fbpx

10 Key Differences Between Australians And New Zealanders

10 Key Differences Between Australians And New Zealanders

1 of 11

Those unfamiliar with the South Pacific may get confused between the somewhat-similar-yet-entirely-different people of Australia and New Zealand. Though their flags are similar and their accents may sound the same to the untrained ear, the people are worlds apart, despite only being a two-hour flight from one another. Here are 10 key differences between Australians and New Zealanders you should know so you can avoid offending an Aussie or Kiwi.

Sources: LeftoftheSettingSun.Wordpress.com, NZHerald.com, ConvictCreations.com, Yahoo.com, HampshireChamber.co.uk, Telegraph.co.uk, FlightoftheConcordsFanClub.com, Teara.govt.nz, DifferenceBetween.com

A British ship bringing convicts to Australia  Britannica.com
A British ship bringing convicts to Australia
Britannica.com

Only 1 of their 2 countries was used as a penal colony

Many people know that Australia was used as a penal colony and a place for the U.K to dump its convicts. By contrast, New Zealand was colonized by Europeans much later as a little English middle-class vacation-getaway island.

CloudFront.net
CloudFront.net

One has everything that can kill you, and one has nothing that can kill you

From spiders to snakes to sharks and everything in between, there are thousands of species of animal in Australia that can kill you. In New Zealand, however, there is one poisonous spider for the entire country – the rare katipo – and it’s hardly ever seen. Going through customs in a Kiwi airport takes forever. The authorities are brutal in ensuring no foreign soil or animal gets into the country.

A Maori performing the traditional Haka dance  Segdeha.com
A Maori performing the traditional Haka dance
Segdeha.com

The indigenous people

The indigenous tribes of Australia are referred to as aboriginal, while the native population of New Zealand is labeled as Maori. Maoris have a single Maori language and a culture that has been intrinsically interwoven with that of their modern country. By contrast, there are more than 250 aboriginal languages, and the groups are considered to be apart from the rest of Australian society. Maoris are estimated to have arrived in Polynesia around 1300. Aboriginals date back more than 60,000 years.

Teara.govt.nz
Teara.govt.nz

The accents

Really, all you have to do is listen. Australians and New Zealanders have similar accents, but they are actually quite different when you get down to it. The easiest way to tell between the accents is to ask somebody about fish and chips. In New Zealand, it’s “fush and chups.” In Australia, it’s “feesh and cheeps.” Don’t get it twisted, or you’ll face the wrath of Kiwis and Aussies alike!

New Zealand's lush farmland BoomsBeat.com
New Zealand’s lush farmland
BoomsBeat.com

Climate

While New Zealand’s seasons are fairly standard – you’ve got your summer and winter months, with more mild weather in between – Australia is a desert country with years of droughts and brutally hot temperatures. Most of Australia’s land isn’t arable, such as the outback. New Zealand enjoys farming conditions on the vast majority of its land.

AustralianSlang.com SouvenirsAustralia.com
AustralianSlang.com
SouvenirsAustralia.com

The slang – “Newzild” vs. “Strine”

The slang of New Zealand, often referred to as “Newzild,” gets its name from the truncated way many Kiwis pronounce the name of their country, and is filled with a variety of unique terms such as “jandals,” “box of birds,” and “skiter.” Australia’s slang, referred to as “Strine,” would result in the same objects being called “thongs,” “driza-bone,” and “big-noter.” For the uninitiated, these translate to “flip flops,” “very well, thanks,” and “boaster.”

John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand Independent.co.uk
John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand
Independent.co.uk

The government set-up

By all accounts, Australia is a federation, in which each state (apart for the Territories) has a high degree of power and autonomy, and federal laws serve to supplement state laws, rather than direct them. New Zealand has a standard federalist government based in its capital, Wellington, that directs the majority of policy for the country.

The Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's first treaty between the British and the Maori people FOLJ.com
The Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s first treaty between the British and the Maori people
FOLJ.com

The length of its history

Though technically Australia was established in 1901, and New Zealand in 1840, Australia’s indigenous culture goes back more than 40,000 years, while New Zealand was one of the last places on Earth to be settled by humans.

Australia's minimum wage is one of the highest in the world  ReadNeckReview.com
Australia’s minimum wage is one of the highest in the world
ReadNeckReview.com

Wages

The minimum wage in Australia is $16.87, though the majority of workers ear far more, compared to New Zealand’s $14.25 minimum wage, which represents the majority of workers’ actual pay. Better pay in Australia is due to the Employment Contacts Act of 1991. Though cost of living is higher in Australia, it is estimated that the wages are still proportionately higher than those in New Zealand.

Source: NZHerald.com

Australia on the right, New Zealand on the left Hotheads.com.au
Australia on the right, New Zealand on the left
Hotheads.com.au

The flags

They are similar but not the same. New Zealand is deciding whether or not to change its flag to include the symbolic All Blacks rugby team’s silver fern, in part to denote the country’s love of the sport, but also to distinguish it from its bigger neighbor.