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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1853 | - 17 Jan 1853—1 Jan 1877: NZ Provinces
On 17 January 1853, New Zealand was divided into six Provinces (Auckland, Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, Otago), though there were soon secessions (Hawkes Bay 1858, Marlborough 1859, Southland 1864-1870, Westland 1868). Each province kept the revenue earned from the sale of their Crown land, and were responsible for encouraging immigration to their area. The provinces formally ceased to exist on the 1 January 1877 and local government was then
vested in elected borough and county councils.
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| 2 | 1873 | - 1873—1876: Vogel Immigration and Public Works
The Vogel Era - New Zealand adopted in the 1870s an assisted immigration and public works scheme inaugurated by Colonial Treasurer then Premier Julius Vogel to develop the country and to relieve the slump of the late 1860s; to be financed by borrowing overseas. His "Great Public Works Policy" resulted in a large increase in migrants and provision of many new railways, roads and telegraph lines. The population rose from 248,000 in 1870 to 399,000 in 1876.
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| 3 | 1879 | - 19 Dec 1879: NZ Universal Male Suffrage
Universal Male Suffrage was introduced to New Zealand with the Qualification of Electors Act. The Act extended the right to vote (or electoral franchise) to all European men aged over 21, regardless of whether they owned or rented property. This reform, known as universal male suffrage – or, at the time, as 'manhood suffrage' – helped transform New Zealand’s politics in the late 19th century. Maori men had been granted universal suffrage in 1867, to vote in four special Maori seats.
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| 4 | 1882 | - 15 Feb 1882: 1st Frozen Meat Export
The first frozen meat shipment was exported from New Zealand on 15 February 1882 aboard the Dunedin. The ship had been fitted with a coal-powered Bell Coleman freezing plant, which cooled the entire hold to 22 degrees celsius below the outside temperature. About 5000 carcasses were on board the Dunedin when it sailed from Port Chalmers to London. The new technology ultimately enabled the owner-operated (family) farm to become the standard economic unit in rural New Zealand for the next century.
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| 5 | 1893 | - 19 Sep 1893: NZ Universal Female Suffrage
Universal Female Suffrage in New Zealand was achieved when a new Electoral Act was signed into law in 1893. New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world in which women had the right to vote in parliamentary elections. The passage of the Act was the culmination of years of agitation by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and other organisations. As part of this campaign, a series of massive petitions were presented to Parliament; those gathered in 1893 were together signed by almost a quarter of the adult female population of New Zealand.
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| 6 | 1899 | - 11 Oct 1899—31 May 1902: Second Anglo-Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought between the British Empire and two Boer states, the South African Republic (Republic of Transvaal) and the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa. Initial Boer attacks were successful, and although British reinforcements later reversed these, the war continued for years with Boer guerrilla warfare, until harsh British counter-measures brought the Boers to terms.
New Zealand sent more than 6,500 personnel and 8,000 horses to South Africa for the war, with 71 killed in action or dying of wounds, with another 159 dying in accidents or from disease.
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| 7 | 1901 | - 1 Jan 1901: Commonwealth of Australia
Australia became a nation on 1 January 1901 when six British colonies — New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania — united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. This process is known as Federation.
- 15 May 1901: 1st Automobile Offence
Speeding Offense: Nicholas Oates appeared in the Christchurch Magistrate’s Court charged with driving 'a motor car within the city at a speed greater than four miles an hour' (6.5 km/hr) on Lincoln Road, Christchurch. The excessive speed had frightened the horses of George Gould, whose carriage was standing in the road near the hospital. Oates and his business partner Alexander Lowry owned Zealandia Cycle Works, the largest bicycle factory in New Zealand or Australia in the late 1890s. In 1898 he had become the first person to import a car into the South Island. At the time of his conviction for speeding there were only seven motor vehicles in Canterbury.
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| 8 | 1904 | - 27 Apr 1904: First Australian Labour Government
When Chris Watson and his ministers were sworn in on 27 April 1904, they were forming not just Australia’s first national Labor government. It was the first national labour government in the world.
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| 9 | 1908 | - 6 Nov 1908: Auckland to Wellington Railway Completed
The Auckland to Wellington Railway was ceremonially opened by Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward, at Manganuioteao, between National Park and Ohakune in 1908. Construction of the central section between Te Awamutu and Marton had taken 23 years. Regular services between Auckland and Wellington began soon after the opening ceremony, and an express service introduced in February 1909 made the journey in 18 hours. From 1924, a new 'Night Limited' service cut the trip to 14 hours.
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| 10 | 1914 | - 28 Jul 1914—11 Nov 1918: World War One
World War One (often abbreviated as WWI or WW1), also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the resulting 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.
Commonwealth countries, including New Zealand and Australia sent troops to the war in support of Great Britian. 8% of Australia's population served overseas in the war (330,000) and total deaths were 60,284. 9% of New Zealand's population served overseas in the war (98,950) and total deaths were 18,058.
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| 11 | 1918 | - Oct 1918: Influenza Pandemic
The second and more deadly wave of a new strain of Influenza arrived in New Zealand in October 1918. By the end of the year around 9,000 people across the country had died. Half as many New Zealanders lost their lives in little more than two months than during the entire First World War, and worldwide the pandemic was responsible for at least 50 million deaths. Maori were particularly affected by the flu, with a death rate eight times that of Pakeha.
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| 12 | 1922 | - 4 Oct 1922: Radio in New Zealand
Radio in New Zealand. The first radio station, Radio Dunedin, began broadcasting on 4 October 1922, but it was only in 1925 that the Radio Broadcasting Company (RBC) began broadcasts throughout New Zealand. In 1932, RBC's assets were acquired by the government, which established the New Zealand Broadcasting Board (NZBB).
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| 13 | 1929 | - 1929—1939: The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries, it started in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%.
New Zealand was especially vulnerable to worldwide depression, as it relied almost entirely on agricultural exports to the United Kingdom for its economy. The drop in exports led to a lack of disposable income from the farmers, who were the mainstay of the local economy. Jobs disappeared and wages plummeted, leaving people desperate and charities unable to cope. Work relief schemes were the only government support available to the unemployed, the rate of which by the early 1930s was officially around 15%, but unofficially nearly twice that level (official figures excluded Maori and women). In 1932, riots occurred among the unemployed in three of the country's main cities (Auckland, Dunedin, and Wellington). Many were arrested or injured through the tough official handling of these riots by police and volunteer "special constables". After 1932, an increase in wool and meat prices led to a gradual recovery.
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| 14 | 1931 | - 3 Feb 1931: Hawkes Bay Earthquake
When the deadly Hawkes Bay Earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck at 10.47 a.m., many buildings in central Napier and Hastings collapsed immediately. Fire broke out in Napier’s business district shortly after the earthquake, and once the reservoir emptied, firefighters were powerless. Flames gutted almost 11 blocks of central Napier, killing some people who were still trapped. In terms of loss of life (256), it remains the worst civil disaster to have occurred in New Zealand.
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| 15 | 1935 | - 27 Nov 1935—12 Dec 1949: First NZ Labour Government
New Zealand's first Labour Government was elected in the 1935 election. Undermined by its failure to cope with the distress of the Depression, the Coalition (or 'National') government was routed by the Labour Party led by Michael Joseph Savage. Labour held power for 19 years, implementing far-reaching economic and social reforms that set the political agenda for the next half century.
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| 16 | 1938 | - 14 Sep 1938: Social Security Act
The Social Security Act was passed in 1938, the cornerstone of the first Labour government’s welfare programme. The Act overhauled the New Zealand pension system and extended benefits for families, invalids and the unemployed. The Act combined the introduction of a free-at-the-point-of-use health system with a comprehensive array of welfare benefits. It was financed by a tax surcharge of one shilling in the pound, or 5%. Supporters envisaged a scheme that would protect New Zealanders 'from the cradle to the grave'.
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| 17 | 1939 | - 1 Sep 1939—15 Aug 1945: World War Two
World War Two (often abbreviated to WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
New Zealand and Australia contributed to the Allies war effort. 575,799 Australians served overseas. About 140,000 New Zealand men and women served, 104,000 in 2nd NZEF, the rest in the British or New Zealand naval or air forces. Fatal casualties during the conflict numbered 39,429 for Australia and 11,928 for NZ.
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| 18 | 1947 | - Jul 1947—1975: Assisted Immigration
The Immigration Assistance Scheme, introduced in July 1947, was designed to bring skilled workers into New Zealand. Unlike earlier schemes, the focus was on attracting single people with practical skills. There was an initial preference for 20 to 35-year-olds, but the upper age limit was extended to 45 in 1950. While assistance went primarily to white British citizens, the country also sought other European groups who could easily assimilate into post-war New Zealand. The most favoured were the Dutch – over 6000 arrived in the 1950s as part of an assisted passage scheme from the Netherlands. Most assisted immigrants travelled by ship and docked at Wellington, but in later years many arrived by plane at Auckland's Whenuapai Airport.
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Chris Korte's New Zealand Genealogy Project
1876 - 1949 (72 years)
