New Zealand-United States relations
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New Zealand–United States relations refers to international relations between New Zealand and the United States of America. According to the U.S. State Department, relations as of August 2011 are "the best they have been in decades." New Zealand is a major non-NATO ally of the United States.
Both the United States and New Zealand share some common ancestry and history (having both been British colonies). Both countries had native peoples who were at times dispossessed of their land by the process of colonization. Both states have also been part of a Western alliance of states in various wars. Together with three other Anglophone countries, they comprise the Five Eyes espionage and intelligence alliance.
The United States established consular representation in New Zealand in 1838 to represent and protect American shipping and whaling interests, appointing James Reddy Clendon as Consul, resident in Russell. In 1840, New Zealand became part of the British Empire with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Although it gradually grew more independent, for its first hundred years, New Zealand followed the United Kingdom's lead on foreign policy. In declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage proclaimed, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand".
During the war in the Pacific which lasted from 1941 to 1945, the United States, which had more than 400,000 American military personnel stationed in New Zealand to prepare for crucial battles such as Guadacanal and Tarawa exerted an increased influence on culture.
All was not plain sailing however, as experienced by the 1st Marine Division - due to the fact that the Wellington dock workers were on strike at the time so the Marines had to do all the load reconfiguration from administrative to combat configuration.
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