text:
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.

Before humans (before c.1300 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 world's most recent supereruption occurs at the Taupō Volcano. The eruption covers much of the country with volcanic ash and causes the Waikato River to shift course from the Hauraki Plains to its current path to the Tasman Sea, while its caldera becomes modern Lake Taupō.
 * 18,000 BP: New Zealand's North and South islands are connected by a land bridge during the Otira Glacial Maximum of 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: Hatepe eruption of Lake Taupō.

c.1300 to c.1500

 * c. 1280: 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: Rangitoto Island near Auckland is formed by a series of eruptions.
 * c.1400-c.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
 * c.1400-c.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.

17th century

 * 1601 onwards
 * Expansion and migration of Māori groups and formation of classic iwi, many of which still exist today
 * 1642
 * 13 December: Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sights the South Island. He originally named it Staten Landt, but the Dutch East India Company cartographer Joan Blaeu subsequently changed it 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 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. Tasman's ships depart without landing. The Dutch chart the west of the North Island.

18th century

 * 1701 to 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 Tamatea / 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

 * 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.
 * 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
 * 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 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
 * 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: 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.
 * 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: 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.
 * 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: Governor Hobson dies in Auckland.
 * 1843
 * Twenty-two European settlers and four Māori killed in the Wairau Affray at Tuamarina, near the Wairau River, in Marlborough, marking the start of the New Zealand Wars.
 * Robert FitzRoy succeeds Hobson as governor.
 * 1844
 * Hone Heke begins the Flagstaff War.
 * New Zealand Company suspends its colonising operations due to financial difficulties.
 * 1845
 * George Grey becomes governor.
 * 1846
 * Flagstaff War with the 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: 1853 New Zealand general election
 * 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 metres.
 * Adhesive postage stamps on sale.
 * 28 October–28 December: 1855 New Zealand general election.
 * 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.
 * The Māori King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero dies and is succeeded by his son Tāwhiao.
 * 12 December – 28 March: 1860–1861 New Zealand general election.
 * 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
 * The country's first electric telegraph line opens, between Christchurch and 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 (1861) 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
 * 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 ).
 * 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
 * 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: 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.
 * 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, around 120 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
 * 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 the first country to grant universal suffrage and plural voting abolished.
 * 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
 * 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: 1905 New Zealand general election.
 * 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: 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
 * Halley's Comet sighted in New Zealand.
 * 1911

 * 7 December, 14 December: 1911 New Zealand general election.
 * 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: 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
 * 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 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
 * 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: 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
 * 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 (70) 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 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

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.
 * 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
 * Naval and ground forces sent to Korean War.
 * New Zealand Legislative Council abolished.
 * Wool boom.
 * June: Butter rationing ends.

 * 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
 * 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: 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

 * 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 Green Lane 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".
 * 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.
 * 11 August: Cook Strait rail ferry service begins.
 * Taranaki gas well opens.
 * 1963
 * 3 July: New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 crashes in the Kaimai Ranges; 23 killed.
 * 30 November: 1963 New Zealand general election.
 * 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
 * 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: 1966 New Zealand general election, National wins a third term.
 * 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
 * New Zealand secures continued access of butter and cheese to the United Kingdom.
 * Ngā Tamatoa protest at Waitangi celebrations.
 * Tiwai Point aluminium smelter begins operating.
 * Manapouri Power Station completed.
 * Warkworth satellite station begins operation.
 * 1972
 * Values Party is formed.
 * Equal Pay Act passed.
 * 25 November: General election. Labour Government elected; Norman Kirk becomes 29th Prime Minister.
 * 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 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
 * 1 April: Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) established.
 * 31 August: Prime Minister Norman Kirk dies; Bill Rowling succeeds Kirk as 30th Prime Minister.
 * 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 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
 * 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.
 * 21 November: God Defend New Zealand officially adopted as a national anthem (alongside God Save the Queen)

 * 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
 * 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: 1981 New Zealand general election, National re-elected for third term.
 * 1982
 * CER agreement signed with Australia.
 * First kōhanga reo established.
 * First FM radio broadcast.
 * 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
 * Te Hikoi ki Waitangi march and disruption of Waitangi Day celebrations.
 * Auckland's population exceeds that of the South Island.
 * 14 July: 1984 New Zealand general election 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.
 * 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
 * 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.
 * earthquake in the Bay of Plenty Region.
 * 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 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
 * 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; Mike Moore succeeds him as the 34th Prime Minister.
 * 30 April: One- and two-cent coins are phased out.
 * 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: 1990 New Zealand general election: National Party has landslide victory. Jim Bolger becomes 35th 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.
 * 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
 * Centennial of women's suffrage celebrated.
 * New Zealand First 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 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
 * APEC is held in Auckland
 * Alcohol purchase age for off-licenses reduced from 20 to 18 years of age
 * 27 November: 1999 New Zealand general election. 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-trial 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 8 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 pandemic.

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: 2011 New Zealand 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.
 * 1 December: Analogue television is switched off.

 * 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.
 * 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
 * 26 June: Emirates Team New Zealand wins the 35th America's Cup.
 * 2 July: Waterview Tunnels open; at 2.4 km long each, they overtake the Lyttelton Road Tunnel to become the country's longest road tunnels.
 * 23 September: 2017 general election is held. The National Party wins a plurality, while the Labour Party significantly increases its number of seats.
 * 26 October: Labour and New Zealand First form a coalition government. Labour leader Jacinda Ardern becomes the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand.

 * 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
 * 28 February: COVID-19 reaches New Zealand.
 * 17 October: Originally scheduled for 19 September and delayed due to a second COVID-19 outbreak, the 2020 general election is held.
 * 6 November: Official election results give Labour 65 seats, enough for a majority government, the first time a single party wins enough seats to govern alone since the mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) system was introduced in 1996.

 * 2021
 * 17 March: Emirates Team New Zealand successfully defends the 36th America's Cup held in Auckland, New Zealand against Luna Rossa.

 * 2022
 * 8 September: Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in New Zealand's history, dies aged 96, after a reign of 70 years.
 * 25 October: Women make up 50% of MPs in the New Zealand Parliament for the first time.
 * 12 November: The Black Ferns win the Women's Rugby World Cup for the sixth time.

 * 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).

title: Timeline of New Zealand history


text:
Talk:Timeline of New Zealand history

Comments lacking heading
I've grabbed the initial data from this: Statistics NZ page, which is under this copyright.

The stats NZ stuff is just intended is a rough pointer, I hope to get rid of 90% of their material pretty quickly. SimonLyall 10:24, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * Stats NZ stuff seems OK in principle, no hurry to replace. This is the encouraging paragraph:
 * Copyright
 * Information obtained from Statistics New Zealand may be freely used, reproduced, or quoted unless otherwise specified. In all cases Statistics New Zealand must be acknowledged as the source.
 * So no worries yet?? Robin Patterson 10:03, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * No worries then SimonLyall 10:51, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Idea - start this again
I've been thinking about this page a bit tonight. All the entries from 1870 onwards (and much before that) are just cut and paste from the Stats NZ page. I'd like to suggest deleting all the content after 1870 (except headings) and starting again.

We can use the StatsNZ page are a reference for each year but basicly create new content as we go. At this stage of things it won't lose us much and avoid copyright worries. Entries before 1870 can be reworked as we go. Thoughts?

SimonLyall 11:29, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * As above - copyright doesn't seem to be a problem as long as we have a note at the top about "Statistics New Zealand ... acknowledged as the source". I wouldn't delete anything until a definite replacement is ready. Mind you, I haven't looked at anything after 1840! I'll have another look tomorrow. Have you skimmed through the general "year" pages, eg 1854? Robin Patterson 10:03, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * I'll put external links at the bottom in a minute with a pointer to the StatsNZ page.The general years pages look okay (with their events, births, deaths, heads of state, etc) . I would suspect we will have to break this page up fairly soon (it's pretty long in its current state) but I don't want to do that until we have more than 4 or 5 lines for each year. SimonLyall 10:51, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Good work, Simon. We can break the page up when we get the "32k" warning. Meantime, we can keep copying text from elsewhere in Wikipedia and ideas from other countries, eg History_of_Canada and Category:Australian_history, as already discussed. (And I will be copying from here to http://mi.wikipedia.org, of course!) Robin Patterson 04:35, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * I'm already getting the warning. Have a look (and update as required) at User:SimonLyall/test, It's a sample "year by year" page taken from on of the Canadian ones and slightly modified (it still has some canadian names in it). I'd suggest that once a year is more than (say) 20 lines long it's contents gets moved to it's own page. SimonLyall 05:33, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Birth and death
Mixed at present. Shortest is "xx xx born/dies" - but "Birth of" may be the form in which we copy from elsewhere, so saving time? Robin Patterson 03:33, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

We will end up with just a header followed by some names ( like 1984 in Canada has ) eventually so I don't think it matters long term. One other format thing I'd like to keep is dates however. I think "Month day" is easiest and quicker to sort. I notice a few recent entries have been the other way around. SimonLyall 10:43, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Why mention birth date of non kiwi?
Why is it necessary to record the following -- September 26: Birth of William Hobson, future Governor.? Why is the date he was born outside NZ important to the "Timeline of New Zealand history". Who cares? The link to William Hobson gives birth/death details (as it should) and that's where it should end. Moriori 07:21, Sep 27, 2004 (UTC)
 * A few reasons. (1) I'm trying to flesh things out a little and there wasn't a lot else happening that year. (2) A large number of people that probably should be mentioned wern't born in NZ (MJ Savage) or else spent much of their time elsewhere ( Kiri ), or even both (Sam Neil). I can't really see how if we are recording births then we could exclude Savage just because he was born in Australia and Hobson would merit a similar level of importance as Savage. I'll start splitting this page soon so I don't think concern that it's being cluttered with what some people might regard as minor events will be a problem. SimonLyall 15:16, 2 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * You've lost me Simon. If you include the birthdate of Hobson in this article then you have to include every notable born outside NZ. . Imagine the length of the list! It's irrelevant, because as I say, Hobson's birthdate is included in the William Hobson article. Also., I don't think it is a good idea to deliberately pad out articles because they are short on content. Cheers Moriori 21:53, Oct 2, 2004 (UTC)
 * I think I have lost you. The big thing about births and deaths is that almost nobody is famous just for being born except for royalty. Same with deaths most of the time (since people are usually retired from what important thing they did). What the deaths and births section is there is to say what Important people in NZ history (usually people who are listed elsewhere in the timeline) were born of died that year. Hobson was a important person in NZ history (who did he important stuff in NZ and died here) so his birth should be listed. Would you exclude Michael Joseph Savage because he was born (and lived for 30 years) in Australia? Also this article is (timeline of the history of New Zealand NOT timeline of the history of New Zealanders). I don't think we are going to get into slippy slopes where we list (say) Paul McCartney just because he's had a lot of Number 1s on the NZ Charts. SimonLyall 01:58, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Please stick to the point Simon. You say  "Hobson was a important person in NZ history (who did he important stuff in NZ and died here) so his birth should be listed". It IS listed Simon, in the William Hobson article, where it belongs. If you are going to insist on it being included here, then we are going to end up with an article dominated by birth and death dates. I believe they are irrelevant in this article, and will clog it up so much the article will become about as interesting to the reader as the Beijing phone book. Moriori 02:33, Oct 3, 2004 (UTC)
 * I doubt very much it'll clog up the whole thing. Have a look at the various Timeline of Canadian history articles which I'm basing things off to an extent. Most years have 10-30 deaths. The dictionary of NZ biography lists just 298 deaths in the 1970s and 279 in the 1980s. So worst case the sections for each year might be 40 entries each (for something like 1941). There are a few birth and death dates now since they are fairly easy to lookup and enter ( I just did John Walker ) . I would hope that eventually for most years we will have 20 births, 20 deaths, 50+ News events, 50 cultural events (books, movies, NPC winners etc) plus whatever else. Births and deaths certainly shouldn't dominate. SimonLyall 03:29, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Your last sentence says it all. You advocate it, but don't do it. Also, because something is done elsewhere on Wikipedia that is not always a good lead as you will discover when you have been here a little while longer. I believe I have some knowledge to significantly contribute to the article, but I can't see the point of sticking around. There are subjects in Wikipedia where I believe I can contribute without being bothered by such silliness. I'm outta here. Moriori 06:05, Oct 3, 2004 (UTC)

Timeline references relative to New Zealand Timeline
When I was editing my first contribution Taumarunui, the year was listed that a certain trading post was set up, i.e. 1874. The natural tendency is to bang some square brackets on the date and make it a link/xref.

Unfortunately the destination of these link is mostly unrelated, as it is a global reference. I realise that this page is new, but I was thinking that this page could be used as a destination somehow. For example: 1874 or 1874 or for simplicity 1874 and have some kind of fancy redirects.

"Clearly" :-) the steps would be:
 * check if there isn't anything else doing the same (copy someone else?)
 * gauge the tempature of this community for the idea
 * put forward a proposal, collect feedback
 * revise proposal, and put out a poll/vote
 * add NZ year targets like 1960s / 1962 to the Timeline of New Zealand history
 * create a bot to update pages with a NZ stub and reference a year eg. 1874

Is this the right direction? Have I over looked the obvious?

Also: I am thinking that this is a lot of hard work. Please... someone chase me away.

NevilleDNZTALK? I realise I missed a couple of key points above:
 * Learn about what is already in place. eg. 2004_in_New_Zealand
 * Find out what the water tape is...

I note that User:Robin Patterson has already started 2004_in_New_Zealand. I am currently pondering if it would be better to call this page 2004, New_Zealand, (and thus 2004 in New Zealand where desired.) In line with how other NZ specific pages are disambiguated.

NevilleDNZ 01:55, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

 * Hi, Neville and others. I think the form 2004_in_New_Zealand matches what other countries have, but I may be out of date there. (Check with a quick category-browse?) Whatever the "standard" is, I hope you can extend the series back. I have actual or potential links to it from the year pages I create on "mi:", eg mi:2004 and mi:1940. And when you put a date in an NZ article, it will be good to make it a link to the year in that series if it's not a world-significance event. I think I've done a couple already, in anticipation. Kia ora. Robin Patterson 04:05, 26 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * The idea with "fancy" redirects seems nice and easy to use (I prefer NZ2005 over Nz2005 though). The problem that I see(from google) that nz2001...nz2005 seem to be used as psuedo trademarks for sporting events.  I was pondering if we could use a punctuation mark to proactively avoid ambiguations.  eg 2005
 * I do wonder if we could use a Catagory somehow. eg (example Alfred Hamish Reed,  and ), these "half" automatically generate an automatic catalogue, but to be honest catagories only work end page, not mid page.... I am pondering of thre is another such construct for midpage hence avoiding having to enter the dates in two/three/four or more places...
 * BTW: (I chucked when I saw :mi:2003, nicely contrasts with :en:2003)
 * NevilleDNZ 13:19, 26 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * I've now thanked "Dramatic" for all the work on 2003 in New Zealand, which I had not seen when I wrote the above paragraph. Ka pai! The series is well under way. I suppose we could consider some "fancy redirects" to shorten the work? "nz2003", anyone? Robin Patterson 05:28, 26 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Date/Event format
(Discussion Moved from Talk:New Zealand)

I've reverted the change of the years to point to the timeline of New Zealand history. This is because doing this screws up the date formats that people have set in their user preferences. Evil Monkey∴Hello 00:54, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Hi, I am the kiwi that added the links to the NZ Time Line. I guess I must now play with my date preferences and find out what you are refering to.  To point NZ date to a global date wiki-page sometimes makes sense.  But sometimes (often) it is just "noise in the wiki", perhaps these better pointed at something relavent. NevilleDNZ 02:14, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * I tried changing my date preferences as you suggested. And I cannot detect any differences in how the page is presented.  Please explain.  This is important as I am ironing out some bugs in a bot before I put forward a proposal to have all NZ pages pointed to the NZ Time Line with the bot, and also maybe even come up with a wiki derived timeline.
 * c.f. Talk:Timeline of New Zealand history
 * NevilleDNZ 02:28, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Did you refresh your cache? Currently my preferences are set to display the dates are 26 September 1907 but when viewing the version of the page that links to the timeline it sppears as 26 September, 1907 (note the addition of a comma). If you set you date peference to be of the style 2001 January 15, it appears as January 15, 2001. Evil Monkey∴Hello 02:49, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Also readers expect to be taken to 1907 when they click on 1907 not be taken to a timeline page. Evil Monkey∴Hello 03:00, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * To be honest, the only practical use for the year (without a relavent timeline) is in generating some kind of global cross reference, and maybe user format preferences. And even then the user format preferences dont give much mileage other then moving a comma.
 * I am looking for a template (like Template:coor) that can handle dates, and still works with User Preferences.)
 * NevilleDNZ 04:50, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * It does more than add a comma -- having the preference of 2001 January 15, you get dates appearing like January 15, 2001. Evil Monkey∴Hello 05:16, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * I kind of sympathise with you, to be honest if someone really wants the date format in Ethiopian Buddest Format, then it should be able to be configured in their preferences. Similarly with their prefered unit of measure, km vs miles etc.
 * In the mean time I think I try improve the resulting date format by using a Template somehow. I will study various different formats, and see how it effects the user preferences, ultimately (IMO) NZ relative dates should point to a NZ Timeline.  None the less, thanx for picking this preferences issue up, otherwise I would have totally missed it.
 * NevilleDNZ 07:23, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * I like the idea of pointing New Zealand pages to New Zealand year artices (as long as it doesn't mess up preferences), but I don't think that Timeline of New Zealand history is the best page to link to. If anything we should be linking to individual years like 2004 in New Zealand. Wiki is not paper so there is really nothing to stop us creating a page for every since 1750 or something. Check out Timeline of Indian history. Evil Monkey∴Hello 09:31, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * A few of us have been pondering this. I am trying to think of a way of making it so a Major Timeline catagory automatically drops out of it.  For example, tag certain dates as major (via a template), and then this page automatically gets linked into the Major NZ timeline.   .  These could be inserted on any relavent page, and the template would automatically take care of the format (inc month names), and the Timeline creation.
 * But we still can get a minor NZ timeline with the rest of the NZ related events by dropping the word major. Problem is I am still learning wiki, and misc problems like preferences pop up, and I am then (kind of) obliged to research the official and/or the best solution.
 * Any ideas for the brew most welcome. The Indian Page is useful.
 * NevilleDNZ 13:39, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Here is an experimental Category_talk:Timeline_of_New_Zealand, does anyone know how to extend the year to 4 digits, rather then just the millienia as it is currently? 15:22, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

All Black Matches
If people are looking for something to do I've started copying in results of All Black matches into years. See 2004 in New Zealand. Just start at the page and click on old matches to fill in a year. Each match can be clocked on to get more details. IF peopel have a similar link for Cricket or other sports please post them. SimonLyall 20:30, 15 May 2005 (UTC)

I don't understand this
In 1941, it mentions that Ian Mune was born (I don't know whom this is). However, many Maoris were killed in the Battle of Crete in that year. Also, the Battle of Cassino 1944, where the Maoris took a big part is also not mentioned. In addition Charles Upham won two VC's, which I would have thought rated a mention. I think the timeline is out of kilter, somehow. Wallie 19:37, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
 * That's wiki (and, in particular, that's lists on wiki). There's a lot of trivial stuff mixed up with the serious here. Needs a NZ editor (or somebody with a good knowledge of the country) to trim and refactor it. --kingboyk 14:58, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

At the battle of crete, there were 3,500 maori, 300 died. it might not seem like much to the 6,000(or so) who died at the beach of normandy. but to them it was because there were so few. im into historys of new zealand, especially maori, seeing as i am maori. [brother_h] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.154.54.87 (talk) 11:09, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

 * The less important events (births & deaths, etc) should probably be moved to the 19XX_in_New_Zealand pages. Some of this has already been done. - SimonLyall 20:39, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
 * A quick Google will tell you who Ian Mune is you young whippersnapper you! He is one of New Zealands first generation of television actors and has performed in a number of films, advertisments and stage productions. Trivial maybe today's dross - but tomorrows taonga of social commentary. Bottom line, if you see something is missing, addit. Wiki will tell us when the hard drives are full. L-Bit 13:11, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
 * No no no! This is supposed to show important and significant events in the history of NZ and is not a collection of "I think this person is great so he needs mentioning" or similar.  I've gone through and trimmed lots of it, which I hope goes in line with this.  violet/riga (t) 10:47, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Personally I'm not in favour of the 'such and such person was born in this year' entries. They don't say anything about the state of NZ in that year, even if the person went on to become super famous. We should limit this to events which were significant in their own right. Having said that, I don't think 'A is on this list but B isn't, and B is obviously more important' is an argument for deleting A. It always irritates me when people write stuff along the lines of 'this page is crap, it doesn't have such and such'. Um... anyone can contribute so if you see a problem... fix it. --Helenalex 22:42, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I think most of the born/died entries can be removed. Unless the birth or death of the person was an event in itself. Some other stuff needs to be cut down really the page should have more than an entry or two for each year on average. - SimonLyall 07:09, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

I have removed all births except one and all deaths except when in office. - SimonLyall 07:33, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Table of Contents
Shall I set up a TOC for here as I did with Timeline of environmental history of New Zealand? Looks a bit nicer - in my opinion..... -- Alan Liefting talk 00:18, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
 * The TOCright you added looks fairly good, especuially with the short early entries. - SimonLyall 10:10, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Should important dates be deleted?
Dylan Naqova (talk) 03:49, 1 February 2010 (UTC) i reckon people and special events like Prince William coming to nz should be marked on the events
 * I think the events you are adding would be much more appropriate at 2010 in New Zealand and similar pages. I don't see other royal tours on this page, yet tours by the monarch are surely far more important than tours by the second in line to the throne. The redevelopment of a stadium does not appear to be of great significance other than, perhaps, to the city which contains it. The reintroduction of knighthoods is perhaps of more lasting significance and is suitable for this page.- gadfium 05:18, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Present tense or past tense?
Just wondering why the article is written (mostly) in present tense? I think it would read more naturally in the past tense. Tayste (edits) 06:27, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
 * This is the convention for Timeline, Year and Year in Topic articles. See WikiProject Years. (Talk Contribs) 06:44, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. That doesn't specify which to use, apart from giving examples written in present tense. Sounds strange to me, that's all. I guess it's a device to put the reader into that time period, as it were.  Tayste (edits) 08:20, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

The surplus in 2006
This is a transient supurlative and its inclusion here looks more like a pro-Labour beat up (the unnecessary inclusion of Michael Cullen's name supports this) than an inherently notable entry. It belongs in 2006 in New Zealand but doesn't belong here unless other similar economic records are going to be included, and there is not enough room in the article for them all. Such biggest/most entries eventually become (out)dated and should be used sparingly (there are far too many of them in Year articles as it is). (Talk Contribs) 09:42, 3 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree. I doubt that anyone would want to see every previous record surplus included. Nor should we include every record GDP figure, or date of record population (which would be every year). We do include some dates when the population hits a round figure, though. Any such record which was achieved a very long time ago might be notable if it hasn't been beaten in modern times. We currently have three figures for record numbers of unemployed, but these are given as absolute numbers. I'm not sure if these are suitable. The unemployment rate in the 1930s may have been higher than at any time since as a proportion of the population (or of the working-age population), and if sourced that might be more appropriate. If the 1991 unemployment figure is a post-war high, then maybe that would be worth keeping too.- gadfium 10:13, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

Tasman section on Nz attributed to Flude.
Flude's account of history is unreliable, extreme fringe and only online. Flude's account of events at Murderers Bay is largely fiction. There are versions of this event that say archaeologists "suggest" that Maori (Ngati Tumatakokiri) were defending a major agricultural area. Im not sure who these are supposed to be but it sounds dubious. Any one visiting this lovely bay will be struck by the lack of flat land. Europeans who attempted to farm in the area failed, due to the naturally infertile granite based soils. The huge number of waka that Tasman saw(22) suggests a maritime based economy rather than one based on crops. Claudia — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.62.226.243 (talk) 21:12, 11 January 2014 (UTC)
 * The current entry in this article is concise and uses neutral language, what you added did not and the reference, as you have been told repeatedly, is no more reliable than that which is used here. DerbyCountyinNZ (Talk Contribs) 22:11, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

The entry you refer to by what appears to be a blogger, with a very poor grasp of Nz History, is factually incorrect. There is no evidence any Maori was actually killed. The blog this is referenced to contains dozens of amateurish errors. You are not seriously saying this is blog is better than an account from Abel Tasman's own diary? I will shorten the account as it is too long. Claudia — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.62.226.243 (talk) 21:49, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

Inclusion of local government elections?
Hello all! I recently stumbled across this page, and just wondering if local government elections are notable enough to be included? Cheers Ballofstring (talk) 03:51, 28 November 2014 (UTC)
 * I would think not. A link to Local elections in New Zealand (although that article is far from complete and needs work) in the See also section would be sufficient. (Talk Contribs) 04:10, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

 * Agree with Derby: the only municipal elections that get any sort of prolonged notice in the NZ media are those for the Auckland Council mayoralty. Most New Zealanders would struggle even to name any mayors other than those of Auckland, their local authority area, and some older people may know of the mayor of Invercargill.
 * (Derby: has something gone weird with your signature? It's suddenly ballooned to about ten lines of code.) Daveosaurus (talk) 07:08, 28 November 2014 (UTC)
 * My sig looks the same to me, just using basic wiki options: " blue (Talk Contribs)" Cheers, (Talk Contribs) 07:51, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Timeline of New Zealand history. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100602110733/http://www.gns.cri.nz/what/earthact/volcanoes/nzvolcanoes/aucklandprint.htm to http://www.gns.cri.nz/what/earthact/volcanoes/nzvolcanoes/aucklandprint.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 14:10, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

Re land Confiscated 1864
This could have been misconstrued as ALL land confiscated which is inaccurate. In all 4% of NZ's land was confiscated from Maori who started or joined in the 1860s' insurrection but with a change in government 6 months after the Waikato war ended in 1864 roughly half of this land was returned -most  to kupapa tribes but even to tribes who had been in rebellion. Those rebels who surrendered were treated more kindly than those who continued to make trouble. Perhaps understandably the tribes who were in the initial insurrection,then continued to oppose the government by joining either the Te Kooti insurrection or the Hau hau rebellion had more land confiscated, but even these tribes received back large reserves of land. In one well known case an iwi, on getting back its land then sold it to the government who incorporated it in a state forest(it was what kiwis call "bush"-heavily forested hill country.) Iwi by the 1870s and 1880s no longer needed this sort of land (for timber for waka or pa) as they were no longer hunter-gatherers but got income from subsistence farming, fishing, some hunting and seasonal work on roads, making fences and shearing.115.188.178.77 (talk) 08:25, 6 April 2016 (UTC)
 * No, it couldn't be misconstrued as "ALL the land was confiscated", except buy someone with very poor grasp of the English language. The rest of your argument is, as usual, irrelevant. DerbyCountyinNZ  (Talk Contribs) 08:37, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

 * I agree with DerbyCountyinNZ. The only phrasing that could be construed that way is "the land in the Waikato ..." or "all land in the ...". Beeswaxcandle (talk) 08:48, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

Time period headings
@Roger 8 Roger - can you point to literally anywhere that describes the 1820s as prehistoric? Oral histories are still historic, and it is far more useful to a reader for the historical periods to describe the period prior to human settlement and then prior to the wholesale arrival of Europeans.

I'd also like to ask you to cut out the personal attacks which you've made against me in multiple edit summaries this morning - if you continue to accuse me of bad faith editing I'll have to take this further. Turnagra (talk) 21:35, 27 May 2024 (UTC)

 * The 1820s in NZ were not prehistoric. Prehistoric means before writing or similar tangible records came along, which means prehistory ended at different times in different places. Europeans learn it as being before the Romans/Greeks - around 2,000-3,000 years ago (ie cave men imagery) which it was in Europe. (I think that is why you don't like the term). But in other places it was much later. In New Zealand there are no written sources until Cook in 1769 (some might say Tasman in 1642). That's one reason why NZ history is unusual, it jumped from prehistoric to modern almost instantly.

 * Prehistoric also starts with people, human history, which in most places goes back tens or hundreds of thousands of years. There weren't humans in NZ till about 1300 so it's wrong to say the time before that was prehistoric. The best description I can think of is to use the eras of geological time, because human history eras don't apply. That's another interesting and unusual point about NZ.

 * I am sorry you took offence at what I intended as a mildly humorous quip about the espresso - I saw your reversal at 7.00 am, and I know you know Waitangi was not a declaration of sovereignty, so it came across as making a political point while not fully awake. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 08:33, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
 * My issue with prehistoric is that it's misleading and comes with certain connotations that cause more issues than they're worth. It's the same to a lesser extent with "geological time", it feels weird describing stuff that happened less than 2000 years ago in the same way that we describe stuff from millions of years ago. I don't see a good reason to use those terms when there are other options that better align with New Zealand's history and are more useful for readers. Turnagra (talk) 09:58, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I think prehistoric technically is correct for 1300-1769 but I agree it does have implications that cause misunderstandings and problems. I do think though it is a point of interest. It might be better to use another term for the heading and explain 'prehistoric' in the article. For pre-1300 time I think we should not use prehistoric because it is the wrong word. I think geologic time is fine but if you prefer another title then what? 'Before the arrival of humans' might work. We could then use 'Before the arrival of Europeans' for the 1350-1769' period. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 21:54, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I think something along those lines would be better - my original edit used "pre settlement" and "pre colonial" which I think would be okay. I did consider "pre-European" or something similar but thought that the early explorers kind of mess with the neatness of that as a boundary (though if we do make it "pre-colonial", it should probably be moved to start at 1800 given the colonisation process started prior to 1840. Turnagra (talk) 04:58, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Comment: The Wiki definition of Prehistory: " [prior to] the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems." There being no 'written history' of New Zealand prior to European contact, this make pre-history in New Zealand everything prior to 1642. Pre-history can be further divided into "Prior to human settlement" (accepted estimate 1350, i.e everything before 1350) and post human settlement (i.e c.1350-1642). The historic period is therefore everything post-1642. Based on the current divisions this would cover the period 1642-1839, with appropriate subdivisions by century (as currently), and the later divisions all as current. DerbyCountyinNZ  (Talk Contribs) 07:21, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Quote from chapter One Prehistory is the study of human events before the advent of written accounts. Since there are no documents, the study has traditionally been carried on by anthropologists, not historians. Because the only comprehensive record of prehistoric activity is the material left buried in the ground, research in this field has been undertaken by archeologists who conduct field survey 3 and site excavations in order to obtain the primary data used in their chronological and cultural reconstructions. That means before maori arrived there was no prehistory because there were no humans. My comments about the possible titles are... 1/ To use 'pre-colonial is ambiguous. NZ wasn't colonised by Europeans till after about 1820 or 1830. Strays, whalers and crooks weren't really colonisers. And, according to Micheal King 'NZ has the almost unique honour of being colonised twice.' (I can't remember the exact quote). That won't go down well with some members of society but it's true. 2/ I prefer 1769 to 1642 because although there was some written evidence from Tasman it is very little and very uninformative about NZ as a whole, so it doesn't really give us anything to work with. I would guess that most Maori groups carried on as normal without ever hearing of the encounter. Compare that to Cook's visits - full mapping, Joseph Banks records and drawings of what they saw. There's a huge difference. What about a/ 'Before humans/people arrived b/ 'After Maori arrived, c. 1300 AD/CE 3/ After Europeans arrived, 1769.  Roger 8 Roger (talk) 08:58, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
 * At the risk of complicating things further, it would seem that Protohistory is applicable here. DerbyCountyinNZ  (Talk Contribs) 09:38, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Update self-correction - I think my quote above by Michael King should be 'discovered twice' not 'colonised twice'. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 14:26, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I totally agree that it's difficult to define given similar terminology could be used to describe the arrival of Māori and the arrival of Pākehā. Also agree that Cook's visit makes more sense than Tasman's as a watershed of sorts. I'd be happy with something like "before human settlement" for the first heading, but I think the second one could do with more work. This is mainly because I think that if you're saying "After Europeans" then it feels weird having stuff related to Europeans beforehand, whereas tying it to colonisation (whenever we decide that the time for that heading is best placed) gives it a nicer boundary and reflects the turning point in NZ society more than the early explorers do. Turnagra (talk) 19:49, 31 May 2024 (UTC)

What about 1/ Before human arrival 2/ After Polynesian settlement, c.1300 3/ After Captain Cook's arrival, 1769? Roger 8 Roger (talk) 22:44, 1 June 2024 (UTC)

 * I haven't participated in the discussion but I think this is a much better choice of words. I think we should avoid a mention of "colonisation" as the country was colonised twice. The word has several meanings, with the European one defined by the Oxford dictionary as "settle among and establish control over (the indigenous people of an area)", and the Maori one being settling in general, such as Mars colonisation. ―Panamitsu (talk) 23:24, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Given the political connotations of "colonisation", it would be better if the word was avoided where not actually necessary. DerbyCountyinNZ  (Talk Contribs) 23:42, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm happy enough with these (though don't agree that we need to avoid using "colonisation" per se) - my question though is whether we need to have the Cook heading, given at the moment it has Māori arrival through to signing of the Treaty of Waitangi as one section and I think that seems fine? Would just be a case of changing the first two headings in that case. Turnagra (talk) 23:44, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
 * If you mean the sections in the infobox template, I think they are not ideal. I think the three most important time periods are the ones being discussed now. The other key dates should fall within those main time periods. Eg, although 1907 and in 1947 are important, IMO they are only stages within the wider creation of NZ as it is now. The same can be said for 1840, whether the declaration of sovereignty or the treaty, they were both only stages which began in 1769 when NZ was opened up to rest of the world. So, IMO that structure in the IBX should be redone to have three main headings and a number of sub-headings, nearly all of which will be under the post 1769, Cook's arrival, section. This might receive some resistance from those who think that a key turning point was the treaty when Maori "permitted" the UK to have the sovereignty Maori already had and to live alongside Maori, but that is not what happened. If that were the case, for example, the declaration of sovereignty over the SI would not have been on the basis of discovery, as it was, but rather by secession. There were permanent European settlers already in NZ in 1840 and even more on their way. European settlement would have occurred even without the treaty, though probably in a far more disorganised way, detrimental to all. I think the treaty is a key event in NZ history, but more from an abstract psychological or cultural possion reather than a legal position. What has happened with the Tribunal is about the law, not about history and I think this is often muddled up. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 01:10, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I agree with not having the Cook heading. His arrival wasn't massively important in the grand scheme of things. Spekkios (talk) 21:46, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
 * The original problem was about the time periods in the subheadings, which were inaccurate. The article is simply about a timeline of NZ history, that could be done in different ways, including not using historic eras of time, but instead simply have a chronological list of dates. If we keep the historic periods, then 1769 is fundamentally important because it marks the change from one era to another, and I think saying NZ went from prehistoric to modern is best avoided. But, dropping the subheadings of historic eras might be the simplest approach. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 07:52, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't think we need to overthink this - the current top level divisions (roughly pre-1300, 1300-1839, 1840-1947, and 1947-present) seem fine to me, I just think we need to work out what the best name for the first two is. And I think we've landed on something akin to "Before human arrival" and "After Polynesian settlement", am I right? Turnagra (talk) 08:52, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm okay with that. I think the arrival of Europeans is at the same level of importance, meaning 1769. I think everything after that is below that in importance. However, if we have three main divisions, there won't be anything, or very little, in the first two but lots in the post 1769 section, which will look odd.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Timeline of New Zealand history


text:
Talk:Mosquitos Nation

Why should this page be deleted?Its an interesting history math.

from VfD
On 15 August 2004, this page was nominated for deletion. See Votes for deletion/Mosquitos Nation for a record of the debate. Rossami 22:35, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Mosquitos Nation


text: User:Crevaner

title: User:Crevaner


text:
Savio (river)

The Savio is a river in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. Its source is in the province of Forlì-Cesena near Montecoronaro on Mount Castelvecchio which is near the western side of Mount Fumaiolo. The source is at an elevation of 1126 m and is marked by an iron monument. A wolf (the symbol of Montecoronaro) and the rings of the caveja (a symbol of Romagna) are on this monument. The river flows near Verghereto and Bagno di Romagna as it winds through the mountains before entering Lago di Quarto. After leaving the lake, the river flows northeast near Sarsina (near the border with the province of Pesaro and Urbino) and Mercato Saraceno before flowing north. The river winds for 96 km along the valley. Its natural track has been preserved relatively well and, in the territory of Cesena, it shows an environment which is one of the purest of the whole Romagna. North of Cesena, the river crossed the border into the province of Ravenna. After a total course of 126 km the river enters the Adriatic Sea north of Cervia by Lido di Classe and Lido di Savio.

The River Savio Natural Park, 6 km long around a loop which once hosted a cave, starts from the two historical bridges of Cesena.

The park contains many species of animals and plants. The trees divide the area in two belts: the one near the waters contains white willows with black and white poplars; the second presents locust-trees.

Although the park is relatively small, many animals are visible here, both birds (herons, king-fishers, woodpeckers and raptors) and mammals (hares, porcupines, foxes, and roe deer).

title: Savio (river)