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Political separation of the two islands was an issue in the 1860s. The more populous North Island was riven by war and political turmoil while the South Island was prospering, especially after gold was discovered (1861) at Gabriel's_Gully in Central Otago. The South Island grew very tired of financially supporting the North Island while receiving very little in return. The feeling was particularly bitter between Auckland and Otago where Dunedin journalist, Julius Vogel began a strong campaign to make the South Island completely independent. The matter was put to a vote in Parliament on September 19, 1865. Seventeen members voted for separation and 31 for unity, so New Zealand remained united. Vogel later became Prime Minister of a united New Zealand.

While British culture predominates within the country, Maori culture is increasingly being identified with New Zealand, due to haka displays by New Zealand sporting teams, and to tens of thousands of visitors who each year experience and film or photograph Maori culture events held at places such as Rotorua.

From the 1790s the waters around New Zealand were visited by British, French, and American whaling ships, whose crews sometimes came into conflict with Maori inhabitants. The arrival of traders and missionaries in the 1800s and 1810s added to local disputes. The first full-blooded European infant in the territory, Thomas King, was born in 1815 in the Bay of Islands. The initiation of a programme of large-scale settlement and land purchases in 1839 by the New Zealand Company, coupled with increasing French interest in the islands, finally prompted the British government to take control of the situation.

New Zealand has no formal, written constitution; the constitutional framework consists of a mixture of various documents (including certain acts of the United Kingdom and New Zealand Parliaments) and constitutional conventions. Most constitutional provisions became consolidated into the Constitution Act 1986. There have, at times, been proposals for a formal constitution, but there have not yet been any serious moves to adopt one.

Confronted like Australia with the strategic implications of Britain's 20th-century eclipse as a world power of the first rank, New Zealand joined with Australia and the United States in the ANZUS pact in 1951, but the US suspended its defence commitments to the country in 1986 after the then Labour government banned nuclear-powered or armed ships from New Zealand ports.

Rugby as a sport is closely linked to New Zealand's national identity. The national rugby team is called the All Blacks and has the best winning record of any national team in the world. The style of name has been followed in naming the national team in several other sports. New Zealand's national sporting colours are not the colours of its flag, but are black and white (silver). The silver fern is a national emblem worn by New Zealanders representing their country in sport. The haka—a traditional Maori challenge—is often performed at sporting events. The All Blacks traditionally perform a haka before the start of play.

New Zealand comprises two main islands and a number of smaller islands. The South Island is the largest land mass, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Mount Cook, at 3754 metres. There are 18 peaks of more than 3000 metres in the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous than the South, but is marked by volcanism. The tallest North Island mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2797 metres), is an active cone volcano.

Kiwi (usually capitalised) has been applied to and adopted by New Zealanders as a nickname for themselves and as an adjective for their culture. It originates from kiwi (usually uncapitalised), the Maori word for several species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The plural form for New Zealanders is always Kiwis. The plural forms for the birds are the anglicised kiwis or, following the Maori language, kiwi without an s.

Because many New Zealanders have to go elsewhere in the world to achieve fame and fortune, New Zealand society is keen to attribute famous people as being New Zealanders, however short their residency in New Zealand might have been. While being born in New Zealand is an absolute qualification for being identified as a New Zealander, attendance at a New Zealand school, or being a permanent resident in New Zealand when fame is initially achieved also qualifies, irrespective of national origin. This sometimes leads to famous people being identified as coming from both New Zealand and another country - often Australia, such as the pop group Crowded House, the actor Russell Crowe, and the Pavlova dessert, all of which are claimed by Aussies and Kiwis as 'theirs'. However, New Zealanders are generally proud to have disowned controversial figures such as Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade—particularly in agricultural products—to drive growth, and it has been affected by global economic slowdowns and slumps in commodity prices. Since agricultural exports are highly sensitive to currency values and a large percentage of consumer goods are imported, any changes in the value of the New Zealand dollar has a strong impact on the economy.

New Zealand's most popular sports are rugby (primarily rugby union but also rugby league), soccer (the most popular sport amongst children), cricket, and netball (the sport with the most players); golf, tennis, rowing and a variety of water sports, particularly sailing. Snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding are also popular. Equestrian sportsmen and sportswomen make their mark in the world (Mark Todd being chosen international "Horseman of the Century"), and all the way down to the juniors at pony club level.

The country is internationally recognised as achieving extremely well on a medals-to-population ratio at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games.

New Zealand was featured as the setting for "Middle Earth" in the renowned early 21st century trilogy of films based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books. It has brought an additional interest in tourism to the nation.

Partly because of its geographical isolation from neighbouring countries, and partly because of the number and location of numerous uninhabited islands belonging to it, New Zealand's Exclusive economic zone of marine resources was the world's fifth largest, at 4.2 million square kilometres in the year 2000 (according to New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research).