Timeline of New Zealand history

Prehistory (to 1000 CE)

85 mya: Around this time New Zealand splits from the supercontinent Gondwana

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 Taupo volcano erupts extremely violently, covering much of the country with ignimbrite or 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 Taupo erupts violently.

1000 to 1600

c1280: Earliest archaeological sites provide evidence that initial settlement of New Zealand occurred around 1280 CE.

~1300: Most likely period of ongoing early settlement of New Zealand by Polynesian people (the Archaic Moa-Hunter Culture).

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

~1400~1450: Most likely extinction of the moa.

1576: Speculation exists that around this time Spanish explorer Juan Fernández visited New Zealand although this is not generally accepted by most reputable authorities.

1300–1600: Rangitoto Island near Auckland is formed by a series of eruptions.

17th century

1601 onwards

Expansion and migration of Maori groups and formation of classic iwi (many still existing today)

1642

13 December: Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sights the South Island. Initially he called it Staten Landt and changed it a year later to Nieuw Zeeland.

18 December: Abel Tasman's expedition sails around Farewell Spit and into Golden Bay. Dutch sailors sight local Māori.

19 December: Four of Tasman's crew are killed at Wharewharangi (Murderers) Bay by Māori. 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. Tasman's ships depart without landing. The Dutch chart the west of the North Island.

18th century

1701–1730

Ngāi Tahu migrate from Wellington to the South Island, as far south as Banks Peninsula.

1769

8 October: English explorer James Cook makes his first visit to New Zealand on board the Endeavour, and sails into Poverty Bay

Cook maps the majority of the New Zealand coastline.

French trader Jean de Surville explores parts of the New Zealand coast.

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.

1772

April: Expedition of French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne visits Northland, and anchors at Spirits Bay.

12 June: Marion du Fresne is killed at Tacoury's Cove, Bay of Islands by local Māori.

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.

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.

1791

29 November: Chatham Islands sighted by HMS Chatham commanded by William Broughton.

1792

Group of sealers from the Britannia landed in Dusky Sound.

1793

Dusky Sound sealers picked up.

A Spanish expedition led by Italian explorer Alessandro Malaspina charts Doubtful Sound

La Recherche and L'Espérance, captained by Bruni d'Entrecasteaux and Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec sight New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands.

Early 19th century; 1801–1839

1806

First Pākehā (European) women arrive in New Zealand.

1807 or 1808

Ngapuhi 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 held 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 Ngapuhi and Ngati 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

Ngati Toa begin migration south to Cook Strait region, led by Te Rauparaha.

1823

Jurisdiction of New South Wales courts is extended to British citizens in New Zealand.

First Wesleyan Missionary Society mission established, at Whangaroa.

First Church of England marriage, between Phillip Tapsell and Maria Ringa, conducted by Thomas Kendall in the Bay of Islands.

1824

Te Heke Niho-puta migration of Taranaki iwi to the Kapiti Coast.

1825

The battle of Te Ika-a-ranganui between Ngapuhi 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

May: James Busby arrives at the Bay of Islands.

1834

March: United Tribes of New Zealand flag adopted by some 25 northern chiefs at Busby's suggestion.

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: A chartered ship carrying 500 Maori 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 Maori on 5 December. Those Moriori that are not killed are enslaved.

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

Bishop Pompallier founds Roman Catholic Mission at Hokianga.

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.

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: Hobson arrives in the Bay of Islands and reads out the proclamation of sovereignty.

6 February: Hone 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.

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

European settlements established at New Plymouth and Wanganui.

February: Capital shifted from Russell (Okiato) to Auckland.

3 May: New Zealand proclaimed a colony independent of New South Wales.

27 September 1841: Foundation of a Catholic school for boys, Auckland's first school of any sort.

1842

Main body of settlers arrive at Nelson.

10 September: William Hobson dies.

1843

Twenty-two European settlers and four Māori killed at the confrontation at Tuamarina, near the Wairau River, in Marlborough.

Robert FitzRoy becomes Governor.

1844

Hone Heke begins the "War in the North".

New Zealand Company suspends its colonising operations due to financial difficulties.

1845

George Grey becomes Governor.

1846

War in the north ends with capture of Ruapekapeka.

First Constitution Act passed.

Charles Heaphy, William Fox, and Thomas Brunner begin exploring the West Coast.

First steam vessel, HMS Driver, arrives in New Zealand waters.

1848

Settlement of Dunedin founded by Scottish Otago Association.

New Ulster Province and New Munster Province set up under 1846 Act.

Coal discovered at Brunner on the West Coast.

Earthquake centred in Marlborough damages most Wellington buildings.

1850s

1850

Canterbury settlement founded.

1852

Second New Zealand Constitution Act passed creating General Assembly and six provinces with representative government.

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.

4 July–1 October: New Zealand general election, 1853

1854

First session of the General Assembly opens in Auckland.

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 meters.

Adhesive postage stamps on sale.

28 October–28 December: New Zealand general election, 1855.

1856

Henry Sewell forms first ministry under responsible government and becomes first Premier.

Edward Stafford forms first stable ministry.

1857

Foundation of Auckland's first Catholic boys' secondary school, St Peter's School.

1858

New Provinces Act passed.

Te Wherowhero installed as first Māori King, taking name Pōtatau I.

1859

First session of Hawke's Bay and Marlborough provincial councils.

Gold discovered in Buller River.

New Zealand Insurance Company established.

1860s

1860

Waitara dispute develops into First Taranaki War.

12 December–28 March: New Zealand general election, 1860–61.

1861

George Grey becomes governor for the second time.

May, Gabriel Read discovers gold in Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence. Central Otago Gold Rush begins.

First session of Southland provincial council.

Bank of New Zealand incorporated at Auckland.

1862

First electric telegraph line opens from Christchurch to Lyttelton.

First gold shipment from Dunedin to London.

1863

War resumes in Taranaki and begins in Waikato when General Cameron crosses the Mangatawhiri stream.

New Zealand Settlements Act passed to effect land confiscation.

First steam railway in New Zealand, the Ferrymead Railway opened.

7 February: HMS Orpheus sinks in Manukau Harbour, killing 189 people.

23 February: 7.5 earthquake causes moderate damage across central New Zealand.

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

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: New Zealand general election, 1866.

1867

Thames goldfield opens; soon the town has more people than Auckland.

Four Māori seats established in Parliament. All Māori men over 21 obtained suffrage (allowed to stand for parliament and vote).

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.

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: New Zealand general election, 1871.

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: New Zealand general election, 1875–76.

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

Completion of Main South Line railway linking Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill.

1879

Triennial Parliaments Act passed. Manhood suffrage is extended to non-Māori when the vote is given to every male aged 21 and over.

Kaitangata mine explosion, 34 people die.

Annual property tax introduced.

Kangaroo lays the first reliable telegraph cable across Cook Strait.

28 August–15 September: New Zealand general election, 1879 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.

9 December: New Zealand general election, 1881.

1882

First shipment of frozen meat leaves Port Chalmers for England on the Dunedin.

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: New Zealand general election, 1884.

1886

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: New Zealand general election, 1887.

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: New Zealand general election, 1890, the first election on a one-man one-vote basis

1891

John McKenzie introduces the first of a series of measures to promote closer land settlement.

John Ballance becomes Premier of Liberal Government.

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 first country to grant universal suffrage and plural voting abolished.

Liquor licensing poll introduced.

Elizabeth Yates, Onehunga, becomes first woman mayor in British Empire.

Banknotes become legal tender.

28 November: New Zealand general election, 1893.

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: New Zealand general election, 1896.

1897

First of series of colonial and later imperial conferences held in London.

Āpirana Ngata and others form Te Aute College Students' Association. [2]

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: New Zealand general election, 1899.

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.

1902

Pacific telegraph cable begins operating between New Zealand, Australia and Fiji.

Wreck of trans-tasman steamer SS Elingamite.

25 November: New Zealand general election, 1902.

1903

31 March: Richard Pearse achieves semi-controlled flight near Timaru.

15 August: The New Zealand All Blacks play their first Rugby Test Match against Australia's Wallabies at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. New Zealand win, 22–3.

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: New Zealand general election, 1905.

1906

10 June: Richard Seddon dies and is succeeded by Joseph Ward as Premier.

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: New Zealand general election, 1908.

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

Halley's Comet sighted in New Zealand.

1911

7 December,14 December: New Zealand general election, 1911.

1912

William Massey wins vote in the House and becomes Prime Minister; Reform Government formed.

Waihi miners' strike.

Malcolm Champion becomes first New Zealander to win an Olympic Gold Medal.

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: New Zealand general election, 1914.

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

Battle of Passchendaele, 3,700 New Zealanders killed.

Six o'clock public house closing introduced.

Lord Liverpool becomes first Governor-General.

1918

New Zealand Division in the Battle of the Somme.

End of World War I.

Influenza epidemic 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: New Zealand general election, 1919.

1920s

1920

Anzac Day established.

New Zealand gets League of Nations mandate to govern Western Samoa.

First aeroplane flight across Cook Strait.

New Zealand sents first team to Olympic Games (previously they have competed as part of Australasian team).

Darcy Hadfield wins first Olympic medal for New Zealand.

1921

New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy established.

1922

New Zealand Meat Producers Board constituted under Act of Parliament and placed in control of meat exports.

7 December: New Zealand general election, 1922.

1923

New Zealand Dairy Board constituted under Act of Parliament and placed in control of Dairy exports

Otira tunnel opens. 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

New Zealand Summer Time introduced.

Charles Kingsford Smith completes first flight across Tasman Sea.

14 December: General election won by new United Party.

Ted Morgan wins first Olympic Gold Medal for New Zealand.

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

9 September: Elizabeth McCombs becomes first woman MP.

1934

Reserve Bank and Mortgage Corporation established.

First trans-Tasman airmail.

1935

Air services begin across Cook Strait.

24 November: New Zealand Post Office jams 1ZB radio broadcast by Colin Scrimgeour (Uncle Scrim).

27 November: General election: First Labour Government elected under Michael Joseph Savage.

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

Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force formed.

Bulk purchases of farm products by Great Britain.

3 September: War declared on Germany

12 September: Enlistment in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force begins.

4 October: Government announces the formation of a Māori Battalion for 2NZEF

23 November: Bernard Freyberg is appointed commander of 2NZEF

13 December: HMNZS Achilles takes part in The Battle of the River Plate.

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 Paekakariki.

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.

1944

Australia-New Zealand Agreement provides for co-operation in the South Pacific.

NZ Troops suffer heavy losses during The Italian Campaign

1945

New Zealand signs United Nations charter.

Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act passed.

National Airways Corporation founded.

1946

Family benefit of £1 per week becomes universal.

Bank of New Zealand nationalised.

24 November: New Zealand general election, 1946.

20 August: Railway disaster in Manawatu Gorge

1947 to 1949

1947

Statute of Westminster adopted with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947, passed by the New Zealand Parliament.

New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947 passed, granting Parliament of New Zealand the ability to amend the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852.

First public performance by National Orchestra.

Mabel Howard becomes first woman cabinet minister.

Fire in Ballantyne's department store, Christchurch, 41 people die.

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.

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

Naval and ground forces sent to Korean War.

New Zealand Legislative Council abolished.

Wool boom.

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: New Zealand general election, 1951

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

First tour by a reigning monarch.

Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay first to climb Mount Everest.

Railway disaster at Tangiwai, 151 people die.

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: New Zealand general election, 1954.

Social Credit gets 10 percent of vote in general election, but no seats in Parliament.

1955

Pulp and paper mill opens at Kawerau.

Rimutaka rail tunnel opened.

1956

New Zealand troops sent to Malaya.

Roxburgh and Whakamaru power stations in operation.

1957

17 February: Last hanging, of Walter James Bolton.

Scott Base established in Ross Dependency.

Court of Appeal constituted.

Dairy products gain 10 years of unrestricted access to Britain.

30 November: General election, National loses election, Walter Nash leads Second Labour Government.

1958

PAYE tax introduced.

Arnold Nordmeyer's "Black Budget".

First geothermal electricity generated at Wairakei.

First heart-lung machine used at Greenlane Hospital, Auckland.

The first Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built in the Southern Hemisphere is opened at Hamilton

1959

Antarctic Treaty signed with other countries involved in scientific exploration in Antarctica.

Auckland Harbour Bridge opened.

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

New Zealand joins the International Monetary Fund.

Capital punishment abolished for ordinary crimes such as Murder but Remains for Treason, Espionage and "crimes committed during War".[3]

1962

New Zealand troops sent to Malaysia during confrontation with Indonesia.

Western Samoa becomes independent.

Sir Guy Powles becomes first Ombudsman.

New Zealand Māori Council established.

Cook Strait rail ferry service begins.

Taranaki gas well opens.

1963

30 November: New Zealand general election, 1963.

1964

Marsden Point oil refinery opens at Whangarei.

Cook Strait power cables laid.

Auckland's population reaches half a million.

1965

NAFTA agreement negotiated with Australia.

Support for United States in Vietnam; New Zealand combat force sent, protest movement begins.

Cook Islands becomes self-governing.

1966

International airport officially opens at Auckland.

New Zealand labour force reaches one million.

National Library of New Zealand created.

Te Atairangi Kaahu becomes first Māori Queen.

26 November: New Zealand general election, 1966.

1967

Referendum extends hotel closing hours to 10pm.

10 July: Decimal currency introduced; see New Zealand Dollar.

Lord Arthur Porritt becomes first New Zealand-born Governor-General.

Breath and blood tests introduced for suspected drinking drivers.

Denny Hulme becomes New Zealand's first (and currently only) Formula 1 World Champion.

1968

Inter-island ferry TEV Wahine sank in severe storm in Wellington Harbour; 51 people killed.

Three die in Inangahua earthquake.

1969

Vote extended to 20-year-olds.

First output from Glenbrook Steel Mill.

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 from Kapuni supplied to Auckland.

1971

New Zealand secures continued access of butter and cheese to the United Kingdom.

Nga Tamatoa protest at Waitangi celebrations.

Tiwai Point aluminium smelter begins operating.

Warkworth satellite station begins operation.

1972

Values Party is formed.

Equal Pay Act passed.

25 November: General election, Labour Government led by Norman Kirk elected.

December: New Zealand ends its role in the Vietnam War when Troops are withdrawn under the new Labour Government and Compulsory Military Training is Abolished.

1973

Naval frigate despatched 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

31 August: Prime Minister Norman Kirk dies.

Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch.

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 Hapua

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: New Zealand general election, 1975. Robert Muldoon becomes 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.

1976 in New Zealand television

1977

National Superannuation scheme begins.

New Zealand signs the Gleneagles Agreement.

The 200 nautical mile (370 km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is established.

5 January: Bastion Point occupied by protesters.

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.

25 May: Army and Police remove protesters from Bastion Point, 218 arrests are made.

25 November: General election, National re-elected.

1979

Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashes on Mount Erebus, Antarctica, 257 people die.

Carless days introduced to reduce petrol consumption.

7 November: MP Matiu Rata resigns from the Labour Party to join Mana Motuhake Party.

Nambassa 3 day music and alternatives festival held in Waihi. Largest event of its kind in New Zealand.

1980s

1980

Social Credit wins East Coast Bays by-election.

Saturday trading partially legalised.

Eighty-day strike at Kinleith Mill.

1981

South African rugby team's tour brings widespread disruption.

28 November: New Zealand general election, 1981.

1982

CER agreement signed with Australia.

First köhanga reo established.

Year-long wage, price and rent freeze imposed lasts until 1984.

First New Zealand Football team to compete at FIFA World Cup Finals

1983

Visit by nuclear-powered United States Navy frigate "Texas" sparks protests.

Official Information Act replaces Official Secrecy Act.

New Zealand Party founded.

1984 to 1989

1984

Te Hikoi ki Waitangi march and disruption of Waitangi Day celebrations.

Auckland's population exceeds that of the South Island.

14 July: New Zealand general election, 1984 won by Labour under David Lange.

Constitutional crisis follows general election; outgoing Prime Minister Robert Muldoon refuses to implement advice of Prime Minister elect David Lange.

Government devalues New Zealand dollar by 20 percent.

26 July: David Lange becomes New Zealand's 32nd Prime Minister;Fourth Labour government formed.

Finance Minister Roger Douglas begins deregulating the economy.

New Zealand ratifies the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

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.

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

Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 passed.

Royal Commission reports in favour of an MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) electoral system.

Jim Bolger becomes National Party leader.

Soviet cruise ship, the Mikhail Lermontov, sinks in Marlborough Sounds.

Goods and Services Tax introduced.

First visit to New Zealand by the Pope.

The Constitution Act ends the right of the British Parliament to pass laws for New Zealand.

Royal Commission into Broadcasting and Related Communications reports

1987

Share prices plummet by 59 percent in four months.

Māori Language Act making Māori an official language passed.

Anti-nuclear legislation enacted.

First Lotto draw.

New Zealand's first heart transplant is performed.

New Zealand wins Rugby World Cup.

Significant earthquake in the Bay of Plenty.

15 August: General election, Labour re-elected.

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 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

Third TV channel begins.

Māori Fisheries Act passed.

1990s

1990

New Zealand celebrates its sesquicentennial.

Māori leaders inaugurate National Congress of Tribes.

Dame Catherine Tizard becomes first woman Governor-General.

Geoffrey Palmer resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Mike Moore.

One and two cent coins are no longer legal tender.

Commonwealth Games held in Auckland.

Telecom sold for $4.25 billion.

Pay Television Network Sky TV began broadcasting.

Big earthquake in Hawke's Bay.

27 October: New Zealand general election, 1990: National Party has landslide victory. Jim Bolger becomes Prime Minister.

13–14 November: David Gray kills thirteen at Aramoana, before police shoot him dead.

1991

The Resource Management Act 1991 is enacted, rewriting planning law.

First budget of new Finance Minister, Ruth Richardson. Welfare payments further reduced.

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

Centennial of women's suffrage celebrated.

New Zealand First Party launched by Winston Peters.

6 November: General election won by National, without obtaining a majority.

Referendum favours MMP electoral system.

Opposition MP Peter Tapsell becomes Speaker of the House, thus giving the government a majority.

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 Ngai 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 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 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

APEC is held in Auckland

Alcohol purchase age for off-licenses reduced from 20 to 18 years of age

27 November: New Zealand general election, 1999. Helen Clark's Fifth Labour Government is sworn in.

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

Interest accrual is removed from student loans while studying. Students who accrued interest prior to 2001 are still required to pay.

Air New Zealand bailout, government purchases a 76.5% share in the company

New Zealand contributes Troops to Operation Enduring Freedom against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan

2002

Kiwibank is formed

30 June: The population of Canterbury reaches half a million.

27 July: 2002 general election, Labour-led government returned for a second term.

2003

Population of New Zealand exceeds 4 million.

Prostitution Reform Act 2003 passed in parliament

Appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council abolished; Supreme Court of New Zealand established, and begins work in early 2004.

2004

Foreshore and Seabed Act passed.

Civil Union Act passed

Māori Party formed.

Maori TV begins broadcasting

2005

17 September: 2005 general election, Labour-led government returned for a third term.

2006

Labour enacts its election promise to remove interest on loans to students living in New Zealand.

Five cent coins are dropped from circulation and existing 10 cent, 20 cent and 50 cent coins are replaced with smaller coins.

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.

South Island population reaches 1 million

2007

David Bain's final Privy Council appeal results in the quashing of his convictions for the murder of his family. A re-trail is ordered by the Solicitor-General of New Zealand.

2 May: Freeview is launched, providing free-to-air digital television.

1 July: KiwiSaver retirement savings scheme introduced.

2 July Willie Apiata receives the first Victoria Cross for New Zealand, the first New Zealander awarded a VC since World War II.

18 December:Electoral Finance Act enacted.

2008

11 January: mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary dies.

8 November: General election: The National Party gains the largest share ending 9 years of Labour-led government.

27 November: (28 November NZ Time.) XL Airways Germany A320 Flight 888T, an aeroplane owned by Air New Zealand crashes in the Mediterranean Sea off the south coast of France, killing all seven on board, 5 of whom are New Zealanders.

Helen Clark is named Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ranking third in the UN office

National reintroduces titular honours 6 years after Labour removed them from the New Zealand Honours System in 2000.

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.

28 April: First confirmed New Zealand case in the 2009 swine flu outbreak.

2010s

2010

4 September: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes the Canterbury Region causing widespread damage to Christchurch and surrounding areas.

19 November: Pike River mine explosion traps and kills 29 miners.

2011

22 February: A magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes Christchurch causing widespread damage and 184 deaths.

8 March: Census scheduled for this date is cancelled due to the Christchurch earthquake.

23 October: All Blacks win Rugby World Cup against France, 8-7 in Eden Park, New Zealand.

26 November: 2011 general election: Fifth National Government re-elected to second term with reduced majority.

2012

5 November – Royal Commission into the Pike River mine disaster reports.

2013

19 August: Same-sex marriage is legalised.

12 October: 2013 local government elections held.

2014

20 January: Eketahuna earthquake causes moderate damage in the lower North Island.

20 September: 2014 general election is held. The National Party wins a third term in office.

October: New Zealand wins a seat on the United Nations Security Council, starting from 2015. New Zealand last held a seat in 1993–1994.

2015

February: New Zealand joins the fight against ISIS by sending troops to Iraq to train Iraqi Soldiers against the Islamic Terror Group.

October 25: The All Blacks Win the Rugby World Cup, the only team to ever win the tournament twice in a row.