UnNews:New Zealand's islands confirmed to exist
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| New Zealand's islands confirmed to exist | 
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10 October 2013
WELLINGTON, North Island, New Zealand -- Following years of intense scrutiny, public debate and millions of dollars of taxpayers' money, New Zealand's northernmost island has officially been renamed from the North Island to the North Island, and its not-quite-southernmost island renamed from the South Island to the South Island. The government minister responsible for the decision said "this will finally put an end to people referring to the islands by made-up names, and for people in the North Island, the South Island does now officially exist, so stop pretending it doesn't."
Until now, New Zealand's two main islands have never officially existed since being settled by Europeans in the 1800s. As part of Google Maps' new requirements, places need to officially exist to be allowed to remain on the site. This decision also allows alternative indigenous Maori names to be used in case the English names are too difficult to remember.
Some of the more notable ramifications of this decision include:
- A mad rush by Kiwi Wikipedia editors to update the article on New Zealand.
- Someone somewhere in the world possibly hearing about New Zealand.
- ...anyone?
The next goal of the government is to make sure New Zealand as a country also officially exists.
Sources[edit]
- APNZ "Two official options for NZ island names". NZ Herald, October 10, 2013