Timeline of New Zealand history

This is a timeline of the history of New Zealand that includes only events deemed to be of principal importance – for less important events click the year heading or refer to List of years in New Zealand.

Part of a series on the
History of New Zealand
A Māori man and a Naval officer trading, circa 1769
Timeline
General topics
Prior to 1800
19th century
Stages of independence
World Wars
Post-war and contemporary history
See also
  • Bibliography
  • List of years in New Zealand
flag New Zealand portal

Prehistory (to 1000 CE)
  • 85 mya: Around this time New Zealand splits from the supercontinent Gondwana.[1]
  • 5 mya: New Zealand's climate cools as Australia drifts north. Animals that have adapted to warm temperate and subtropical conditions become extinct.
  • 26,500 BP: The Taupō volcano erupts extremely violently, covering much of the country with volcanic ash and causing the Waikato River to avulse from the Hauraki Plains to its current path through the Waikato to the Tasman Sea.
  • 18,000 BP: New Zealand's North and South islands are connected by a land bridge during the last ice age. Glaciers spread from the Southern Alps carving valleys and making fiords in the South Island. The land bridge is submerged around 9,700 BCE.
  • 181 CE: Lake Taupō erupts violently.[2][3]

Pre-colonial time (1000 to 1839)

1000 to 1600
  • c1280: Earliest archaeological sites provide evidence that initial settlement of New Zealand occurred around 1280 CE.[4]
  • ~1300: Most likely period of ongoing early settlement of New Zealand by Polynesian people (the Archaic Moa-Hunter Culture).[5]
  • ~1400: Rangitoto Island near Auckland is formed by a series of eruptions.[3]
  • 1400~1500: Development of the Classic Māori Material Culture including expansion of Māori settlement from coastal to inland areas, increase in horticulture and development of pā (hillforts)
  • ~1400~1450: Most likely extinction of the moa.[6][7]
  • 1576: Speculation exists[8][9] that around this time Spanish explorer Juan Fernández visited New Zealand[10] although this is not generally accepted by most reputable authorities.[11]

17th century
1601 onwards
  • Expansion and migration of Māori groups and formation of classic iwi. (many still existing today)
1642
  • 13 December: Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sights the South Island. He called it Staten Landt but the Dutch East India Company cartographer Joan Blaeu subsequently changed it to Nieuw Zeeland.[12]
  • 18 December: Abel Tasman's expedition sails around Farewell Spit and into Golden Bay. Dutch sailors sight local Māori.[13]
  • 19 December: Four of Tasman's crew are killed at Wharewharangi (Murderers) Bay by a Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri war party. Tasman's ships are approached by 11 waka as he leaves and his ships fire on them, hitting a Māori standing in one of the waka.[14] Tasman's ships depart without landing. The Dutch chart the west of the North Island.

18th century
1701–1730
1769
  • 8 October: English explorer James Cook makes his first visit to New Zealand on board the Endeavour, and sails into Poverty Bay[16]
  • Cook maps the majority of the New Zealand coastline.[17]
  • French trader Jean de Surville explores parts of the New Zealand coast.[18]
  • 25 December : The first Christian service in New Zealand waters when Mass is celebrated on Christmas Day in Doubtless Bay by Father Paul-Antoine Léonard de Villefeix of the de Surville expedition.[19][20]
1772
1773
  • April: Cook's second expedition arrives in Queen Charlotte Sound
  • 18 December: A skirmish at Grass Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound results in the deaths of two Māori and nine members of Cook's expedition.
1777
  • Cook returns to New Zealand aboard the Resolution, accompanied by the Discovery captained by Charles Clerke.[23]
1788
  • New South Wales founded, which, according to Governor Phillip's Commission, includes the islands of New Zealand.
1790
  • An epidemic of rewha-rewha (possibly influenza) kills 60% of the Māori population in the southern North Island.[23]
1791
1792
1793

Early 19th century; 1801 to 1839
1806
  • First Pākehā (European) women arrive in New Zealand.
1807 or 1808
  • Ngāpuhi fight Ngāti Whātua, Te-Uri-o-Hau and Te Roroa iwi at the battle of Moremonui on the west coast of Northland, the first battle in which Maori used muskets.
1809
  • Ngati Uru attack and burn the ship Boyd, killing all but four of its crew and passengers. Whalers wrongly blame Te Puna chief Te Pahi and in a revenge attack kill 60 of his followers.
1814
  • 22 December: British missionary Samuel Marsden, of the (Anglican) Church Missionary Society, arrives at Rangihoua at Oihi Bay in the Bay of Islands to establish the country's first mission station. Sheep, cattle, horses and poultry are introduced.
  • Christmas Day: Rev Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land, at Rangihoua.
1815
  • February: Thomas Holloway King is the first Pākehā child born in New Zealand, at Rangihoua.
1819
  • Raids on Taranaki and Te Whanganui-a-tara regions by Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Toa people led by chiefs Patuone, Nene, Moetara, Tuwhare, and Te Rauparaha.
  • 17 August: the country's second mission station is established, at Kerikeri, when Rev Marsden, John Butler, Francis Hall and William Hall mark out the site which was previously visited by Marsden in 1815.
  • 25 September: Rev Marsden plants 100 vines, the first grapes grown in New Zealand.
  • 4 November: Chiefs Hongi Hika and Rewa sell 13,000 acres (5260 hectares) at Kerikeri to the Church Missionary Society for 48 felling axes.
1820
  • 3 May: At Kerikeri, Reverend John Butler uses a plough for the first time in the country.
  • Hongi Hika visits England, meets King George IV and secures supply of muskets.
1821
  • Continuation of musket wars by Hongi Hika and Te Morenga on southern iwi throughout the decade.
1822
  • Ngāti Toa begin migration south to Cook Strait region, led by Te Rauparaha.
1823
1824
  • Te Heke Niho-puta migration of Taranaki iwi to the Kāpiti Coast.
1825
  • The battle of Te Ika-a-ranganui between Ngāpuhi and hapu against Ngatiwhatua, resident occupiers of the land fought upon.
1827
  • Te Rauparaha's invasion of the South Island from Kapiti begins.
1831
  • Whaling stations established at Tory Channel and Preservation Inlet.
1832
  • 19 April: stonemason William Parrott begins work on the missionaries' Stone Store at Kerikeri.
  • James Busby appointed British Resident.
1833
1834
1835
  • 22 April: Wesleyan missionaries extend south beyond their main base at Hokianga to the Waikato Coast, among them James and Mary Wallis.
  • October: Declaration of Independence of New Zealand by the "Confederation of United Tribes" signed by 34 northern chiefs (and later by another 18).
  • 19 November: The brig Lord Raglan carrying 500 Māori from Ngati Tama and Ngati Mutunga armed with guns, clubs and axes, arrives on the Chatham Islands. It is followed by another ship with 400 more Māori on 5 December. Those Moriori that are not killed are enslaved.[24]
1837
  • Captain William Hobson sent by New South Wales Governor to report on New Zealand. He suggested a treaty with the Māori and imposition of British Law.
  • New Zealand Association formed in London, becoming the New Zealand Colonisation Society in 1838 and the New Zealand Company in 1839, under the inspiration of Edward Gibbon Wakefield.
1838
1839
  • William Hobson instructed to establish British rule in New Zealand, as a dependency of New South Wales.
  • Colonel William Wakefield of the New Zealand Company arrives on the Tory to purchase land for a settlement.

Colony and self-government (1840 to 1946)

1840s
1840
  • 22 January: New Zealand Company settlers arrive aboard the Aurora at Te Whanganui a Tara which becomes Port Nicholson, site of Wellington.
  • 29 January: William Hobson arrives in the Bay of Islands and reads out the proclamation of sovereignty.
  • 6 February: Hōne Heke is the first to sign the Treaty of Waitangi at Bay of Islands.
  • 21 May: Hobson proclaims British sovereignty over New Zealand. The North Island by treaty and the South Island by discovery.
  • May: First capital established at Okiato, which was renamed Russell.
  • St Peter's School, the first Catholic school in New Zealand, opened in Kororareka.[25]
  • 18 August: French colony established in Akaroa.
  • Hobson becomes first governor and sets up executive and legislative councils.
  • Rawiri Taiwhanga in Bay of Islands is running the first dairy farm in New Zealand, near Kaikohe.
1841
1842
  • Main body of settlers arrive at Nelson.
  • 10 September: Governor Hobson dies in Auckland.
1843
1844
  • Hone Heke begins the Flagstaff War.
  • New Zealand Company suspends its colonising operations due to financial difficulties.
1845
1846
1848

1850s
1850
1852
1853
  • Idea of a Māori King canvassed by Tāmihana Te Rauparaha and Hēnare Mātene Te Whiwhi.
  • About 100 Māori – mostly chiefs – enrolled to vote in the forthcoming election.[29]
  • 4 July–1 October: 1853 New Zealand general election
1854
1855
  • Governor Thomas Gore Browne, appointed in 1854, arrives.
  • A severe magnitude 8.1 earthquake strikes Wairarapa. Noted for having the largest movement of a strike-slip earthquake in history, at 17 metres.
  • Adhesive postage stamps on sale.
  • 28 October–28 December: 1855 New Zealand general election.
1856
1857
1858
1859
  • First session of Hawke's Bay and Marlborough provincial councils.
  • Gold discovered in Buller River.
  • New Zealand Insurance Company established.

1860s
1860
1861
1862
  • The country's first electric telegraph line opens, between Christchurch and Lyttelton.
  • First gold shipment from Dunedin to London.
1863
1864
  • War in the Waikato ends with battle of Orakau.
  • Gold discovered in Marlborough and Westland.
  • Arthur, George, and Edward Dobson are the first Pākehā to cross what becomes known as Arthur's Pass.
1865
  • Capital and seat of government transferred from Auckland to Wellington
  • New Zealand Exhibition held in Dunedin
  • Native Land Court established.
  • Government launches the first of what would become 3,000,000 acres of land-confiscations from Māori in Waikato, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, and Hawke's Bay.
  • Māori resistance continues.
  • Auckland streets lit by gas for first time.
1866
  • First (unreliable) Cook Strait submarine telegraph cable laid.
  • Christchurch to Hokitika road opens.
  • Cobb and Co. coaches run from Canterbury to the West Coast.
  • The Presbytery of Otago separates into three presbyteries and becomes the Synod of Otago and Southland.
  • January–February: Trevor Chute leads raids against Maro in Taranaki
  • 12 February–6 April: 1866 New Zealand general election.
1867
  • Thames goldfield opens; soon the town has more people than Auckland.
  • Four Māori electorates established in Parliament. All Māori men over 21 obtained suffrage (allowed to stand for parliament and vote[29]).
  • Lyttelton railway tunnel completed.
  • Armed constabulary established.
1868
  • Māori resistance continues through campaigns of Te Kooti Arikirangi and Titokowaru.
  • New Zealand's first sheep breed, the Corriedale, is developed.
1869
  • Thomas Burns founds New Zealand's first university, the University of Otago, in Dunedin.
  • Visit of Prince Alfred – the first Royal Tour.

1870s
1870
  • The last imperial forces leave New Zealand.
  • Julius Vogel's public works and immigration policy begins, along with national railway construction programme; over 1,000 miles constructed by 1879.
  • University of New Zealand created by the New Zealand University Act, establishing a federal university based on the University of London, which lasts until 1961.
  • First rugby match.
  • Auckland to San Francisco mail service begins.
1871
  • Deer freed in Otago.
  • 14 January–23 February: 1871 New Zealand general election.
1872
  • Te Kooti retreats to the King Country and Māori armed resistance ceases.
  • Telegraph communication links Auckland, Wellington and southern provinces.
1873
  • New Zealand Shipping Company established.
1874
  • First New Zealand steam engine built at Invercargill.
1875
  • 20 December – 29 January: 1875–1876 New Zealand general election.
1876
  • Abolition of the provinces and establishment of local government by counties and boroughs.
  • New Zealand-Australia telegraph cable established.
1877
  • Education Act passed, establishing national system of primary education, "free, secular, and compulsory".
1878
1879
  • Triennial Parliaments Act passed. Manhood suffrage is extended to non-Māori when the vote is given to every male aged 21 and over.[29]
  • Kaitangata mine explosion, 34 people die.
  • Annual property tax introduced.
  • Kangaroo lays the first reliable telegraph cable across Cook Strait.
  • 28 August–15 September: 1879 New Zealand general election all men enfranchised.

1880s
1881
  • Parihaka community forcibly broken up by troops. Te Whiti, Tohu Kākahi and followers arrested and imprisoned.
  • Wreck of SS Tararua, 131 people die.
  • Auckland and Christchurch telephone exchanges open.
  • The Māori King Movement under Tāwhiao makes peace with the Auckland settler government.[30]
  • 9 December: 1881 New Zealand general election.
1882
  • First shipment of frozen meat leaves Port Chalmers for England on the Dunedin.
  • "State" visit of King Tawhiao to Auckland – civic reception, banquet & fireworks display.
1883
  • Te Kooti pardoned, Te Whiti and other prisoners released.
  • Direct steamer link established between New Zealand and Britain.
1884
  • King Tawhiao visits England with petition to the Queen, appealing to the Treaty of Waitangi, and is refused access.
  • First overseas tour by a New Zealand rugby team, to New South Wales.
  • Construction of King Country section of North Island main trunk railway begins.
  • 22 June: 1884 New Zealand general election.
  • 1 August International Industrial Exhibition opened in Wellington.
  • 9 September total Eclipse of the Sun observed at Wellington.
  • November Russian Invasion Scare.
1885
  • Mary C. Leavitt, World Missionary for the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, toured New Zealand setting up local branches; appointed Anne Ward of Wellington as the first national president to continue recruiting and organizing departments to advocate for women's political and socio-economic rights.
1886
  • 23–24 February – First national convention of Women's Christian Temperance Union New Zealand held in Wellington, launching the organisational strategies for a campaign for women's right to vote in national elections.
  • 29 March − 10 April – Visit of German warships to Auckland – SMS Gneisenau & SMS Olga.
  • 11–21 May – Visit of Japanese warship Tsubka to Wellington.
  • 23 May – 2 June surprise visit of Russian naval Vestnik to Wellington.
  • 10 June Mount Tarawera erupts and the Pink and White Terraces are destroyed, 153 people die.
  • Oil is discovered in Taranaki.
1887
  • New Zealand's first national park, Tongariro National Park, is presented to the nation by Te Heuheu Tukino IV.
  • First inland parcel post service.
  • 26 September: 1887 New Zealand general election.
1888
  • 12 August: Reefton becomes first town in the Southern Hemisphere to have a public supply of electricity after the commissioning of the Reefton Power Station.
1889
  • Abolition of non-residential or property qualification to vote.
  • First New Zealand-built locomotive completed at Addington Workshops.

1890s
1890
  • A maritime strike in Australia spreads to New Zealand, involving 8000 unionists.
  • "Sweating" Commission reports on employment conditions.
  • 5 December: 1890 New Zealand general election, the first election on a one-man-one-vote basis
1891
1892
  • First Kotahitanga Māori Parliament meets.
1893
  • 27 April: John Ballance dies
  • John Ballance succeeded as premier by Richard Seddon.
  • 19 September: All women given the right to vote, New Zealand becomes the first country to grant universal suffrage and plural voting abolished.[31]
  • Liquor licensing poll introduced.
  • Elizabeth Yates, Onehunga, becomes the first woman mayor in British Empire.
  • Banknotes become legal tender.
  • 28 November: 1893 New Zealand general election.
1894
  • Compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes and reform of employment laws.
  • Advances to Settlers Act.
  • Clark, Fyfe and Graham become the first people to climb Mt Cook.
  • Wreck of SS Wairarapa.
1896
  • National Council of Women is founded.
  • The Brunner Mine disaster kills 67.
  • Census measures national population as 743,214.
  • 13 October: First public screening of a motion picture in New Zealand
  • 4 December: 1896 New Zealand general election.
1897
  • First of series of colonial and later imperial conferences held in London.
  • Āpirana Ngata and others form the Te Aute College Students' Association.
1898
  • Old Age Pensions Act.
  • First cars imported to New Zealand.
1899
  • New Zealand army contingent is sent to the South African war.
  • First celebration of Labour Day.
  • 6 December: 1899 New Zealand general election.

1900s
1900
  • Māori Councils Act passed.
  • Public Health Act passed setting up Department of Public Health in 1901.
1901
  • Cook and other Pacific Islands annexed.
  • Penny postage first used.
  • Union of the Synod of Otago and Southland with the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Royal Tour – Visit of the Duke & Duchess of York and Cornwall.
1902
  • Pacific telegraph cable begins operating between New Zealand, Australia and Fiji.
  • Wreck of trans-tasman steamer SS Elingamite.
  • 25 November: 1902 New Zealand general election.
1903
1904
1905
  • New Zealand rugby team tours England and becomes known as the All Blacks.
  • Old Age Pension increases to £26 per year; however, eligibility tightened.
  • 6 December: 1905 New Zealand general election.
1906
1907
  • July: Resolution passed to constitute New Zealand as a Dominion.
  • Fire destroys Parliament buildings.
  • Tohunga Suppression Act passed
  • 26 September: Dominion of New Zealand declared.
1908
  • Auckland to Wellington main trunk railway line opens.
  • First New Zealanders compete at the Olympics as part of Australasian team.
  • Harry Kerr is the first New Zealander to win an Olympic medal (a bronze in the Men's 3500 metre walk).
  • Blackball coal miner strike lasts 11 weeks.
  • Ernest Rutherford is awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
  • New Zealand's population reaches one million.
  • 17 November, 24 November and 1 December: 1908 New Zealand general election.
1909
  • "Red" Federation of Labour formed.
  • SS Penguin wrecked in Cook Strait, 75 people die.
  • Compulsory military training introduced.
  • Stamp–vending machine invented and manufactured in New Zealand.

1910s
1910
1911
  • 7 December, 14 December: 1911 New Zealand general election.
1912
1913
  • Waterfront strikes in Auckland and Wellington.
1914
  • World War I begins and German Samoa is occupied.
  • New Zealand Expeditionary Force is despatched to Egypt.
  • Huntly coal mine disaster, 43 people die.
  • 15 August: Troops depart for Samoa.
  • 29 August: New Zealand troops land unopposed in Apia.
  • October: 8427 troops leave New Zealand for Europe.
  • 10 December: 1914 New Zealand general election.
1915
  • New Zealand forces take part in Gallipoli campaign.
  • Reform and Liberal parties form National War Cabinet.
  • Britain announces its intention to purchase all New Zealand meat exports during war.
  • 25 April: First landings at Gaba Tepe and Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
  • 27 April: Counterattack launched by Turkish forces under the command of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
  • 20 December: Final withdraw of all troops from Anzac Cove.
1916
  • New Zealand troops transfer from Western Front.
  • Conscription introduced.
  • Labour Party formed.
  • Lake Coleridge electricity supply scheme opened.
  • 10 June: Passing of the Military Services Bill introduces conscription.
  • July: Battle of Romani defaults Turkish force advancing towards the Suez Canal.
1917
1918
  • New Zealand Division in the Battle of the Somme.
  • End of World War I.
  • Influenza pandemic in which an estimated 8,500 die.
  • Creation of power boards for electricity distribution.
  • Prohibition petition with 242,001 signatures presented to Parliament.
1919
  • Women eligible for election to Parliament.
  • Massey signs Treaty of Versailles.
  • First official airmail flight from Auckland to Dargaville.
  • 17 December: 1919 New Zealand general election.

1920s
1920
  • Anzac Day established.
  • New Zealand gets League of Nations mandate to govern Western Samoa.
  • First aeroplane flight across Cook Strait.
  • New Zealand sends first team to Olympic Games (previously they have competed as part of Australasian team).
  • Darcy Hadfield wins first Olympic medal for New Zealand.
1921
1922
  • New Zealand Meat Producers Board constituted under Act of Parliament and placed in control of meat exports.
  • 7 December: 1922 New Zealand general election.
1923
  • New Zealand Dairy Board constituted under Act of Parliament and placed in control of Dairy exports
  • Otira tunnel opens; Midland Line between Christchurch and Greymouth completed
  • Ross Dependency proclaimed.
1924
  • All Black 'Invincibles' tour of Britain and France.
1925
  • 4 November: General election won by the Reform party under Gordon Coates.
1926
  • National public broadcasting begins under auspices of Radio Broadcasting Co. Ltd.
1927
1928
1929
  • Economic depression worsens.
  • Severe earthquake in the Murchison – Karamea district results in 17 deaths.
  • First health stamps issued.

1930s
1930
  • Unemployment Board set up to provide relief work.
1931
  • 3 February: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Hawke's Bay kills 256 people.
  • Substantial percentage reductions in public service wages and salaries, to help rebuild Hawke's Bay.
  • Airmail postage stamps introduced.
  • 2 December: General election won by newly formed Coalition Government under George Forbes.
1932
  • Compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes abolished.
  • Unemployed riots in Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch.
  • Reductions in old-age and other pensions.
  • Distinctive New Zealand coins first issued, see New Zealand pound.
1933
1934
  • Reserve Bank and Mortgage Corporation established.
  • First trans-Tasman airmail.
1935
1936
  • Reserve Bank taken over by state.
  • State housing programme launched.
  • Guaranteed prices for dairy products introduced.
  • National Party formed from former Coalition MPs.
  • Inter-island trunk air services introduced.
  • Jack Lovelock wins Olympic gold and sets world record for 1500m.
  • Jean Batten's record flight from England.
  • Working week reduced from 44 to 40 hours.
1937
  • April: Federation of Labour unifies trade union movement.
  • RNZAF set up as separate branch of armed forces.
  • March: Free Milk in schools introduced.
1938
  • Social Security Act establishes revised pensions structure and the basis of a national health service.
  • Import and exchange controls are introduced.
  • 15 October: General election, Labour re-elected.
1939

1940 to 1946
1940
  • 5 January: First Echelon of the 2NZEF leaves New Zealand for the Middle East.
  • 12 February: The main body of the First Echelon of the 2NZEF, arrives at Maadi Camp in Egypt.
  • 27 March: Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage dies
  • 1 April: Peter Fraser becomes prime minister.
  • 1 April: Formation of No. 75 (NZ) Squadron of the RAF
  • 11 June: New Zealand declares war on Italy.
  • 19 June: RMS Niagara hits a mine off Bream Head, Northland
  • 2 August: Home Guard established.
  • 20 August: German raider Orion sinks the steamer Turakina off Cape Egmont.
  • October: Stanley Graham kills 7 in shooting spree near Hokitika
  • 25 November: Steamer Holmwood sunk by German raiders off the Chatham Islands.
  • 27 November: Rangitane sunk by German raiders 480 km from East Cape
  • 8 December: New Zealand steamer Komata sunk by German raiders off Nauru
  • Sidney Holland becomes Leader of Opposition.
  • Conscription for military service.
  • German mines laid across Hauraki Gulf.
1941
  • 20 May – 1 June: New Zealand forces suffer heavy losses in the Battle of Crete.
  • 8 December: New Zealand declares war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
  • Māori War Effort Organisation set up.
  • Pharmaceutical and general practitioner medical benefits introduced.
1942
  • Economic stabilisation.
  • Fears of a Japanese Invasion prompts precautions such as air raid drills. Membership of the Home Guard became compulsory for men aged between 35 and 50. The threat is eased after the Battle of the Coral Sea.
  • New Zealand troops in First and Second Battles of El Alamein.
  • Food rationing introduced.
  • Mobilisation of women for essential work.
  • 12 June: First 5 ships of American troops from the 37th US Army Division land in Auckland.
  • 14 June: First American Marines from the 1st Corps Division land in Wellington.
1943
  • New Zealand troops take part in invasion of Italy.
  • February: Mutiny by Japanese prisoners of war at Featherston prisoner of war camp results in 48 Japanese dead, 61 wounded, plus one dead and 11 injured guards.
  • 3 April: Battle of Manners Street between American and New Zealand servicemen
  • 20 June: Several Marines drown during landing exercises at Paekākāriki
  • 28 August: Eleanor Roosevelt arrives in New Zealand for visit.
  • 3 September: Eleanor Roosevelt flies out from Auckland.
  • 25 September: General election, Labour re-elected.
  • October: Butter rationing begins.
1944
  • Australia-New Zealand Agreement provides for co-operation in the South Pacific.
  • NZ Troops suffer heavy losses during The Italian Campaign
  • March: Meat rationing begins,
1945
  • New Zealand signs United Nations charter.
  • Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act passed.
  • National Airways Corporation founded.
  • 15 December: Main North Line railway completed between Christchurch and Picton.
1946
  • Family benefit of £1 per week becomes universal.
  • Bank of New Zealand nationalised.
  • 24 November: 1946 New Zealand general election.
  • 20 August: Railway disaster in Manawatu Gorge

Full independence (1947 to date)

1947 to 1949
1947
1948
  • British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 passed.
  • Protest campaign against exclusion of Māori players from rugby tour of South Africa.
  • Polio epidemic closes schools.
  • Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe erupt.
  • September: Meat rationing ends.
1949
  • 1 January: New Zealanders become "British Subjects and New Zealand Citizens"
  • Referendum agrees to compulsory military training.
  • New Zealand gets first four navy frigates.
  • 30 November: General election: National Government elected.

1950s
1950
1951
  • Prolonged waterfront dispute, state of emergency proclaimed.
  • ANZUS treaty signed between United States, Australia and New Zealand.
  • Māori Women's Welfare League established.
  • 27 December: 1951 New Zealand general election
1952
  • Population reaches over two million.
  • 9 September: Rimutaka Tunnel collapses
  • 23 July: Yvette Williams wins gold medal in Olympics
  • 10 July: Broken Barrier film released
1953
1954
  • New Zealand signs South East Asia Collective Defence Treaty.
  • Gains seat on United Nations Security Council.
  • 20 September: in midst of moral panic, the Mazengarb Report is presented.
  • 13 November: 1954 New Zealand general election.
  • Social Credit gets 10 percent of vote in general election, but no seats in Parliament.
1955
  • Pulp and paper mill opens at Kawerau.
  • 3 November: Rimutaka rail tunnel opened.
1956
  • New Zealand troops sent to Malaya.
  • Roxburgh and Whakamaru power stations in operation.
1957
1958
1959

1960s
1960
  • Regular television programmes begin in Auckland.
  • Government Service Equal Pay Act passed.
  • 26 November: General election, National Government elected.
  • Treasury leases New Zealand's first computer from IBM.
1961
1962
1963
1964
  • Marsden Point oil refinery opens at Whangarei.
  • Auckland's population reaches half a million.
  • Lyttelton Road Tunnel opens; at nearly 2,000m long, it was the country's longest road tunnel until 2017.
1965
  • NAFTA agreement negotiated with Australia.
  • Benmore Dam commissioned.
  • Inter-Island HVDC commissioned, connecting the North and South Island power grids.
  • Support for United States in Vietnam; New Zealand combat force sent, protest movement begins.
  • Cook Islands becomes self-governing.
  • 1 April: TEAL renamed Air New Zealand.
  • Air New Zealand introduces the Douglas DC-8 jet aircraft on international routes.
1966
1967
  • Referendum extends hotel closing hours to 10pm.
  • 10 July: Decimal currency introduced; New Zealand dollar replaces the pound at a rate of £1 to $2 (one shilling to 10 cents; one penny to 5⁄6 cent)
  • Lord Arthur Porritt becomes first New Zealand-born Governor-General.
  • Denny Hulme becomes New Zealand's first (and currently only) Formula 1 World Champion.
1968
  • 10 April: Inter-island ferry TEV Wahine sinks in severe storm in Wellington Harbour; 51 people killed.
  • 24 May: Three die in Inangahua earthquake.
  • National Airways Corporation introduces Boeing 737 jet services on domestic routes.
1969
  • Vote extended to 20-year-olds.
  • First output from Glenbrook Steel Mill.
  • Television networked nationwide.
  • Breath and blood tests introduced for suspected drunk drivers.
  • 29 November: General election, National wins fourth election in a row.

1970s
1970
  • US Vice President Spiro Agnew Visits New Zealand to prop up the NZ Governments support for the Vietnam War and is met by an anti-war protest in Auckland which turns violent.
  • Natural gas network commissioned, supplying gas from Kapuni to Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Whanganui, Palmerston North and Wellington.
1971
1972
1973
  • Naval frigate dispatched in protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.
  • New Zealand's population reaches three million.
  • Oil price hike means worst terms of trade in 30 years.
  • Colour TV introduced.
1974
1975
  • 4 January: Lynne Cox became the first woman to swim across Cook Strait.
  • 14 September: Māori land march protesting at land loss leaves Te Hāpua
  • 13 October: Māori land march reaches Parliament building in Wellington, Whina Cooper presents a Memorial of Rights to the Prime Minister Bill Rowling and Māori Affairs Minister Matiu Rata.
  • The Waitangi Tribunal is established.
  • Second TV channel starts broadcasting.
  • 29 November: 1975 New Zealand general election. Robert Muldoon becomes 31st Prime Minister after National Party victory.
  • 1975 in New Zealand television
1976
  • New Zealand's national day 6 February renamed from New Zealand Day to Waitangi Day
  • Matrimonial Property Act passed.
  • Pacific Islands "overstayers" deported.
  • EEC import quotas for New Zealand butter set until 1980.
  • Introduction of metric system of weights and measures.
  • Subscriber toll dialling introduced.
  • Lyttelton–Wellington steamer ferry service ends.
1977
1978
  • Registered unemployed reaches 25,000.
  • New Zealand Film Commission established.
  • 12 February: 17 arrested after protestors led by Eva Rickard set up camp on the Raglan golf course.
  • 1 April: National Airways Corporation merges with Air New Zealand.
  • 25 May: Army and Police remove protesters from Bastion Point, 218 arrests are made.
  • 25 November: General election, National re-elected.
1979

1980s
1980
  • Social Credit wins East Coast Bays by-election.
  • Saturday trading partially legalised.
  • Eighty-day strike at Kinleith Mill.
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
  • Anti-nuclear policy leads to refusal of a visit by the American warship, the USS Buchanan.
  • 10 July: Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior bombed and sunk by French DGSE agents in Auckland harbour.
  • 4 March: New Zealand dollar floated.
  • First case of locally contracted AIDS is reported.
  • Waitangi Tribunal given power to hear grievances arising since 1840.
  • 20 November: Archbishop Paul Reeves appointed Governor General.
1986
1987
1988
  • Number of unemployed exceeds 100,000.
  • Bastion Point land returned to Māori ownership.
  • Combined Council of Trade Unions formed. Royal Commission on Social Policy issues April Report.
  • Gibbs Report on hospital services and Picot Report on education published.
  • State Sector Act passed.
  • Cyclone Bola strikes northern North Island.
  • Electrification of the central section of the North Island Main Trunk railway completed.
  • New Zealand Post closes 432 post offices.
  • Fisheries quota package announced for Māori iwi.
1989
  • Prime Minister David Lange suggests formal withdrawal from ANZUS.
  • Jim Anderton founds NewLabour Party.
  • Lange resigns and Geoffrey Palmer becomes 33rd Prime Minister.
  • First annual balance of payments surplus since 1973.
  • Reserve Bank Act sets bank's role as one of maintaining price stability.
  • First school board elections under Tomorrow's Schools reforms.
  • First elections under revised local government structure.
  • Sunday trading begins.
  • The final Remnants of capital punishment are abolished
  • 26 November: Third TV channel begins.
  • Māori Fisheries Act passed.

1990s
1990
1991
  • The Resource Management Act 1991 is enacted, rewriting planning law.[33]
  • One- and two-dollar coins introduced to replace their respective banknotes.
  • The "Mother of All Budgets" is presented by Finance Minister Ruth Richardson.
  • The Alliance party is formed.
  • Employment Contracts Act passed.
  • Consumers Price Index has lowest quarterly increase for 25 years.
  • Welfare payments cut.
  • Number of unemployed exceeds 200,000 for the first time.
  • New Zealand troops join multi-national force in the Gulf War.
  • An avalanche on Aoraki / Mount Cook reduces its height by 10.5 metres.
1992
  • Government and Māori interests negotiate Sealord fisheries deal.
  • Public health system reforms.
  • State housing commercialised.
  • New Zealand gets seat on United Nations Security Council.
  • Student Loan system is started / Tertiary Fees raised
1993
1994
  • Government commits 250 soldiers to front-line duty in Bosnia.
  • Government proposes $1 billion cap in plan for final settlement of Treaty of Waitangi claims.
  • New Zealand's first casino opens in Christchurch.
  • David Bain is convicted of murdering five members of his family.
  • First fast-ferry service begins operation across Cook Strait.
1995
  • Team New Zealand wins America's Cup.
  • Occupation of Moutoa Gardens, Wanganui.
  • Waikato Raupatu Claims Settlement Act passed.
  • New political parties form: the Conservatives, Christian Heritage and United New Zealand.
  • Renewal of French nuclear tests results in New Zealand protest flotilla and navy ship "Tui" sailing for Moruroa Atoll.
  • Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Auckland, Nelson Mandela visits.
  • New Zealand contingent returns from Bosnia.
1996
  • Imported pests Mediterranean fruit flies and white-spotted tussock moths cause disruption to export trade and to Aucklanders.
  • Kahurangi National Park, the 13th National Park, is opened in north-west Nelson.
  • Waitangi Tribunal recommends generous settlement of Taranaki land claims.
  • First legal sports betting at TAB.
  • The commercial radio stations and networks owned by Radio New Zealand are sold to Clear Channel creating The Radio Network.
  • $170 million Ngāi Tahu settlement proposed, $40 million Whakatohea settlement announced.
  • 12 October: First MMP election brings National/New Zealand First coalition government.
1997
  • America's Cup damaged in an attack by a Māori activist.
  • TV4 begins daily broadcasts.
  • Customs Service cracks down on imported Japanese used cars following claims of odometer fraud.
  • Auckland's Sky Tower is opened.
  • Compulsory superannuation is rejected by a margin of more than nine to one in New Zealand's first postal referendum.
  • Jim Bolger resigns as prime minister after losing the support of the National Party caucus and is replaced by New Zealand's first woman prime minister, Jenny Shipley.
1998
  • Auckland city businesses hit by a power cut lasting several weeks. The crisis of over a month results in an inquiry into Mercury Energy.
  • The women's rugby team, the Black Ferns, become the world champions.
  • The National – New Zealand First coalition Government is dissolved leaving the Jenny Shipley led National Party as a minority government.
  • Several cases of tuberculosis discovered in South Auckland in the worst outbreak for a decade.
  • The Hikoi of Hope marches to Parliament, calling for more support for the poor.
  • The government announces plans to lease 28 new fighter aircraft but says no to a new naval frigate.
  • Prime TV launched
1999

2000s
2000
  • January: The name suppression of American billionaire Peter Lewis, who was arrested and convicted of drug possession charges, causes controversy.
  • Knighthoods are Abolished
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
  • Labour enacts its election promise to remove interest on loans to students living in New Zealand.[44]
  • Five cent coins are dropped from circulation and existing 10-cent, 20-cent and 50-cent coins are replaced with smaller coins.[45]
  • The government announces a NZ$11.5 billion surplus, the largest in the country's history and second only to Denmark in the Western World.[46]
  • South Island population reaches 1 million[47]
2007
2008
2009
  • Knighthoods, Abolished by the previous government, are restored.
  • 6 March: David Bain retrial begins, resulting in not guilty verdicts on all five murder charges on 5 June.[58]
  • 28 April: First confirmed New Zealand case in the 2009 swine flu pandemic.[59]

2010s
2010
2011
2012
  • 5 November: Royal Commission into the Pike River mine disaster reports.
2013
2014
2015
  • February: New Zealand joins the fight against ISIS by sending troops to Iraq to train Iraqi Soldiers against the Islamic Terror Group.
  • 25 October: The All Blacks Win the Rugby World Cup, the only team to ever win the tournament twice in a row.
2016
  • 14 November: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes near the town of Kaikoura in the South Island.
  • 5 December: John Key announces he will stand down as prime minister and leader of the National Party on 12 December.
  • 12 December: Bill English becomes the 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand.
2017
2019
  • 15 March: Christchurch mosque shootings, 51 people are killed during an attack on two mosques.
  •  December 2019: Whakaari / White Island eruption. 47 people were on the island at the time. Twenty-two people died, either in the explosion or from injuries sustained, including two whose bodies were never found and were later declared dead. A further 25 people suffered injuries, with the majority needing intensive care for severe burns.

2020s
2020
2021
2022
2023
  • 19 January: Jacinda Ardern announces her resignation as Prime Minister of New Zealand, taking effect no later than 7 February.
  • 25 January: Chris Hipkins gets sworn in as the 41st Prime Minister of New Zealand.
  • 27 January: Torrential rain in Auckland causes widespread flooding, slips, evacuations, and the deaths of four people (from Cyclone Hale).[62][63][64]


See also

References
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  10. The Vallard Atlas, produced in early 17th century by the French and held in a Los Angeles library vault contains the coast of the North Island
  11. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand; Vol 27, 1894. p. 617 "A statement exists that, as far back as 1576, Juan Fernandez., a Spanish pilot, sailed W.S.W. from Chili for the space of a month, and that then he came upon a fertile and pleasant land, inhabited by light-complexioned people, who wore woven cloth, and who were exceedingly hospitable. From the course steered and the time occupied on the voyage it has been concluded that this fertile land was New Zealand."
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