From: Gary Wiltshire 

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 21:14:52 +1300, Don Hills  wrote:

> In article ,
> Bill Lucy  wrote:
>> Out of darkness, Don Hills says...
>>> Our defence costs are minimal. We're too small to defend ourselves from
>>> any
>>> significant threat, so we don't try.
>>
>> Has New Zealand ever actually *been* invaded?
>
> Twice.
>
> Originally landed and settled by the Moriori.
>
> Then the Maori arrived, drove them off the mainland and they died out.
>
> Then the Europeans arrived, there was some unpleasantness (to put it
> mildly)
> and the Maori found themselves in a somewhat similar situation to the
> American Indians. The resulting grievances are still being worked out in
> society and in the courts.
>
> Currently, we don't worry too much about a hostile invasion but we're
> being
> invaded nonetheless. We're currently in global fashion as a desirable
> bolthole / retirement village. Foreign investors with more money than any
> locals can muster are buying up large areas of countryside.
>

Do you ski?  Is there good skiing in NZ?

--
Gary Wiltshire

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