December
2005
Matthew Patay's
Note of the Month
December
2005
 |
Map and flag images provided by Graphic Maps
This month's featured note
is from the country of New Zealand.
The denomination is 5 Dollars and the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money
(SCWPM) Number is P-185.
The note is polymer and is dated (19)99.
99_f.jpg)
(front)
The banknote is brown and brown-orange on multi-colored underprint.
Mount Everest is at left and Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 -
Present), a New Zealand mountaineer and
explorer, most famous for the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, is at right.
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The following information
was obtained from:
Wikipedia the free Online
Encyclopedia
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary
(20 July 1919 to Present)
Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the 29,035-foot (8850 m) summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953 at 11:30 a.m. local time.
The feat was accomplished as part of an expedition with Sir John Hunt. After descending, legend has it that ex-apiarist Hillary said he and Tenzing had 'knocked the bastard off', a phrase which has found its way into colloquial New Zealand English.
Sir Edmund is the only living New Zealander to appear on a banknote.
Born in Tuakau (south of Auckland), Hillary attended the Auckland Grammar School. The trip to school was over two hours each way, time which he spent reading. As he grew up he was smaller than his peers and very shy so he took refuge in his books and daydreams of a life filled with adventure. At age 16, his interest in climbing was sparked during a school trip to Ruapehu. He found that his gangly and uncoordinated frame was physically strong and had greater endurance than many of his tramping companions.
During World War II he was a RNZAF navigator. He was part of an unsuccessful New Zealand expedition to Everest in 1951 before joining the successful British attempt of 1953. He climbed 10 other peaks in the Himalaya on further visits in 1956, 1960-61 and 1963-65. He also reached the South Pole, as part of the British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, on January 4, 1958.
He was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on July 16, 1953 and was created a member of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ) in 1987. He was created a Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG) on April 23, 1995.
Hillary lost his wife Louise and daughter Belinda in an aircrash in Nepal. He later married June Mulgrew. Hillary's son Peter Hillary is an adventurer and has climbed Everest twice.
He has devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust which he founded and to which he has given much of his time and energy. Through his efforts he has succeeded in building many schools and hospitals in this remote region of the Himalaya. He has stated that he regards this as his most important achievement. He is also the Honorary President of the American Himalayan Foundation, a US non-profit body that also helps improve the ecology and living conditions in the Himalayas. During the mid-1980s, he was also New Zealand's High Commissioner to India (the equivalent of an Ambassador between Commonwealth countries), where he was in frequent demand as a guest of honor. On one occasion when he was asked about the possibility of the existence of the yeti or abominable snowman, he expressed his skepticism since he had actually searched the Himalayas for that elusive creature.
To mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest, the Nepalese Government conferred honorary citizenship upon Sir Edmund at a special golden jubilee celebration in the capital Kathmandu. Sir Edmund is the first foreign national to receive such an honour from the Nepalese.
Edmund Hillary had been scheduled to act as a commentator on the ill-fated Air New Zealand flight TE901, but had to pull out due to work commitments elsewhere; he was replaced by his close friend Peter Mulgrew, who perished on the flight.
As of 2005 Hillary lives in quiet retirement in New Zealand.
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99_b.jpg)
(back)
Flora with a Yellow-eyed Penguin (Hoiho) are at right center.
The following information was obtained from:
Hoiho
(Yellow-eyed Penguin)
(Partial reproduction. Full text is
available at the link located above.)
The hoiho is the rarest penguin in the world.
Hoiho need help to survive.
The hoiho is also known as the yellow-eyed penguin.
Hoiho are endemic to New Zealand.
About penguins..... Penguins are one of the most ancient families of birds. They have been on earth for 60 million years. These flightless birds have short, stubby flippers, dense waterproof feathers and a sleek, streamlined shape, making them well adapted for swimming in the cold sub-Antarctic and Antarctic seas, where most species of penguin live.
There are 15 species of penguins and they are all found in the Southern Hemisphere. Only three species breed on mainland New Zealand, the little blue penguin, the Fiordland crested penguin and the yellow-eyed penguin or hoiho.
Facts, facts, facts....
* The hoiho is only found in New Zealand, which means it is endemic to New Zealand.
* Hoiho is the Maori name for the yellow-eyed penguin. (Sometimes the Maori name 'Tauora' is used too.)
* Hoiho is the only penguin with yellow eyes and a yellow band of feathers around its head, so it is called the `Yellow-eyed penguin'.
* The scientific name for the hoiho is Megadyptes antipodes, which means 'large southern diver'.
* The Maori called this tall handsome penguin hoiho, which means 'noisy shouter', because its piercing call can be heard over the roar of the waves.
* The hoiho is a native species. It is endangered and protected - it is against the law to harm or kill a hoiho.
* Most penguins nest in crowded, noisy colonies but not the hoiho. Hoiho pairs nest apart from other penguins, so they need a lot more space than other penguins.
* Hoiho nest in forest or scrub, sometimes up to 1km from the sea. They can only be found on the south-east coast of New Zealand's South Island and some sub-Antarctic islands.
* According to palaentological knowledge, the hoiho is possibly the most ancient species of penguin.
Palaentology is the study of fossils to determine the structure and evolution of extinct animals and plants.
More facts....
* Hoiho stay near home all year, except for wandering young birds.
* Most penguins return to their nest sites only for the breeding season. Hoiho return to their nest sites most nights.
* Hoiho eat a variety of small fish, including red cod, opal fish, sprat and squid.
* Hoiho will swim up to 40 kilometres from the shore in search of food. They can dive up to 120 metres deep and can reach speeds of 25 kilometres an hour in the water.
* Hoiho come ashore from fishing in the evening, when the sun is setting.
* The hoiho grows to be about 60 - 68cm tall.
* Hoiho have a grey-blue back, brilliant white front, a bright yellow head band and bright pink webbed feet.
* Both male and female adult hoiho have the same colouring.
* The hoiho can live to be over 20 years old and will usually stay with the same partner for life.
Nesting and chicks
The breeding season lasts about 28 weeks, starting in mid-August when mates are chosen. Nests are made in August and September. For hoiho to feel safe, the nest must have a back to it and it must be sheltered from storms and the sun. Nests are made with dried grass and leaves, set against fallen logs, rocks, flax bushes and tree trunks.
The hoiho like to build away from other penguins and sometimes may not even breed if they are within sight of other penguins. For 43 days the parents take turns to sit on the two greenish-white eggs. When the eggs hatch one parent goes fishing while the other minds the chicks. When the fisher comes in from the sea, the parents greet each other with noisy cries and gestures. The hungry chicks have to wait until they have finished saying hello! When at last it's the chicks turn, each thrusts its beak into the parents mouth for the regurgitated meal.
Chicks in danger!
Even though one parent stays with the hoiho chicks throughout the first six weeks, they are still very vulnerable to enemies like ferrets, stoats, dogs and feral cats. The adult hoiho are unable to defend their chicks against such fierce enemies.
The chicks grow quickly. When they are six weeks old, both parents must go fishing to keep them fed. By early March the chicks are as big as their parents. Their downy feathers are gone and they now wear waterproof feathers like an adult, but without the yellow head band. The chicks are now ready to go to sea.
The young birds swim north, wandering as far as 500 kilometres from home. The open sea is dangerous and many young penguins do not come home again.
Meanwhile their parents fatten themselves on small fish and squid before they moult. Adult hoiho moult during March and April. For 3-4 weeks they will not go to sea while their old feathers moult. They lose weight and are vulnerable to predators like stoats - and people! Sometimes when people see a moulting penguin they think it is sick. It is important to leave the penguin alone and not to disturb or hurt the penguin by interfering during its moulting period.
After the moulting period the hoiho have smart new feathers. They can then go fishing and socialise with other hoiho until August when the busy breeding season begins again.
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For more information about New Zealand visit:
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