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SOC.CULTURE.NEW-ZEALAND Frequently Asked Questions Copyright 1998 Lin Nah Copyright 1994 - 1997 Phil Stuart-Jones This FAQ can be found online at: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/cultures/new-zealand-faq *** PLEASE DON'T E-MAIL CONTRIBUTIONS TO ME *** *** E-mailed contributions will NOT be included *** *** E-mailed requests/questions will NOT be answered *** *** Replies to this message go back into the newsgroup *** I am NOT here to supply information on request or research obscure topics. I merely compile the information from the newsgroup and add whatever I think may be useful or relevant. If you really can't look something up for yourself, *ask in the newsgroup*! Like many people in New Zealand (and some other parts of the world) I pay for my e-mail by volume, both incoming and outgoing. E-mailing a request to someone you don't know without an invitation is often NOT appreciated. I very seldom respond to such mail. Contributions and comments are welcomed, but PLEASE POST THEM to s.c.n-z so that others can comment on their accuracy/relevance. If you quote for context, please keep it to a minimum. Thanks. I correct and amend the FAQ as information and time come to hand and post it around the tenth of each month. The subject line on the FAQ and the weekly reminder will be constant for the convenience of those who wish to killfile them. My thanks to the contributors (listed in section D1) without whom I couldn't (and wouldn't) have compiled this. Please remember that most of this stuff is quoted so I may not be to blame for factual errors! =========================================================================== CONTENTS ============================== INTRODUCTION: 1 History of soc.culture.new-zealand 2 Phil Stuart-Jones ============================== PART A: INFO SOURCES A1 HOW TO FIND NZers AND INFORMATION ABOUT NZ A1.1 On The Net A1.2 Elsewhere A1.2.1 Overseas Offices of the NZ Tourism Board A1.2.2 Traditional sources (libraries, newspapers, etc.) A1.2.3 In The Wild... ------------------------------ A2 INFORMATION FOR NZers OVERSEAS A2.1 NZ Consulates/Embassies Overseas A2.2 How Do I Get News From Home? A2.3 Expatriate Organisations ------------------------------ A3 INTERNET ACCESS WITHIN NZ ============================== PART B: FACTS AND FIGURES B1 THE COUNTRY B1.1 Where Is NZ? B1.1.1 General B1.1.2 Statistics B1.1.3 Dependencies B1.1.4 Time Zones B1.2 The Landscape B1.2.1 General B1.2.2 Miscellaneous Figures B1.2.3 Flora and Fauna B1.2.4 Climate ------------------------------ B2 THE PEOPLE B2.1 A Short History B2.2 Maoritanga B2.2.1 The Moriori Question B2.2.2 Guide to Maori pronunciation B2.2.3 The Haka B2.3 Demography B2.3.1 General B2.3.2 Major Cities B2.3.3 Age Distribution B2.3.4 Ethnicity B2.3.5 Official Languages B2.3.6 Religions B2.3.6.1 Russian or Greek orthodox church in NZ B2.3.6.2 URLs related to religion in NZ ------------------------------ B3 LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND B3.1 The Political Scene B3.1.1 Why 'New Zealand' B3.1.2 Constitution B3.1.3 Form of Government B3.1.4 The Justice System B3.1.5 Organisation Membership B3.2 Economy B3.2.1 Defence Against Silly Questions B3.2.2 Current Status B3.2.3 Currency B3.2.4 Stockmarket B3.2.5 Interest Rates B3.2.6 Taxes B3.2.7 Miscellaneous Prices B3.3 Life In General B3.3.1 Business Hours B3.3.2 Tipping B3.3.3 Cost of Living B3.3.3.1 Rent B3.3.3.2 Wages B3.3.3.3 Transport B3.3.3.4 Food B3.3.3.5 Consumer goods B3.3.4 Crime B3.3.5 Finding a job B3.3.6 Schools and Education B3.3.6.1 Online resources for Education B3.3.7 Universities B3.3.7.1 Teaching focus B3.3.7.2 Addresses B3.3.7.3 The University Hierarchy B3.3.7.4 Postgrad Study B3.3.8 Health B3.3.8.1 Water Supply B3.3.9 Communications B3.3.10 Misc B3.4 Holidays B3.4.1 National B3.4.2 Regional B3.4.3 Web Resources on Holidays B3.5 Technical Stuff B3.5.1 Electricity B3.5.2 TV info B3.5.3 Video Conversion B3.5.4 Bringing Computers In B3.5.5 Telephone B3.5.6 Radio B3.5.7 Internet ------------------------------ B4 COMING TO NEW ZEALAND B4.1 Immigration B4.1.1 Online Resources to Immigration B4.1.2 Visitor's Permit B4.1.3 Permanent Residence B4.1.3.1 Resident Permit B4.1.3.2 Points System B4.2 Agricultural Restrictions B4.2.1 Animal Quarantine B4.3 Customs B4.3.1 Duty Free allowance B4.3.2 Allowances for people relocating to NZ B4.4 Moving to New Zealand B4.4.1 Shipping stuff to NZ B4.4.2 Importing a Car B4.5 Information for Visitors B4.5.1 Departure Tax B4.5.2 Health B4.5.3 Overseas Embassies In NZ ------------------------------ B5 TRAVEL WITHIN NZ B5.1 Info Sources B5.1.1 Tourism Board B5.1.2 Maps B5.2 Accommodation B5.2.1 Hotels B5.2.2 Motels and Motor Lodges B5.2.3 Backpackers B5.2.3.1 Youth Hostel Association B5.2.3.2 Backpackers Accommodation B5.2.4 Miscellaneous B5.2.5 Published Accommodation Guides B5.2.6 Online Accommodation Guides B5.3 Transport B5.3.1 Cycling/Sea kayaking B5.3.2 Hitchhiking B5.3.3 Renting a car/campervan B5.3.4 Train Services B5.3.5 Cook Strait Ferry B5.3.6 Coach Travel B5.3.7 Driving B5.3.8 Commercial Tours B5.3.9 Flying B5.4 Misc Info B5.4.1 Film Developing ------------------------------ B6 MAP OF NEW ZEALAND ============================== PART C: THE SUBJECTIVE BITS C1 DEFINITION OF 'KIWI' C1.1 'Real Kiwi' Test ------------------------------ C2 DESCRIPTIONS OF NZ CITIES ------------------------------ C3 HOLIDAYING IN NZ C3.1 Places C3.1.1 Parks and Tracks C3.1.2 Beaches, etc. C3.1.3 Distinctive Features C3.1.4 Archaeology/Historical/Heritage Sites C3.1.5 Places To Go To C3.1.6 Places To Avoid C3.1.7 Temporary Attractions C3.2 Activities C3.2.1 Tramping C3.2.2 Skiing C3.2.3 Climbing/mountaineering C3.2.4 Watersports C3.2.5 Whale/Dolphin Watching C3.2.6 Pubs To Go To/Nightlife C3.2.7 Anything Else???? ------------------------------ C4 GENERAL CULTURE C4.1 Sport C4.1.1 Why do New Zealander Sportspeople Wear Black? C4.2 Food C4.2.1 What is Vegemite/Marmite? C4.2.2 Pavlova recipe C4.2.3 The Edmonds Cook Book C4.2.4 Laying A Hangi C4.3 National Anthems C4.4 The Gumboot Song C4.5 Some Works by NZ Authors C4.6 Other Bits ------------------------------ C5 FAMOUS NEW ZEALANDERS C5.1 Cinema C5.1.1 Films C5.1.2 People C5.2 Music C5.2.1 Pop/rock bands C5.2.2 Blues C5.2.3 Country C5.2.4 Classical C5.3 Literature C5.4 Fine Art C5.5 Humour C5.6 Other... ============================== PART D: APPENDICES D1 The Contributors D2 History of soc.culture.new-zealand D2.1 s.c.n-z -- The Early Days D2.2 CFV List of Voters =========================================================================== INTRODUCTION: 1 History of soc.culture.new-zealand The following gives some of the history of the creation of s.c.n-z. The rest of the details, including the list of voters, has been removed but should be at an archive site somewhere before long... ---------- Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,soc.culture.australian, soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.misc,nz.general Followup-To: news.groups Keywords: New Zealand, Kiwi Sender: tale@cs.rpi.edu From: gcwillia@daisy.waterloo.edu (Graeme Williams) Subject: CFD: soc.culture.new-zealand Date: 25 Feb 91 04:41:44 GMT [ I have the rest of the header if it'd be useful to anyone ] Z*******Z******* CFD: A New Zealand culture group *******Z*******Z This is a call for a discussion regarding the creation of a new newsgroup devoted to "New Zealand culture". Here is what I propose: NAME: This will need to be decided on, several suggestions are: soc.culture.newzealand soc.culture.aoteoroa soc.culture.kiwi soc.culture.nz MODERATION STATUS: The group would be unmoderated. CHARTER: The group will provide a forum for discussion of topics related to New Zealand. In particular such things as: News, politics, Maori and Pacific Island culture, music, sport, events, films, telly, jobs, farming, the enviroment, economics, tourism, places to see, trade, education, bungy jumping, pavlovas, the Goodnight Kiwi and Wal and the dog in Footrot Flats. In short anything and everything Kiwi, or related to NZ. Contributions and queries from people other than New Zealanders will also be most welcome. COMMENTS: I have had rather a lot of positive feedback via email regarding the creation of this group, some very enthusiastic. What I would like to see now is some discussion on the net amongst the various people interested. In particular we will need to decide on a name for the group. I have set the Followup-to: field to news.groups so all discussion regarding this proposal should take place there. So, if you're interested and don't subscribe to news.groups, SUBSCRIBE to it NOW! I want to hear publicly from all you Kiwis (and others interested) scattered few and far between all over the globe. Shake off the traditional Kiwi apathy cos "she'll be right" won't work here on the net. Get those fingers typing and tell us what you think. Cheers, Graeme Williams - a Kiwi in Canada gcwillia@daisy.waterloo.edu ---------- Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,nz.general, soc.culture.australian,soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.misc From: Graeme Williams <gcwillia@daisy.waterloo.edu> Subject: CFV: soc.culture.new-zealand Followup-To: poster Sender: tale@cs.rpi.edu Date: 12 Mar 91 05:33:09 GMT *************** CALL FOR VOTES: soc.culture.new-zealand *************** This is the first call for votes for creation of the newsgroup soc.culture.new-zealand. Please read all of this article carefully before you send your vote. The proposed group is as follows: NAME: soc.culture.new-zealand MODERATION STATUS: Unmoderated CHARTER: The group will provide a forum for discussion of topics related to New Zealand. In particular such things as: News, politics, Maori and Pacific Island culture, music, sport, events, films, telly, jobs, farming, the enviroment, economics, tourism, places to see, trade, education, bungy jumping, pavlovas, the Goodnight Kiwi and Wal and the Dog in Footrot Flats. In short anything and everything Kiwi. Contributions and queries from people other than New Zealanders will also be most welcome. VOTING PROCEDURE: Send mail to me at: gcwillia@daisy.waterloo.edu Preferably your message should include one of the following lines: I vote: YES soc.culture.new-zealand I vote: NO soc.culture.new-zealand I will accept other wording providing your vote is clear and unambiguous and is for the group as proposed. Votes for or against the group, but with a different name (Note: The name is hyphenated), will not be counted. The voting period will begin when this article appears and end at 12pm EST on Wednesday 10th April. In order for your vote to count I must receive it during this period. COMMENTS: The guidelines for successful creation of a new newsgroup require that the votetaker receive 100 more YES votes than NO votes, and that the YES votes be at least 2/3 of all valid votes cast. I will endeavour to post a mass acknowledgement of votes at least once during the voting period. Cheers, Graeme Williams gcwillia@daisy.waterloo.edu ---------- Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,nz.general, soc.culture.australian,soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.misc From: Graeme Williams <gcwillia@daisy.waterloo.edu> Subject: RESULT: soc.culture.new-zealand passes 217: 27 Followup-To: news.groups Sender: tale@cs.rpi.edu Date: 16 Apr 91 06:24:59 GMT The voting period for soc.culture.new-zealand closed at the end of Wed. 10th April. 244 valid votes were cast, 217 in favour and 27 against. Votes in favour exceed those against by over 100 and also comprise more than 2/3 of votes cast, so soc.culture.new-zealand passes. Thanks to all the people who voted. Votes in favour of this group originated from all over. In particular though considerable support came from Australia (from both genuine Aussies and ex-pat Kiwis), England and Finland. Valid votes were received from the following: [ moved to Section D2 ] That's it. Any comments or contributions to this introduction would be appreciated. ------------------------------ 2 Phil Stuart-Jones Phil Stuart-Jones volunteered to start the soc.culture.new-zealand FAQ in 1994. Phil has been a regular participant of the newsgroup and did a splendid job in starting and maintaining the FAQ. It was a shock and great loss to all when he died suddenly on 13 August 1997. ----- From: geoff@southern.co.nz (Geoff McCaughan) Subject: Phil Stuart-Jones dies suddenly, was Re: The soc.culture.new-zealand FA Q (part 1 of 6) Date: 14 Aug 1997 23:22:07 GMT I'm sure all the s.c.n-z readers will be as shocked as I was to hear that Phil Stuart-Jones died on Wednesday night. The death notice in The Press today states that he died "as a result of a tragic accident at home". The funeral will be private, but Friends are invited to a gathering to celebrate Phil's life att the Friends Meeting House, 72 Cresswell Avenue, on Saturday August 23, 2:15 pm. ----- From: phys218@csc.canterbury.ac.nz (Lyndon Watson) Subject: Phil Date: 25 Aug 97 13:08:41 +1200 Phil Stuart-Jones was remembered at a meeting at the Friends' Meeting House in Christchurch last Saturday. A number of people spoke about Phil and revealed aspects of his character that were only hinted at in the kind of limited interaction that we have here, but I can appreciate even better than I did before how lucky we were to have a person such as Phil create our FAQ file for us. He had impressed and was loved by an extraordinary range of people, and I can only regret not having the time to get to know him better than our postings and email and occasional meetings and telephone conversations allowed. It has occurred to me that some people who never knew Phil might appreciate a picture of him. Of course, people such as Pete and Geoff and Noeline knew him much longer and better than I did, but even first impressions can be interesting. Like most here, I "met" Phil first as a name behind postings in the newsgroup. I don't know about you, but I tend to form pictures of people based on nothing more than their names - I'm almost always wildly wrong, of course, but it's an entertainment.... To me the name Phil Stuart-Jones, together with the enormous amount of computer time that Phil was obviously spending early on with the FAQ, suggested a small, indoorsy sort of person, perhaps the paradigm computer nerd, definitely with glasses, perhaps not exactly a wide circle of friends. Then I met him on the occasion of Lin's first South Island holiday.... Imagine a sort of human spider, over six feet tall, all arms and legs, blond hair down to his shoulders, beard, bare feet, immensely friendly and welcoming to everyone and interested in absolutely eveything. We stayed talking very late on that first occasion; the scnz Pignic earlier this year ended up at Phil's place and went on to the wee small hours. We've all heard of Phil's interest in rock-climbing, and you could tell just be looking at him that he could probably climb a slick rock face using nothing but his eyebrows and toenails for grip. From the many stories told at the meeting on Saturday it was obvious that he was a true natural and a very good climber. What had never been mentioned here was that he was a professional landscape designer with qualifications from Canterbury and Lincoln Universities. Knowing Phil's love of the southern mountains, I can just dream about what sort of garden he might have designed for me, had I ever been in a position to engage his services. So many might-have-beens. So long, Phil, we're missing you. ----- From: David Farrar <david@work.net.nz> Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 14:32:35 +1200 Shit, shocked is definitely one of my reactions. And very sad. Despite not having met Phil in real life I felt I knew him well through the group and his passing saddens me deeply. Life can be so fragile. Finding out's someones death through Usenet is a new experience for me and not altoegther pleasant, but considering that is how I (and many others) knew Phil, it is perhaps appropriate. Farewell Phil, and thanks for everything. You will be missed. David Farrar ----- From: Tony Williams <tonyw@ledelec.demon.co.uk> Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 10:02:38 +0100 (BST) This is one of those times when you feel compelled to say something, but with really nothing to say. As a long-distance lurker on s.c.n-z, Phil's FAQ was probably one of the earliest things I read on this group. He's one of those unsung heroes on the 'net, using his spare time in various little support activities that the rest of us take for granted. I had a real sense of shock and sympathy on opening up and reading this post. I also have to remark here that, although we don't actually know people on the net in the normal social sense, their death and sudden disappearance seems to affect you just as much. I recently experienced it when an Email pal, Alex Knox of ChiChi, died suddenly. Could I suggest that a nice thing to do would be to let the FAQ run as it is for the time being, perhaps with a tribute added at the front. [Tony Williams, Ledbury, Herefordshire, UK.---Pagewidth=64-----] ----- From: jmg24@cornell.edu (Jolisa Gracewood) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 11:35:47 -0400 Tony Williams suggested: > Could I suggest that a nice thing to do would be to let the FAQ run > as it is for the time being, perhaps with a tribute added at the front. Absolutely, let's do that. Like many of us here I'm virtually mourning someone I never met in person, but it certainly feels like the real thing. Perhaps dubbing the FAQ "Phil's FAQ" (or more formally, The Phil Stuart-Jones Memorial FAQ) would be a good way to pay tribute to his presence and work in this group? Jolisa, a long way from Chch, and feeling very sad for Phil's partner and family. ----- From: B.Hamilton@irl.cri.nz (Bruce Hamilton) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 12:38:59 +12 Bummer. Today is a gloriously fine, bracing, winter day - and then this post appeared. I never thanked him for all the hard work he expended in producing and maintaining the group's FAQ, which is a treasure. In the vain hope that he finds an ISP up there ( he might have difficulty - in a just world, most are due to head in the opposite direction ). " Thanks Phil for all your work, and your willingness to accept the onerous task, which you completed superbly and without complaint, and which is a wonderful legacy. Rest quietly." Bruce Hamilton ----- From: noeline@styx.southern.co.nz (Noeline McCaughan) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 97 15:23:29 +1200 I have just had news of the sudden death of Phil. Stuart-Jones last wednesday who as you all know was the compiler of the s.c.FAQ. Phil and I had known each other for quite a few years and I know his passing will be missed by a great many people in all walks of life. His climbing exploits on vertical faces along the length of the Southern Alps was renouned, not for nothing was he referred to as "Old velcro toes". Those who only knew him through his postings here will also miss him, his selfless work in compiling and up-dating the FAQ has been appreciated by many. Phil's funeral will be held on Saturday 23rd August. I will enquire as to the time and about where to forward messages and post it here. Noeline McCaughan. ----- From: arachne@uci.edu.nospam (arachne) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 16:11:37 GMT Knowing how much Phil hated receiving extraneous email at home, I don't want to send my condolences to his family that way. I hope that if someone from ChCh is going to the funeral, they could perhaps print out some of these messages and hand them on. Phil was certainly an important member of this online community and his hard work has been most appreciate - especially the good humour with which he took comments and suggestions about the faq and the way he seldom complained about the amount of work it was to maintain. Thanks Phil. mj ----- From: lawry@maths.ox.ac.uk (James Lawry) Date: 15 Aug 1997 20:42:54 GMT arachne <arachne@uci.edu.nospam> wrote: >Phil was certainly an important member of this online community and >his hard work has been most appreciate - especially the good humour >with which he took comments and suggestions about the faq and the way >he seldom complained about the amount of work it was to maintain. > >Thanks Phil. Hear hear. My deepest sympathies to his family, and his friends everywhere. James Lawry. ----- From: Lyndon Watson <L.Watson@csc.canterbury.ac.nz> (Lyndon Watson) Date: 18 Aug 97 09:31:35 +1200 arachne@uci.edu.nospam (arachne) writes: > Knowing how much Phil hated receiving extraneous email at home, I > don't want to send my condolences to his family that way. I hope that > if someone from ChCh is going to the funeral, they could perhaps print > out some of these messages and hand them on. I intend to go to the Friends meeting this Saturday, and I would be glad to do that if anyone wishes. Given news propagation delays and the generally flaky state of the news system here at the moment, it would be safest to email me. > Phil was certainly an important member of this online community and > his hard work has been most appreciate - especially the good humour > with which he took comments and suggestions about the faq and the way > he seldom complained about the amount of work it was to maintain. To which should be added our appreciation of his (and Val's) generosity in making their house available to the rest of scnz whenever we wanted somewhere to meet. Among the other things that stand to Phil's credit is the saving of the 1997 Pigout. > Thanks Phil. Lyndon Watson L.Watson@csc.canterbury.ac.nz ----- From: cne@efn.org ( Charles N. Eggen) Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 18:39:47 GMT I would second the suggestion of "The Phil Stuart-Jones Memorial FAQ". I have been stunned regarding our loss, Since I had only been in contact with him via e-mail, I could not consider him a close friend, but I certainly will miss his input and energy. My condolences to all of you who are experiencing a significant hole in your lives now. Charles Norman Eggen "How often are we to die before we go quite off this stage? In every friend we lose a part of ourselves, and the best part." Alexander Pope, 5 Dec. 1732 ----- From: nrowe@gwdu19.gwdg.de (Nicola Rowe ) Date: 20 Aug 1997 21:44:42 GMT I agree - a memorial is a good idea. I have pointed many Germans curious about NZ to the FAQ, and appreciate the enormous effort that must have gone into maintaining it. My sincere condolences to Phil's family and friends. Nicola ----- =========================================================================== PART A User Contributions:Section Contents Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: Tricia <scnz-faq@usenet.net.nz>
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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