Scientists discover ‘Zealandia’ - a hidden continent off the coast of Australia

There is an entire, submerged and unrecognised content that has been hiding until now, according to scientists. New Zealand is sitting on top of the geological entity, most of which sits underneath the South Pacific and so can’t be seen, according to a major new paper. The continent – known as Zealandia – is a distinct geological entity and meets all the criteria that are satisfied by the existing seven continents, the researchers said.

If we could pull the plug on the oceans, it would be clear to everybody that we have mountain chains and a big, high-standing continent.

Mr Mortimer

Having the continent recognised isn’t a matter of appealing to any official body, and there is no codified list of what continents exist. Indeed, some people hold there might be four, while most say that there is seven.

What we hope is that Zealandia will appear on world maps, in schools, everywhere.

Mr Mortimer