New Zealand and Oceania

Talking to Each Other: city-to-city interactions between New Zealand and China, and their impact on world affairs.

by Chris Lipscombe

Submitted for a Master in International Relations degree 31 March 2008

Cities are fundamental to human society. Yet states and state-makers continue to hog the limelight on the world stage,... more Cities are fundamental to human society. Yet states and state-makers continue to hog the limelight on the world stage, while cities and their citizens (city-zens) are ignored or restricted to playing historical supporting roles. A sharpening of focus on the strategic role of cities in world affairs, with specific reference to relationships between cities in New Zealand and China, has implications for international relations actors in New Zealand, as understood through a range of analytic frameworks. Using evidence from sister-city contacts between politicians, policy-makers, businesspeople and citizens of New Zealand and their Chinese counterparts, city-to-city interactions are currently seen to be taking place within state-imposed government and policy frameworks, although interactions at a business and citizen level may be laying the foundation for trans-national political communities with New Zealand and Chinese characteristics.

New Myths for a Very New World: The Mythic Journey as a Basis for Learning About Entrepreneurial Start-Ups

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (2001). New Myths for a Very New World: The Mythic Journey as a Basis for Learning About Entrepreneurial Start-Ups. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Thinking. Presented at the Breakthroughs: The 9th International Conference on Thinking, Auckland, NZ. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/heropll

Also presented at:
Mellalieu, P. J. (2003). 7th International Conference on African Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (ICAESB), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Mellalieu, P. J. (2004). Enterprise in Distant Lands: Studies of South Pacific Business Development, The University of Auckland Business School.

How does a young, “peripheral” country develop the cultural infrastructure - the myths and stories - it needs to... more How does a young, “peripheral” country develop the cultural infrastructure - the myths and stories - it needs to inspire creation of the heroic forces for creating successful enterprises in a hypercompetitive, globalising world? The article presents the ‘first act’ of the true story of the establishment and early challenges faced by an ambitious new venture, New Zealand-based Pacific Lithium Limited (PLL), and its founding entrepreneur, Robin Johannink. Somewhat untypical for a formal business case report, the structure of the story presented here is strongly informed by Vogler’s (1998) “mythic structure of the heroic journey” and inspired by de Jong’s (1999) application of the mythic structure to what he notes as the heroic task of establishing a new business enterprise. The second part of the article presents observations drawn from the Pacific Lithium story, and outlines our approaches for extending the learning one can make from contemporary heroic tales of enterprise such as the one presented here. The author concludes that de Jong appears quite correct when he suggests that “as a scalable, replicable piece of social code, [the mythic structure of the heroic journey] could be as profound as the biological code Watson and Crick found in DNA” (de Jong, p. 159)

Geochemical and isotopic development of the Coromandel Volcanic Zone, northern New Zealand, since 18 Ma

by Mathijs Booden

M. A. Booden, I. E. M. Smith, P. M. Black, and J. L. Mauk / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research Research 219 p. 15-32 / 2012

Cenozoic subduction-related volcanism in northern New Zealand developed from mainly basaltic and andesitic volcanisms... more Cenozoic subduction-related volcanism in northern New Zealand developed from mainly basaltic and andesitic volcanisms in the Early Miocene to mainly silicic volcanism in the present Taupo Volcanic Zone. The first explosive silicic eruptions occurred at 12 Ma and large silicic calderas formed from 8 Ma. This transition is recorded by the 18–1.9 Ma Coromandel Volcanic Zone (CVZ) succession, which provides an outstanding opportunity to investigate the origins of the modern North Island volcanism. New major and trace element data on a rock suite representing CVZ andesites, rhyolites and basalts indicate a consistent subduction-related origin for the entire succession. The CVZ andesites generally define a consistent medium-potassic differentiation trend, however, distinct andesites with relatively sodic compositions occur at the bases of two consecutive eruptive series at ~ 18 and ~ 10 Ma. The distinct andesites are geochemically similar to basalts that erupted sporadically near the oceanic margin of the CVZ. CVZ rhyolites are medium- to high-potassic, peraluminous rocks with initial 87Sr/86Sr values comparable to or somewhat more radiogenic than coeval andesites (≥ 0.7049). Their bulk rock composition suggests derivation from sources comparable to least-differentiated andesites or basalts. We interpret the consecutive andesitic successions to represent stages in CVZ development during which distinct arc segments developed consecutively. The early stage in each segment yielded mainly intermediate volcanism whereas in the later stage volcanism locally proceeded rapidly (within ~ 1 Myr of initial andesitic activity) to silicic activity. Taken together, the succession records the rapid development and migration of arc system in a dynamic plate boundary setting.

Chessboard or ‘Political Bazaar’? Revisiting Beijing, Canberra and Wellington’s Engagement with the South Pacific

by Matt Hill

published in 'Security Challenges,' 6:3 (Spring 2010)

In asserting a ‘China threat’ to Australian and New Zealand interests in the South Pacific, many commentators have... more In asserting a ‘China threat’ to Australian and New Zealand interests in the South Pacific, many commentators have framed a regional political environment where influence is zero-sum, policy approaches conflict, and Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are reduced to static facets of a geopolitical ‘chessboard’. These three assumptions are challenged through an evaluation of Australasian, Chinese, and Pacific strategic engagement. Rather than merely representing an externally-contested arena of power, Oceania offers possibilities for the mutual satisfaction of objectives within a ‘political bazaar’ where PICs are significant actors bartering their political and economic assets to achieve their regional interests.

A Velvet Glove? Coercion, and the Australasian Response to the 2006 Fijian Coup

by Matt Hill

published in 'Security Challenges,' 6:2 (Winter 2010).

New Zealand and Australia’s strategic interests in regional stability and the promotion of democratic norms have... more New Zealand and Australia’s strategic interests in regional stability and the promotion of democratic norms have necessitated engagement with political events in Fiji prior to and in the wake of the 2006 coup. Australasian policies towards Suva during this period provide a valuable case study for the examination of coercion theory in the context of the South Pacific. Initial deterrent measures and the subsequent attempts to compel a return to democratically-elected government have failed. This impasse supports a range of conceptual and practical insights regarding expectations of future conflict, grand strategic interests, and the dividing line between coercion and intervention.

Music transmission in an Auckland Tongan community youth band

by David Hebert

International Journal of Community Music

This article reports on findings from a 2006 ethnographic study of a Tongan community youth band in Auckland, New... more This article reports on findings from a 2006 ethnographic study of a Tongan community youth band in Auckland, New Zealand. To begin, the study's rationale is discussed in relation to previous research, followed by a description of the band's repertoire and rehearsal strategies, instrumentation and uniforms, notational practices and institutional context. The youth band's role in the Tongan community of Auckland is then considered in relation to previous descriptions of ‘community music’. The band's significance in terms of musical identity and its socio-economic context are also examined, followed by a discussion of this study's implications for community music workers in other settings. The findings suggest that community ensembles rooted in musical hybridity may generate innovative models of music learning and play a unique role in cultural preservation.

Geochemical Development of the Late Cenozoic Arc Volcanism in Northland and the Coromandel, and Implications for Geochemical Exploration in the Hauraki Goldfield.

by Mathijs Booden

PhD thesis submitted at the University of Auckland, NZ, 2011.

Late Cenozoic subduction-related volcanism in northern New Zealand left a record in Northland, the Coromandel and,... more Late Cenozoic subduction-related volcanism in northern New Zealand left a record in Northland, the Coromandel and, from 2 Ma, in the central North Island. Over 90% of the volcanic succession formed prior to the intensely studied central North Island volcanism. This study documents geochemical and isotopic characteristics of volcanic rocks of the Northland Arc and the Coromandel Volcanic Zone (CVZ). Rocks are basaltic, andesitic, dacitic to rhyolitic, with subordinate trachybasalts to trachydacites. All samples have an arc-type trace element signature,
Northland Arc (23.5-15.5 Ma) western belt rocks are relatively mafic, and eastern belt rocks relatively felsic. The contrast possibly reflects variable crustal thickness across the Northland peninsula, with eastern belt magmas the products of more deep-seated magmatic systems.
The CZV (18-1.95 Ma) erupted comparable andesites to Northland Arc eastern belt rocks, and also basalts, rhyolites and high-magnesium andesites. CVZ basalts resemble least differentiated andesites, but have relatively high Na2O and TiO2. CVZ rhyolites have distinct compositions, where the least differentiated rhyolites may represent partial melts derived from equivalents to CVZ basalts. Crystal and groundmass compositions suggest that andesites are mixtures of mafic and silicic components that to some extent resemble the compositions of CVZ basalts and rhyolites, respectively. With the recognition of high-magnesium andesites in the Kiwitahi chain, the CVZ includes all the major rock types that characterise the modern volcanic system.
Hydrothermally altered CVZ andesites host c. 50 epithermal gold-silver deposits of the Hauraki goldfield. Trace elements used in exploration to locate such ore bodies are mostly confined to veins, so the range of geochemical exploration targeting can potentially be extended by a better understanding of major element mass changes that occur over larger distances. The unaltered rock dataset obtained in this study provides a baseline to quantify major element mass changes in altered rocks by using the immobile element ratio Zr/Ti to estimate protolith composition. A test case in the Waitekauri area alteration zone shows that maximum and average K and Rb gains consistently increase from periphery to core over a 3 km wide section, demonstrating that quantitative mass balance data can be a significant addition to geochemical exploration.

Characterisation of New Zealand Obsidian Using PXRF

by Sam Lin

Journal of Archaeological Science 2011

New Zealand has some of the most active areas of rhyolitic volcanism in the world and this has produced numerous... more New Zealand has some of the most active areas of rhyolitic volcanism in the world and this has produced numerous obsidian sources in the northern half of the North Island. In total archaeologists have recognized 27 named locations from which obsidian can be obtained scattered across 4 geological source regions. Shortly after colonization in the late 13th century AD Polynesian settlers began transporting this material some thousands of kilometers throughout the country and across the sea in small quantities to distant neighbors in the Kermadecs and Chatham islands. Although considerable research has been conducted on obsidian sourcing in New Zealand the complexity of geochemical source discrimination and the lack of a practical method of non-destructive geochemical analysis has hindered progress.We present the results of our use of PXRF to provide geochemical data on New Zealand obsidian sources and to compare the use of discriminant analysis and classification tree analysis to discriminate among sources and attribute archaeological samples to sources. Our research suggests that classification tree analysis is superior to discriminant analysis in sourcing studies. A large case study using an important settlement phase site (S11/ 20) from the Auckland region demonstrates the utility of the methods and the results support a model of high degrees of mobility and interaction during the early settlement of New Zealand.

Mapping the Interior: Place, Self, and Nation in The Dreamhunter Duet

by Ruth Feingold

Chapter in book awaiting publication.

The People of Wairau Bar: a Re-Examination

by Sian Halcrow

(2010) authors H. Buckley, N. Tayles, S. Halcrow, K. Robb and R. Fyfe. Journal of Pacific Archaeology. 1 (1): 1-20.