New Zealand under Queen Elizabeth the II of Great Britain XIV Commonwealth Games,
Auckland 1990 1989 Proof Silver Dollar 38.7mm (27.22 grams) 0.925 Silver (0.8094 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 70a | Designer: Raphael David Maklouf
ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND RDM 1989, Queen Elizabeth II facing right.
XIVth Commonwealth Games, Auckland 1 Dollar,
Weightlifter lifting barbells.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
The 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand’s 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, judo, lawn bowls, shooting and weightlifting. Netball and the Triathlon were demonstration events.
The main venue was the Mount Smart Stadium.
The Games were awarded to Auckland on 27 July 1984 at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Perth, Australia, had withdrawn from the bid contest leaving New Delhi, India, as the sole opponent to Auckland’s bid. New Delhi lost the hosting rights to Auckland by a margin of 1 vote, which made it the most closest host selection vote in the history of Commonwealth Games
A more relaxed affair was held for the 14th Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, reflecting that of Christchurch in 1974. Attended by HM The Queen of New Zealand, formality and respect played their due part in the beginning with formal salute and the acceptance of the Commonwealth Games flag to the next host city, Victoria, Canada. This was followed by a First Nations and modern Canadian dancing display.
Then the fun began with thousands of children entering the stadium with a mass jumprope demonstration, followed by the athletes themselves. The Queen then made the traditional closing speech and called for all the Commonwealth’s athletes to assemble in four years time in Victoria. As the evening wore on, opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sang “Now is the Hour”, a favorite New Zealand hymn, as the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s A4 Skyhawks made one final swooping flyover of Mount Smart Stadium followed by fireworks. The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Edward then exited the stadium standing in open top vehicles.
New Zealand is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses-the North Island (or Te Ika-a-Māui), and the South Island (or Te Waipounamu)-and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country’s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand’s capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.
Sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire and in 1907 it became a Dominion. Today, the majority of New Zealand’s population of 4.7 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand’s culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.
New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, regulated economy to a market economy. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament, while executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, who is currently Bill English. Queen Elizabeth II is the country’s head of state and is represented by a governor-general, currently Dame Patsy Reddy. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes. The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory); the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealand’s territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
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