NEW ZEALAND
By digging at London right through the centre of the earth one would emerge about a day's ride, in an automobile car, from the capital of New Zealand—if only the automobile could ride on the water. That is to say, England and New Zealand are almost exactly opposite each other on the earth. That is the short way, however, and the trip would be eight thousand miles. As a matter of fact, the trip by the only available route is not far from sixteen thousand miles; for, go either east or west as one may choose, the route from London to New Zealand is a very roundabout way, and New Zealand is Great Britain's most remote colony.
When Tasman was cruising about the Pacific, or South Sea, he skirted the coast of the islands. That was in 1642. About one hundred and forty years afterward Captain Cook called at the islands and annexed them as an English possession, but the English government refused to take them. Early in the nineteenth century missionaries brought the Bible to the native Maoris, and at the same time lawless traders carried liquor and firearms to those same natives. What was still worse, they kept on supplying them with liquor and firearms until there were but a few thousand natives left.
The Maoris are the most remarkable native peoples of the Pacific. They were not the original people of New Zealand, however, for they drove away the black race—probably like that of New Guinea—which they found there. Like the Hawaiians and Fijians, the Maoris came from Samoa about five centuries ago. Their traditions about their journey are clear and exact; even the names of the canoes, or barges, in which they made the journey are preserved in Maori history. First they went to Rarotonga, an island of the Cook group; then they went to New Zealand.
Maori pa, or village
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Long before white men had settled in New Zealand, the Maoris had made great advances toward civilization. They had become wonderful carvers in wood; they were also expert builders, weavers, and dyers. No better seamen could be found in the Pacific. War was their chief employment, however, and tribal wars were always going on in some parts or other of the islands. One may compare them in progress to the tribes of New York just before the Iroquois confederacy was formed.
Two large and a small island make up the greater part of New Zealand. North Island is a little smaller than New York State; South Island is a little larger; Stewart Island is half the size of Rhode Island.
Aside from these, the Chatham, Auckland, and part of the Cook group—in fact, pretty nearly every outlying group that can be used for cattle and sheep growing—are included in the New Zealand colony. This industry is the reason for the existence of New Zealand; it is the great meat-producing market of Great Britain.
The two largest islands of New Zealand form a great plateau. Mountain ranges border the edges, and fertile, well-watered lowlands are between the ranges. The ranges and valleys, together with hundreds of lakes, are beautiful to the eye; they could not be better for a great grazing industry. Cook Strait, which separates the two islands, is about sixteen miles wide at its narrowest crossing.
North Island has several active volcanoes, and likewise one of the three famous geyser regions in the world. There used to be the Pink-and-White Terraces also—terraces of brilliant coloring, like those of Yellowstone Park. But a few years ago Volcano Tarawera had a bad fit of eruption, and when the eruption was over, Pink-and-White Terraces were covered many feet deep with lava and ash.
Many of the higher ranges are snow-clad the year round. The New Zealanders do not need to go half-way round the world to spend the summer in Switzerland; they have a fine Switzerland at home. Indeed, the Alps of Europe are not surpassed by those of New Zealand; and as for glaciers, the great Tasman Glacier cannot be surpassed—twenty miles long, a mile wide, and no one knows how deep. In South Island some of the glaciers reach almost to the sea.
The Petrifying Geyser, New Zealand
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There is some wonderful vegetation in New Zealand and nowhere else will one find a greater variety of ferns. Some of them grow in the form of trees; some are huge vines; and still others are as fine and delicate as the maidenhair fern. Some kinds have fine wiry tendrils that are much used for mattresses and cushions. Another plant looks so much like a palm that no one ignorant of plants would suspect that it was not a palm-tree; but as a matter of fact it is a lily.
So many of the forest trees are evergreens, and so abundant is the grass that at all times of the year the islands are green from the mountain summits to the sea. Of all the forest trees the kauri pine has been one of the most valuable—has been, because not many trees are left. The wood itself is about as easily worked as white pine or California redwood. What is still better, it is very tough and durable.
But the wood itself is only a part of the wealth of the kauri forests. The bark is full of gum which, when hard, is much like amber. It makes a very hard and glossy varnish that commands a high price because of its good qualities. In places where old kauri forests have existed, digging kauri gum is a profitable employment. Kauri-gum mining does not require much capital. A sharp iron rod and a pick are about the only tools required.
The gatherer goes about thrusting his rod into the earth at intervals of a few inches. When he "feels" a piece of gum with his rod he needs only to use his pick to capture it. For many years about a million dollars' worth of kauri gum was thus obtained each year. The lumps vary in size from that of a hen's egg to masses weighing several pounds.
There are also some strange animals in New Zealand. One curious creature is a bird without wings—the kiwi. The species is one of many similar kinds that lived in Australia and New Zealand ages ago. Their remains are found in abundance, but the kiwi is the last species now living. It has a long, sharp bill and hair-like feathers. A full-grown bird is about the size of a bantam fowl. One of the more beautiful birds is a dull green parrot, the kea. But the kea is also a wretched pest, for it has learned how to kill sheep since the sheep-herders came to New Zealand. The kea darts out of the air, fastens its talons in the side of the sheep, and quickly makes a gaping hole into the animal's vitals. Thousands of sheep are thus killed every year.
There are about one million people in New Zealand, and most of them live on the east side of South Island. That is where the grassy lands are; and that is why the cattle and sheep are there also. And the people are there because of the sheep and cattle. New Zealand is one of the greatest grazing regions in the world, and most of the various industries in the islands have something or other to do with the grazing.
In Australia the sheep are grown almost wholly for wool. That is because climate and grasses are just right for the growth of wool. In New Zealand the climate and grasses are not very good for wool, but they are just right for meat, both mutton and beef. So the commerce of beef and mutton is the chief business of New Zealand.
The meat must go a long way before it reaches the people who consume it; they live in Great Britain and western Europe. In any case, too, it must have a long summer trip; for one cannot go from New Zealand to Europe without crossing the Torrid Zone. Even if the meat were sent from New Zealand in midwinter it not only has a long trip in the Torrid Zone, but it gets to Europe in midsummer.
Now, it is very plain that meat cannot be carried for a month or six weeks on a steamship without preparation. The preparation is very simple; the meat, after dressing, is frozen and it is kept frozen until it reaches the people who eat it. There are refrigerating-rooms at the slaughter-houses, refrigerator cars to the nearest port, and refrigerator ships to London.
Wool is also one of the important products of New Zealand, but it has a much coarser and harsher fibre than the fine merino wool of Australia. As a rule, sheep that are grown for their wool feed on grass; those that are for mutton get their final feeding on turnips; and all England has said that turnip-fed mutton is good.
Christchurch, a city of about seventy thousand people, is one of the great centres of the wool and mutton industry. The city is there because the great Canterbury Plain is one of the finest grazing regions in the world. Christchurch is not very old—it was made a city in 1862—but it has grown pretty vigorously. Its handsome buildings—churches, college, museum, and school-houses—are as fine as those of any city of the same size anywhere. The streets are wide and beautifully kept, and electric railways extend to half a dozen suburbs.
Out in the suburbs are the large meat-freezing establishments. In the season for export about fifteen thousand sheep are dressed and frozen daily in the great plants in and around Christchurch.
The freezing-rooms are kept at a temperature of a cold winter night. In a single plant there may be as many as ten or fifteen thousand carcasses hanging from great frames, and the walls of the rooms are covered with a thick coat of ice and frost. In three days from the time the meat is put into the freezing-room it will be ready for its long journey.
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand; it is likewise the windy port of the Pacific, for it is in the eye of the "roaring forties," the strong west wind of the South Temperate Zone. But Wellington has the harbor, and the harbor has the shipping; and because of this Wellington is a very rich and prosperous municipality.
On the whole, the New Zealanders have not much cause to envy the people of other lands. Every man and every self-supporting woman can become the owner of a homestead; and about one person in every ten has become a landholder. The government lets them have the land on very easy terms of payment. Women have the same political rights as are possessed by men. They can vote, hold public office, and hold property in their own names.
The government has established postal savings banks at which any one may deposit money; what is equally good, the money is loaned at a small rate of interest to farmers while they are waiting for their crops. What is still better, the bank never fails, leaving the depositors to whistle for their money.
The government owns and operates most of the railways, telegraph lines, and telephone system. There is good service at a low cost. The government manages and supports all public schools. Attendance is compulsory and practically everything is free from the kindergarten to the university. There are old-age pensions for deserving poor people of good character; there are likewise prisons for those of criminal character—and the two are pretty apt to get together. "Bad" trusts and monopolies have not got the upper hand anywhere in New Zealand and the government sees to it that they do not. Great Britain appoints a governor of the colony, but the people elect a legislative council and a house of representatives.
New Zealand has also something more than productive lands; the colony has plenty of coal fields, gold-mines, silver-mines, iron ore, and copper ore. Even if all the rest of the world were closed against this far-away colony, the New Zealanders could worry along quite well, for they easily rank among the most prosperous and well-governed people in the world.