The country's most successful Olympian, Dame Lisa Carrington, has won a seventh medal and sixth gold, after spearheading the women's kayak four in their 500-metre final in Paris.
It was the first Olympic medal for the other three members of the crew, Alicia Hoskin, Olivia Brett and Tara Vaughan.
New Zealand powered out to first position at the start, but the German crew sneaked up on them approaching the 250m mark.
Germany then edged out in front to set up a thrilling finish.
Carrington's crew proved too quick however, getting to the line in one minute and 32 seconds.
After getting out of the water, the women hugged each other tightly in celebration.
Speaking to Sky Sport, Brett said she was "so proud" of her boatmates.
"That was an epic race and I'm just so excited."
Vaughan said she was "so grateful" to the other three women.
"Being a part of this team is absolutely the best."
Hoskin said the plan was to "stay in our own boat" and trust the strategy that had been put in place.
"So proud, like it takes a lot of courage to do that. So we're really happy."
Carrington said the team, and everyone behind them, had put a lot of work into the Olympic campaign.
"This is an incredibly special moment, especially to just be able to do it on our biggest stage, so yeah, it's surreal.
"You just don't know when you line up. You never know what the results are going to be be. So it's amazing when you can come through, as we have."
