1904 - 1921 (16 years)
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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 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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| 2 | 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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| 3 | 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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| 4 | 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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Chris Korte's New Zealand Genealogy Project
