Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand – Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand is a comprehensive guide to our peoples, natural environment, history, culture, economy and society.

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The encyclopedia contains over 980 stories arranged into sections

Creative and Intellectual Life
Arts, culture, research...

Daily Life, Sport and Recreation
Daily life, sport, leisure activities...

Government and Nation
Politics, government and national identity...

Social Connections
Families, community organisations, religion, crime, health...

Economy and the City
The economy, business, labour force, transport, urban life...

The Bush
The land, plants, animals, forests, birds, insects...

Earth, Sea and Sky
Marine life, natural resources, geology, climate...

Settled Landscape
Clearing and farming the land, crops, stock, rural life...

Māori New Zealanders
Māori origins, voyages, iwi (tribes), European encounter, urban life...

New Zealand Peoples
The people who settled here...

Places
Regions – natural environment, economy...

New Zealand in Brief
Snapshots of the nation, including its history, culture...

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Creative life

Māori

History

Economy

Natural environment

Nation and government

Society

Sports and leisure

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Te Ara also contains over 3,000 biographies from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography

This month's life story:

Diminutive Joseph Scott was a world champion in competitive walking in the 1870s and 1880s…

Who was born on your birthday?

Take a trip back in time

In 1966 the first encyclopedia of New Zealand was published in three thick volumes

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January 29, 2012 - 16:33 - Gannets at Cape Kidnappers.

Best viewed large on black, please press L.

Getty Images

February 18, 2013 - 11:01 - Maori wood carving at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua.
The Bowler hat represents European settlers.

Getty Images

July 22, 2014 - 15:11 - Looking south along the length of Kaniere, toward the Browning,Toaroha & Diedrichs Ranges.

December 1, 2013 - 13:51 - Paraglider at Muriwai.

March 27, 2012 - 09:29 - Getty Images

February 10, 2012 - 11:19 - Best viewed large on black, please press L.

Variable Oystercatchers on Pukehina Beach, Bay of Plenty.

August 21, 2015 - 09:19 - Sun Conure

April 17, 2015 - 14:45 - Another photo of the male Orca in the Bay of Islands.

May 12, 2012 - 14:11 - The remains of the Rahiri, a once proud member of the Hauraki Gulf scow fleet photographed at the western end of Blackpool, Waiheke Island.
The Rahiri was built in 1907, originally named Daphne and renamed in 1926 with dimensions of Length 66'9' (approx 21 meters) and a beam of 18'5' (approx 5.5 meters).
Scows are wooden vessels, at first sail powered but later motorised and almost flat-bottomed. This enabled them to work inland on the river systems or shallow areas (such as Blackpool). The Rahiri was used extensively throughout the Auckland region for over 70 years transporting all manner of cargo.

December 3, 2011 - 17:35 - The yellow-eyed penguin/hoiho (Megadyptes antipodes) is named for its yellow iris and distinctive yellow headband.

Adults are grey-blue in colour, with a snow-white belly and pink feet.

Yellow-eyed penguin in dunes. Photo: Rod Morris.
The yellow-eyed penguin/hoiho is named for its yellow iris and distinctive yellow headband
Their chicks are covered in thick, brown fluffy feathers that they shed to fledge at between 98 to 120 days. Their immature plumage has a yellow head band and extends to a yellow head with fully adult plumage when they're 14 - 16 months old.

The species' Māori name, hoiho - noise shouter - refers to their shrill call. Often heard when they encounter others in their colony.

Lifespan: lenghty as some individuals can live up to 20 years and the oldest recorded banded bird was over 20.

Size: adults reach around 65 cm in height and weigh around 5 to 5.5 kg.

Hoiho and chicks.
Hoiho and chicks
Diet: small to medium sized fish such as sprat, red cod, and squid.

Behaviour: the only penguin species that doesn't become tame. Also the least social and a solitary breeder.

February 25, 2012 - 11:48 - Farms along typical rural New Zealand road near of city of Tauranga on the North Island.

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