Niue

Niue (/ˈnjuːeɪ/ NEW-ay; Niuean: Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi) northeast of New Zealand within the triangle formed by Tonga to the west, Samoa to the north, and the Cook Islands to the east. Its land area is 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi) and its population, predominantly Polynesian, is around 1,190. They commonly refer to the island as "The Rock", a reference to the traditional name "Rock of Polynesia".

Niue, whose capital is the village of Alofi, is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, and New Zealand conducts most of its diplomatic relations on its behalf. Niueans are New Zealand citizens, and Queen Elizabeth II is head of state in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand. 90 to 95 percent of Niuean people live in New Zealand, along with about 70% of the speakers of the Niuean language.

Niue is not a member of the United Nations, but UN organisations have accepted its status as a freely-associated state as equivalent to independence for the purposes of international law. As such, Niue is a full member of some UN specialised agencies (such as UNESCO, and the WHO), and is invited, alongside the other non-UN member state, the Cook Islands, to attend United Nations conferences open to "all states".

New Zealand

New Zealand (/njuːˈziːlənd/ new-ZEE-lənd, Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses – that of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu – and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Somewhere between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that were to become New Zealand, and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the British Crown and Māori Chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making New Zealand a British colony. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.5 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.

Auckland

Auckland (/ˈɔːklənd/ AWK-lənd), in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country. Auckland has a population of 1,454,300, 32 percent of New Zealand's population. It is part of the wider Auckland Region, which includes the rural areas and towns north and south of the urban area, plus the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,570,500 that is governed by the Auckland Council. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world. In Māori, Auckland's name is Tāmaki Makaurau and the transliterated version of Auckland is Ākarana.

The Auckland urban area (as defined by Statistics New Zealand) ranges to Waiwera in the north, Kumeu in the northwest, and Runciman in the south. It is not contiguous; the section from Waiwera to Whangaparaoa Peninsula is separate from its nearest neighbouring suburb of Long Bay. 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, and the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the few cities in the world to have two harbours on two separate major bodies of water.

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand Limited (NZX: AIR, ASX: AIZ) is the national airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 22 domestic and 29 international destinations in 16 countries around the Pacific rim and the United Kingdom. The airline has been a member of the Star Alliance since 1999.

Air New Zealand originated in 1940 as Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), a company operating trans-Tasman flights between New Zealand and Australia. TEAL became wholly owned by the New Zealand government in 1965, whereupon it was renamed Air New Zealand. The airline served international routes until 1978, when the government merged it and the domestic New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NAC) into a single airline under the Air New Zealand name. Air New Zealand was privatised in 1989, but returned to majority government ownership in 2001 after near bankruptcy due to the failed tie up with Australian carrier Ansett Australia. In the 2015 financial year to June, Air New Zealand carried 14.29 million passengers

Ko e Iki he Lagi

"Ko e Iki he Lagi" (English: The Lord in Heaven), also titled in English as "Lord in heaven, Thou art merciful", is the national anthem of Niue. It was adopted in 1974 when Niue became a self-governing state.

History

During Niue's history as a territory of New Zealand, the national anthem of Niue was New Zealand's "God Defend New Zealand". "God Save the Queen" was also used and is still used as the royal anthem for the Monarchy of New Zealand. "Ko e Iki he Lagi" was created before the 1970s. It is not known who wrote it but it is known that it was prepared by Sioeli Fusikata. When it was written, it had become a popular song on Niue but the opportunity rarely arose for people to perform it publicly. In the 1963 South Pacific Games, Niue used the Flag of New Zealand as the flag to represent them in keeping with the rest of the colonies of the British Empire not using the Union Jack at the games. Niue also used "Ko e Iki he Lagi" as their anthem instead of "God Defend New Zealand" because the organisers had requested that "identifying tunes" be used to represent nations at the games instead of recognized national anthems. However, Niue failed to win any events so "Ko e Iki he Lagi" was not performed at the games.