nz became a colony within the british empire. nz's indepence is not well-defined, but some assessments link it to 1907 when nz became a dominion. btw, nz is in many regards a progressive country. one example: it was the first country to give women the voting right - in 1893! btw btw, the new zealanders are usually called "kiwis". in 1989 i stayed 6 month in hamilton (as guest prof), and afterwards i have visited nz many times.
