It was once considered the most British of the old dominions, but New Zealand is moving away from its Anglo heritage in one crucial respect - language.
New Zealanders are increasingly peppering their speech with Maori words, to the extent that newspaper reports and daily conversations can sometimes be all but impenetrable to foreigners.
For decades the only Maori words known to most white New Zealanders were place names and a few terms such as kiwi and haka, the Maori war dance performed by the All Blacks rugby team.
But now words like whanau (family), iwi (tribe), kiora (hello) and mahi (work) are heard in offices, schools and on the streets.
A white New Zealander, or pakeha, might talk of heading off to a hui, or meeting, before catching up with friends for some kai, or food. Last week a dictionary of more than 1,000 regularly used Maori words was published by Victoria University in Wellington.
The dictionary was compiled by John Macalister, a linguist who spent 16 years overseas and was struck on his return by the number of Maori words bandied around by white New Zealanders.