New Duveland

New Duveland is an Island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country comprises of 4 main islands with numerous smaller islands. New Duveland is situated within the Tasman Sea, some 450km away from Australia, but some islands, especially within Lapérouse are immediately south of New Caledonia. First settled by Melanesians and then later Polynesians and Europeans. New Duveland developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal and plant life; most notable are the large number of unique bird species. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions.

Melanesians settled New Duveland in 1400 BC and developed a distinctive culture, followed by Polynesians in 1450. The first non-Māori contact with New Zealand happened when Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted the island in 1642 CE.

New Duvians enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world in the 1950s, and continued see high standards well into the late 20th century. The majority of New Duveland's population is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Melanesians and Asians. English and French are the official languages, with English predominant. Much of New Duveland's culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. Early European art was dominated by landscapes and the portraits of Māori. A recent resurgence of Māori culture has seen their traditional arts of carving, weaving and tattooing become more mainstream. The country's culture has also been broadened by globalisation and increased immigration from the Pacific Islands and Asia.

New Duveland is organised into 6 provinces and 1 territory. Nationally, executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister. Queen Elizabeth II is the country's head of state and is represented by a Governor-General. New Duveland is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Commonwealth of Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and the United Nations.

History
Melanesians first settled new Duveland around 1400 BC via New Caledonia, followed by Polynesians via New Holland. Europeans first discovered the island group in 1642 by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman but were not revisited until Captain James Cook visited after mapping out New Zealand and New Holland. The North coast near New Caledonia was explored by Jean-Francois de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse where he claimed the north tip of Abel Island was put under French control. The first settlement commenced in 1832 and had a population of over 50,000 by the end of 1850, mainly being of poor farmers who migrated from Europe. New Duveland was deemed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1851. A large gold rush occurred a few years later, with gold discovered in Cooksland, Middern and Mirani provinces, which sparked a huge population boom to all of New Duveland, as the gold fields ran dry, most of the migrants stayed to farm in the many fertile regions across the colony. The Treaty of Victoria (1897) federated the colonies of New Holland, New Duveland and Diemen into the Federation of Lord Howe that lasted until 1903 as the government was very unstable. The Federation dissolved and all 3 colonies split, resulting in the original 3 colonies becoming Dominions under the British Commonwealth. In 1904, a huge earthquake ravaged the Diemen capital, forcing their government to ask New Holland for assistance, and during the Conference of Cambridge (1904) The colony of Diemen was absorbed by New Holland, angering the New Duvian Government. The New Duvian government reacted by trying to forcefully take the Island of Diemen, but where almost pushed out by New Holland, holding onto the northern portion of the island. As WWI started, New Duveland sent troops into Europe, alongside New Holland troops, forming LHACs (Lord Howe Army Corps) Troops were sent to Gallipoli and the remaining sent to Neu Westfalen, resulting in over 8,000 New Duvian casualties throughout the war. Many Europeans fled Europe to New Duveland to settle in the larger cities, especially Plymouth & Auroa and the countryside. At the time of the Great Depression, the government created the Tasman Freeway Network, connecting the west coasts of New Duveland, with many ferry services between the island provinces as well as creating vast metro services for the largest cities. As the second world war fell upon Europe, New Duvian again sent troops to support the British but soon ordered them back to fight against the invading Japanese, which took control over all of New Duveland, as well as New Holland. Many new Duvian cities were bombed but in less than a month later American, Australian and New Zealand troops force the Japanese out of New Holland and New Duveland. Along with a huge baby boom occurring post WWII, a huge influx of European migrants fled to New Duvian cities, especially German, English, Polish and French. At the end of 1949, The French Oversea territory of Lapérouse joined the rest of New Duveland, adding French to New Duveland’s national Languages. By the end of the 20th and the start of the 21st centuries, New Duveland’s economy started to explode and adjust to that of New Zealand and Australia's, but is now facing an extremely bad recession while joining in the war on terror and facing many natural disasters.

Government
New Duveland is divided into 6 provinces and 1 territory, being a Federal Parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, sharing a Monarch with the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Realms. Elizabeth II is the current Monarch. The Governor-General who is appointed with the Prime Minister’s advice represents the Queen. The Governor-General can review cases of injustice and make appointments of ministers, ambassadors and other key public officials, and in rare situations the Governor-General may use reserve powers (e.g. the power to dissolve Parliament if the country is in a state of emergency) The powers of the Queen and the Governor-General are limited by constitutional constraints and they cannot normally be exercised without the advice of Cabinet. Everyone is allegeable to vote, if they are registered and over the age of 18. The current Prime Minister of New Duveland is Steven Williams. When citizen reach the age of 15, they are eligible to legally work if they wish. At 16 citizens can go for their learner licence (cars only), and also make their own decisions if they want to stay in or leave school early. At the age of 18, citizens can vote, and go for their "P" driving licence, and their Learner motorbike licence. At the age of 20, they can be eligible for a aeroplane licence and also at the legal age of consuming alcohol. This is much later than Australia (18), and is mainly due to health issues, knowing that our brains do not fully develop until we reach 20-21 years of age.

International Relations
New Duveland has many excellent relations with many countries, particularly strong relations within the AIN. Currently, New Duveland has no hostile relations with any other countries. New Duveland has also several embassies all across the world, with the strongest relations being with New Holland.

New Duveland has signed many international treaties, such as: The Geneva Protocol, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and also the Alliance of Independent Nations as well as many more. New Duveland is a member of the United Nations, the Pacific Forum and several other international organisations. New Duveland has always had a huge opposition to nuclear power and was met with large public backlases when the nation proposed to construct a plant in Norfolk.

LGBT Rights
By 2011, New Duveland passed a law allowing all homosexual citizens to be allowed to get married, adopt and in doing so, became the first country in the Asia/Pacific region to do so, 2 years before New Zealand. Prior to the passage of this law, the government was in full support of passing the law and as was the rest of the country. The law passed in parliament with only 12.5% disagreeing to the law. Many celebrations occurred across the nation in all capital cities, with people lining up to get married hours after the law had passed.

Customary authority
New Duveland allows citizens from other AIN countries whom have good and excellent relations allegeable for a 2-3 month free visa respectably. Citizens of Neutral countries will receive a 2-4 week visa. Citizens from strained AIN nations relations will have to go through a small series of checkpoints to be able to get into Mirani. Rules are even tougher for AIN countries that have hostile relations with Mirani will not be able to enter the country unless they go through a long series of questions, this stops potential dangerous personal to get into the country. Citizens travelling domestically do not need a passport, only needing a small proof of identification. All citizens travelling abroad need passports to leave and enter the country, and in some circumstances, they might need another source of photographic identification, like a drivers licence.

Military
New Duveland has an active military enrolment of 50,000 troops who can be called up by the New Duvian Government. Many troops were sent to aid Australia and other nations against the war of terror in Afghanistan. To this date, no New Duvian soldiers have been killed in combat, but 72 have been injured and returned back for medical treatment. The remaining troops will be recalled by the end of 2013, ending New Duveland’s involvement in the war.

Provinces
New Duveland is a commonwealth composed of six provinces and one territory. In turn, these may be grouped into four main regions: Western New Duveland, Central New Duveland, French New Duveland, and Eastern New Duveland. Provinces have more autonomy than territories, having responsibility for social programs such as health care, education, and welfare. Together, the provinces collect more revenue than the federal government. Using its spending powers, the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas, such as the New Duveland Health Act; the provinces can opt out of these, but rarely do so in practice. Equalisation payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.

Geography
New Duveland lies on the Zealandia continental shelf and is comprised of 4 main islands with numerous smaller islands. The larger islands are relatively close to each other, similar to that of New Holland, with the Joshua Ginger Redfern (JGR) Bridge, connecting New Holland and New Duveland across the Lancaster Strait. New Duveland has a total area of 246,345 km2 and has extensive marine resources. Abel island is the largest island within New Duveland, having just under 3/4 of the total land mass, having an extensive mountain range along the east coast, with 30 mountain peaks over 3,000m, the highest of which being Mount Abel at 4,125 metres. The steep eastern mountain range, The Great Tasman Ranges hosts a large number of fresh water lakes in high-altitude lakes which form from high rainfall and occasionally snow in the winter months. The other major islands all hold smaller mountain ranges, no taller than 2,500 metres. The mountains of Diemen Island, where New Duveland shares a border with New Holland is also quite high. Many volcanos are spread across the islands, mostly concentrated along the eastern coast of Abel Island. The country's largest lake, Lake Cook in the province of Cooksland holds the largest amount of Freshwater in the country, being below sea level and surrounded by mountainous land. This varying topography is due to the boundary along the New Zealand and Australian plates. Many deep trenches lie off the east coast of Abel Island.

Climate
New Duveland's has a predominately a subtropical maritime climate, with annual temperatures ranging from 10 °C in the south to 25 °C in the north. Historical maxima and minima are 40.3 °C in Tenjioria, Abel and −16.6 °C in Kingsville, Norfolk. Conditions vary sharply across regions from extremely wet on the east coast of Abel Island to temperate and dry around Portsmith. Of the twenty largest cities, Portland is the driest, receiving on average only 710 millimetres of rain per year and Colline Ville the wettest, receiving almost thrice that amount. Plymouth, Auroa and Seatown all receive a yearly average in excess of 2,000 hours of sunshine. The province of Norfolk has a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,400–1,600 hours; the southern areas of Abel Island are the sunniest areas of the country and receive approximately 2,400–2,500 hours.[152] The general snow season is about early June until early October in the Norfolk, with occasional snow falling along The Great Tasman Ranges within the same months. It is extremely unlikely for snow to fall anywhere outside these regions, even in the winter months.

Biodiversity
New Duveland's geographic isolation for millions of years and island biogeography is responsible for the country's unique species of animals and plants. They have either evolved from Gondwanan wildlife or the few organisms that have managed to reach the shores flying, swimming or being carried across the sea. About 76 percent of New Duveland's indigenous vascular plants are endemic, covering 1,632 species across 61 genera. The total number of animal and plant species is unclear, with many new species still being discovered today, an estimated 2000 species are yet to be discovered. The two main types of forest are those dominated by broadleaf trees with emergent podocarps, or by beech in cooler climates. The remaining vegetation types consist of grasslands. Before the arrival of humans an estimated 85% percent of the land was covered in forest, with only high wet, infertile and volcanic areas without trees. Massive deforestation occurred after humans arrived, with around half the forest cover lost to fire after Polynesian and Melanesian settlement. Much of the remaining forest fell after European settlement, being logged or cleared to make room for pastoral farming, leaving forest occupying only 35% percent of the land.

The forests were dominated by birds, and the lack of large mammalian predators led to many flightless birds like the Moa, and also the Haast's Eagle. The arrival of humans, associated changes to habitat, and the introduction of rats, ferrets and other mammals led to the extinction of many bird species. Other indigenous animals are represented by reptiles (tuataras, skinks and geckos), frogs, spiders, insects and snails. Several species of bats were the only sign of native land mammals in New Duveland until the 1998 discovery of mouse-sized bones at least 10 million years old. Marine mammals however are abundant, with almost half the world's cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and large numbers of fur seals reported in New Duveland waters. Many seabirds breed in New Duveland, a third of them unique to the country. Many penguin species are found in New Duveland, having the 2nd most after New Zealand. There are several species of Quolls endemic to New Duveland, which are thought to have originated from Southern Queensland, and are the only carnivorous mammal in New Duveland. There are also several species of native possums and other small marsupials. Since human arrival almost half of the country's vertebrate species have become extinct, including at least forty two birds, five frogs, two lizards, three freshwater fish, and one bat. Others are endangered or have had their range severely reduced. However, New Duveland conservationists have pioneered several methods to help threatened wildlife recover, including island sanctuaries, pest control, wildlife translocation, fostering, and ecological restoration of islands and other selected areas. New Duveland is considered a "strong performer" in environmental protection, ranking 12th out of 133 assessed countries.

Demographics
The population of New Duveland is approximately 6.2 million. New Duveland is a very urban country, with 74% of the population living in 20, with 30% of the total population living in Plymouth. New Duveland cities rank highly on international liveability measures. For instance, in 2010 Plymouth was ranked the world's 3rd most liveable city and Auroa the 9th by the Mercer Quality of Life Survey. The life expectancy of a New Duveland child born in 2008 was 84.6 years for females, and 80.2 years for males. Life expectancy at birth is forecast to increase from 82 years to 87 in 2050 and infant mortality is expected to decline. New Duveland fertility rate of 2.8 is high for a developed country, with natural births account for a significant proportion of population growth. Subsequently, the country has a predominately young population compared to most industrialised nations, with 22% of New Duvians being 14 years-old or younger. By 2050 the population is forecast to reach 10 million, the median age to rise from 35 years to 42 years and the percentage of people 60 years of age and older to rise from 15% to 25%.

A city in New Duveland is defined by the following, it must be larger than 30,000 people. Currently 74% of the people in New Duveland live in urban areas. This is slowly rising as more and more people are moving into the capitals, as quality of life is much easier in the cities and citizens have access to many more things than those living in the country side.

Ethnicity and immigration
In the 2011 census, 69.2% of the population identified ethnically as European, while 14.1% identified ethnically as Māori or Melanesian. Other major ethnic groups include Asian (10.2%) and Pacific peoples (5.1%) and 1.4% identified with other ethnicities. While the demonym for a New Duveland citizen is New Duvian, the informal "Mao" is commonly used internationally and locally.

The Melanesians were the first people to reach New Duveland, followed by Māori and then early European settlers. Following colonisation, immigrants were predominantly from Britain, Ireland, France and Australia due to restricted immigration policies similar to the white Australian policies. There was also significant Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, and German immigration, together with indirect European immigration through Australia, North America, South America and South Africa.The Great Depression allowed the strict policies to be relaxed and migrant diversity increased. In 2009–10, an annual target of 70-80,000 permanent residence approvals was set by the New Duveland Immigration Service, allowing for more than one new migrant for every 100 New Duveland citizen. 25% of New Duveland's population were born overseas, most of which live in the Plymouth region. While most have still come from the United Kingdom and Ireland (26%), immigration from East Asia (mostly mainland China, but with substantial numbers also from Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and Hong Kong) is rapidly increasing the number of people from those countries. The number of fee-paying international students increased sharply in the early 2000s, with more than 30,000 studying in public tertiary institutions in 2005.

Many Asylum Seekers have made the trip to New Duveland, with 10 boats arriving in New Duveland in 2011 alone, and this is expected to rise as the Government has so far done nothing major to stop them.

Education
School is compulsory for kids aged 5 to 18. Starting in kindergarten at age 4, moving to primary school the next year. Year levels in primary school go from Prep and then Grades 1 through to 6. Students then move to High school to complete years 7 to 12. Subjects are evenly distributed through the year, with English, Maths, History, Geography, P.E, Science and 2 languages. French is taught from kindergarten to the end of high school in a majority of public schools. Other languages are taught, which varies from school to school. Students can choose a language to study after year 8, the most popular language taught are French, Spanish and German. Up to year 8, subjects are give to students, when they reach year 9 they can choose from a range of subjects which the school can provide. There are many compulsory subjects which students have to learn, including English, Maths, Language and History. These subjects will allow students to get into any university of their choice if they pass over 70% of their final scores in that subjects. Any religion is banned from being taught in all public schools. There is a variety of different schools, public, private and religious. Public schools are available for any students to go to, if they are inside the given area code. Private schools can be a mix, or single gender schools.

There are many universities in New Duveland, the most notable being the University of Plymouth, University of Mirani and Abel University. Each building in a campus may be dedicated to a group of similar subjects, such as Arts (Includes Fashion, Architect, web design), Industry (Manufacturing, heavy industry etc..) and more. The first year of university for all students is government funded, giving students a better start to life.

Health
Mirani has one of the highest life expectancy in the world. Life expectancy in Mirani in 2011 was 77.4 years for males and 79.2 years for females, with a national average of 78.3. Mirani has a high rate of skin cancer, one of the highest in the world, while cigarette smoking is the largest preventable cause of death and disease, responsible for 6.2 per cent of the total mortality and disease. Total spending on health is around 9.9% GDP. Mirani introduced a universal health care in 1973. Known as Helth'i'care, it is now funded by an income tax surcharge known as the Helth'i'care levy, which is currently set at 1.6 per cent. The states manage hospitals and attached outpatient services, while the Commonwealth funds the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and general practice.

Smoking is banned in public places across the country, and people born born after 1994 cannot legally purchase cigarettes or any other smoking form. The goal of this is to have a smoke-free nation within 80 years or less. Mirani is one of the first countries to put this in place, and it will supposedly bring a much healthier environment for everyone.

Languages
English is the predominant language in New Duveland, spoken by 72% of the population, French comes in at 20%, Maori at 6% with the reaming 2% being other languages. New Duveland English is similar to Australian English and many speakers from the Northern Hemisphere are unable to tell the accents apart. After the Second World War, Māori were discouraged from speaking their own language in schools and workplaces and it existed as a community language only in a few remote areas. It has recently undergone a process of revitalisation, and may be declared to be one of New Duveland's official languages as it is spoken by 6% of the population. There are now Māori language immersion schools and three Māori Television channels. Many places have officially been given dual Maori, French and English names in recent years. New Duveland Sign Language is used by approximately 35,000 people and was declared one of New Duveland's official languages in 2006.

French is the official language of Lapérouse, which used to be a French overseas territory before joining New Duveland in 1949. 98% of the population in Lapérouse speak French, but is also common in rural areas of Abel, Mirani and Cooksland.

Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion in New Duveland, although its society is among the most secular in the world. In the 2006 Census, 52.3% of the population identified themselves as Christians, while another 38.7% indicated that they had no religion (up from 27.3% in 2000) and around 7% affiliated with other religions. The main Christian denominations are Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, Presbyterianism and Methodism. There are also significant numbers of Christians who identify themselves with Pentecostal, Baptist, and Latter-day Saint churches and the New Duveland-based Rātana church has adherents among Māori. According to census figures, other significant minority religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.

Economy
New Duveland has a very modern, prosperous and developed market economy with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita of roughly US$27,361. The currency is the New Duveland dollar. New Duveland was ranked 8th in the 2011 Human Development Index within the AIN, 5th in the The Heritage Foundation's 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, and 15th in INSEAD's 2012 Global Innovation Index.

Historically, extractive industries and agriculture have contributed strongly to New Duveland economy, focussing at different times on sealing, whaling, flax, gold, kauri gum, and native timber. With the development of refrigerated shipping in the 1880s meat, fruit and vegetable products were exported to Britain, a trade which provided the basis for strong economic growth in New Duveland. High demand for agricultural products from the United Kingdom and the United States helped New Duvians achieve higher living standards than both Australia and Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973 New Duveland's export market was reduced when the United Kingdom joined the European Community and other compounding factors, such as the 1973 oil and 1979 energy crisis, led to an economic depression. Living standards in New Duveland fell behind those of Australia, New Holland and Western Europe, and by 1982 New Duveland had the lowest per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyed by the World Bank. Since 1985, successive governments engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring rapidly transforming New Duveland from a highly protectionist economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. Unemployment peaked above 10 percent in 1989 and 1991, following the 1987 share market crash, but eventually fell to a record low of 3.1 percent in 2007. The global financial crisis that followed had little impact on New Duveland, with the GDP staying relatively stable, but unemployment rose up to 6.5% in late 2009. As of May 2012, the general unemployment rate was around 4.1%, while the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 21 was 11.3%. Unlike New Zealand, many skilled working New Duvians stay within the country.

Culture
Early Māori and Melanesians developed their own distinctive culture from the rest of Polynesia. Social organisation was largely communal with families, sub-tribes and tribes ruled by a chief whose position was subject to the community's approval. The British and Irish immigrants brought aspects of their own culture to New Duveland and also influenced Māori culture, particularly with the introduction of religion. However, Māori still regard their allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of their identity, and Māori kinship roles resemble those of other Polynesian peoples. More recently American, Australian, Asian and other European cultures have exerted influence on New Duveland. Non-Māori Polynesian cultures are also apparent, with many different Polynesian festivals held across the country.

From the early 20th century until the late 1960s Māori culture was suppressed by the attempted assimilation of Māori into British New Duvians. In the 1960s, as higher education became more available and cities expanded urban culture began to dominate. Even though the majority of the population now lives in cities, much of New Duveland's art, literature, film and humour has rural and natural themes.

Cuisine
There are many different types of cuisine varieties in New Duveland, mostly inspired by european foods, but an increasingly amount of traditional Māori food is becoming available. The most famous food originating from New Duveland is the Pavlova, often thought of coming from Australia or New Zealand. The Pavlova is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside and was created in honour of the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova during her tour of New Duveland. The dessert is a popular dish and an important part of the national cuisine of both countries, and with its simple recipe, is frequently served during celebratory and holiday meals. It is a dessert most identified with the summer time, but is eaten all year round in many New Duveland, Australian and New Zealand homes. Several other dishes are popular within New Duveland, one of the high-class meals available throughout New Duveland is the Confit of New Duvian Ocean Trout, which is also popular for high-dining tourists across many of the large cities.

Entertainment
New Duveland music has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Duveland interpretation. Māori developed traditional chants and songs from their ancient South-East Asian origins, and after centuries of isolation created a unique "monotonous" and "doleful" sound. Flutes and trumpets were used as musical instruments or as signalling devices during war or special occasions. Early settlers brought over their ethnic music, with brass bands and choral music being popular, and musicians began touring New Duveland in the 1850s. New Duveland began a recording industry from the 1940s onwards, many New Duveland musicians have obtained success in Britain and the USA. Some artists release Māori language songs. The New Duveland Music Awards are held annually by the Recording Industry of New Duveland (RIND); the awards were first held in 1954 and awards a Golden Disc as the award awards. The RIND also publishes the country's official weekly record charts. Radio first arrived in New Duveland in 1922 and television in 1960. The number of New Duveland films significantly increased during the 1970s. In 1978 the New Duveland Film Commission started assisting locally made films and many films acquired an international audience. Deregulation in the 1980s saw a sudden increase in the numbers of radio and television stations. New Duveland television primarily broadcasts American and British programming, along with a large number of Australian and local shows. Between 2003 and 2008, Reporters Without Borders consistently ranked New Duveland's press freedom in the top ten. As of 2011, New Duveland was ranked 10th worldwide in press freedom by Freedom House, with the 3rd freest media in the Asia-Pacific region after New Zealand. There are serveral national daily newspapers, such as the Plymouth Times, The Age, Auroa Weekly and many more. Many of these newspapers also run a weekend edition. These newspapers can come in English, French and occasionally Māori, depending on the area it is published. Radio stations are broadcasted across the country, with hundreds of local radio shows as well as government funded ones, it is most common for these radio shows to run in the morning and afternoon peak hours, when they are broadcasted in cars.

Architecture
New Duvian architecture has generally been consistent with architectural trends in the Western world, with some adaptations to compensate for the New Duvian climate and cultural factors. During New Duveland's early Western history, it was a collection of British colonies in which architectural styles were strongly influenced by British designs. During the 20th-century trends reflected the increasing influence of American urban designs and a diversification of the cultural tastes and requirements of an increasingly multicultural New Duvian society. Iconic Australian designs include the Plymouth Arts Centre, and the Penal Colony remains in various cities.

Literature
Māori adopted writing as a mean of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the written form. Most early English literature was obtained from Britain and it was not until the 1960s when local publishing outlets increased that New Duveland literature started to become more widely known. Although still largely influenced by global trends (modernism) and events (the Great Depression), writers in the 1930s began to develop stories increasingly focused on their experiences in New Duveland. During this period literature changed from a journalistic activity to a more academic pursuit. Participation in the world wars gave some New Duveland writers a new perspective on New Duveland culture and with the post-war expansion of universities local literature flourished.

Festivals/Holidays
There are many national festivals in New Duveland, reflecting the country's cultural diversity. Each major religion in New Duveland has a dedicated Public Holiday and is usually enjoyed by the nation as a whole as these days are usually those of sharing, giving and fun. New Duveland's major cities and towns hold annual festivals which celebrate many different events, the major festivals/holidays in New Duveland, in order of the year are: If a public Holiday falls on a Weekend, they are usually moved to either Friday of the preceding week or Monday of the following week, though they are celebrated on the true day.

Art
Much of the New Duvian Māori culture is very similar to that of New Zealand. As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised and Māori artists are increasing in number and influence. Most Māori carvings feature human figures, generally with three fingers and either a natural-looking, detailed head or a grotesque head. The patterns consist of spirals, ridges, notches and fish scales decorate most carvings. The pre-eminent Māori architecture consisted of carved meeting houses that were decorated with carvings and illustrations. These buildings were originally designed to be constantly rebuilt, changing and adapting to different whims or needs. Māori decorated the white wood of buildings, canoes and cenotaphs using red and black paint and painted pictures of birds, reptiles and other designs on cave walls. Māori tattoos consisting of coloured soot mixed with gum were cut into the flesh with a bone chisel. Since European arrival paintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not as works of art but as factual portrayals of New Duveland. Portraits of Māori were also common, with early painters often portraying them as noble savages, exotic beauties or friendly natives. During the 1960s and 70s many artists combined traditional Māori and Western techniques, creating unique and vivid art forms.

Māori cloaks are made of fine flax fibre and patterned with black, red and white triangles, diamonds and other geometric shapes. Earrings and necklaces were made of Greenstone. Europeans brought English fashion etiquette to New Duveland, and until the 1950s most people dressed up for social occasions. Standards have since relaxed and New Duveland fashion has received a reputation for being casual and laid-back. However, the local fashion industry has grown significantly since the early 2000s, with some labels gaining international recognition.

Sports
Most of the major sporting codes played in New Duveland have English origins. Golf, netball, tennis and cricket are the four top participatory sports, soccer is the most popular among young people and rugby union attracts the most spectators. Victorious rugby tours to Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in the late 1880s and the early 1900s played an early role in instilling a national identity, the sport's influence has since flourished. Horse racing was also a popular spectator sport, with many large-scale events taking place, largely the Plymouth Cup. Māori participation in European sports was particularly evident in rugby and the country's team performs a haka (traditional Māori challenge) before international matches, as the same with New Zealand. New Duveland has competitive international teams in rugby union, netball, cricket, rugby league, and softball and has traditionally done well in triathlons, rowing, swimming, running, yachting and cycling. The country has performed well on a medals-to-population ratio at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. New Duveland's national rugby union team is regarded as one of the best in the world, holding several World Cup holders. Extreme sports and adventure tourism are becoming more popular. Other outdoor pursuits such as cycling, fishing, swimming, running, tramping, canoeing, hunting and surfing are also popular.

Infrastructure
New Duveland has a highly developed infrastructure network, with many cities having large train and bus networks.

Vehicles
There are many different types of automobiles sold within New Duveland, the most poplar being: Holdens, Fords, Mazdas, Alexo, Mitsubishis and Toyotas. Holden, Toyota and Alexo are the top 3 best selling within the country, dominating the market. Holden has several production plants within New Duveland, located in Plymouth, Auroa, Seatown, Esperance and Brite. There are also Toyota, Ford and Mitusbushi plants located in Plymouth and Auroa. New Duveland has various car manufacturing plants due to the low minim wage and are then sold nationally and exported to nearby countries. THe most popular cars a small sedans which is a common family car, there is an increasing amount of small car sales.

Most boats that are purchased commercially and privately are made in Asgard, Australia and South Korea. Most of New Duveland's ferries are used to connect the island provinces to Abel island, where more than 70% of the population is located. Most of the larger, coastal cities have a small network of ferries, the largest of which being Auroa, located on a small peninsular it is often quicker to use ferries than the motorways.

Road
New Duveland is served by several large freeway and tollway networks, the 6 largest cities all have a freeway network of some sort, the largest freeway network in New Duveland is the Tasman Freeway, which circles Abel Island, connecting Seatown to Esperance on both the east and west coasts. The smaller, island provinces also have a smaller network of freeways which usually steam out from their capitals and links in other cities or towns on the island.

Rail
The rail network is much larger than the highway and road network, it is more efficient in bringing in goods across the country and links Crestview, Fernston and Seatown, and may more small towns on the big island. It is mainly used for industrial trains, but more and more public trains. Crestview is the only city to have a large train network, linking all the major suburbs to the CBD and connects to the bridge to the big island, where people will switch trains and go on a different, faster train that connects all large regional cities, including Seatown and Fernston to the capital. Plymouth, Auroa, Silver Shore, Esperance and other large New Duvian cities have considerable sized tram networks, with the oldest dating back to 1890, October 7th when the first tram network in New Duveland opened in Plymouth, which were at first horse-drawn but later upgraded to cable and now electric.

Air
The largest airport in New Duveland is Plymouth International, which is the 3rd largest airport in Oceania by number of arrivals and departures. The airport is home to Asgard Air's oceania base, as well as several others. Plymouth International serves both domestic and international flights, allowing flights to many locations in Australia, New Zealand, New Holland, China, South East Asia, North America and Europe.

Water
Ferry terminals are located in every many large coastal cities, with most islands within New Duveland served by a small ferry service. Ferries are very important to a large amount of New Duveland, as apart from air travel, it is the only way to get to the island provinces of Norfolk, Cooksland and Capricornia as well as the numerous inhabited islands that don't have airports. Recently, several international ferries have started up, one going to Seddon in New Holland and another to Nouméa, New Caledonia. These specially built ferries can accommodate hundreds of passengers and have room for 100 cars. There ferries, which are built in Seddon, New Holland can leave and enter a port every 15 minutes. There are also cruise lines which travel to Australia, docking in various ports from Brisbane to Townsville. There are various ports in New Duveland, the largest deep sea port is Plymouth's. There are various other small ports in all capital cities and nearly all large islands, along with a ferry service, and a small port.