A cluster of earthquakes that hit New Zealand in the last 48 hours may be related to the massive jolt which hit Indonesia Sunday night, a New Zealand seismologist said.

Four earthquakes have shaken the country since early on Christmas Eve, when a massive tremor measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale struck under the south Tasman Sea.

Before Sunday night's Indonesian earthquake, the Tasman jolt was the biggest in the world since 2001.

Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science (GNS) seismologist Warwick Smith was quoted Monday by the South Island-based daily The Press as saying that a possibility existed that the earthquake that hit Indonesia was related to a flurry of seismic activity in New Zealand, but making the link was complex.

"In a very general sense, they could be related, but not in terms that we actually understand. Earthquakes are happening all the time around the world, but whether the plate movement is linked is too difficult to know," Smith said.

Smith said the run of seismic activity, particularly in the South Island of New Zealand, in the last two days was not unusual.

Information from the GNS showed the Tasman earthquake was centered 430 km west of the Auckland Islands, south-west of New Zealand, at a depth of 10 km on Friday morning. It measured 8.1 on the Richter scale.

On Friday night, Christmas Eve festivities in Ranfurly on the South Island were briefly interrupted by a small earthquake.

The tremor, measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale, struck at 9.44 pm and was centered 10 km south of Ranfurly at a depth of 12 km

A third earthquake was felt in North Canterbury on Saturday morning, measuring 3.5. It was centered 10 km west of Greta Valley at a depth of 12 km. The fourth, measuring 3.2, struck south-west of Haast, on Sunday.

So far, no damage was reported as a result of these quakes.