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Historic NZ events in June

Jun

1960 New Zealand's first official TV broadcast

Broadcast from Shortland St in central Auckland, New Zealand’s first official television transmission began at 7.30 p.m.

Jun

New Zealand steamer captured by the <em>Wolf</em>

1917 New Zealand steamer captured by the Wolf

The steamer Wairuna, en route from Auckland to San Francisco, was captured by the German raider Wolf and later sunk near the Kermadec Islands. The crew of 42 was taken prisoner.

1970 Motor racing driver Bruce McLaren dies

In 1958 Bruce McLaren was the first recipient of the Driver to Europe award, which enabled promising Kiwis to race against the world’s best.

Jun

1869 University of Otago founded

Governor George Bowen gave his assent to the Otago Provincial Council’s University of Otago Ordinance, enabling the establishment of New Zealand’s first university.

1936 Colin 'Pinetree' Meads born

The legendary All Black lock was a physically tough, uncompromising player. Rugby writer Lindsay Knight described Colin Meads as New Zealand's equivalent of Australia's Sir Donald Bradman or American Babe Ruth as a sporting legend.

1941 First women enter police training

Calls for policewomen had been made since the 1930s, when the National Council of Women started lobbying for women officers.

Jun

1943 Rail tragedy at Hyde

The Cromwell–Dunedin express, travelling at speed, derailed while rounding a curve near Hyde in Central Otago.

Jun

1847 Auckland Savings Bank opens for business

The New Zealand Banking Company, Auckland’s first bank, had been wound up two years earlier.

1866 Te Kooti exiled to Chathams

The future prophet and military leader was deported to the Chatham Islands with Pai Mārire prisoners. He had been accused of spying for the enemy while fighting alongside government troops.

Jun

1823 Wesleyan mission established

Samuel Leigh and William White established Wesleydale, a Wesleyan (Methodist) mission station at Kaeo. Leigh was friendly with Samuel Marsden of the Church Missionary Society and the two missions worked closely together.

1996 New Zealand’s first wind farm becomes operational

Commissioned by Genesis Energy, New Zealand’s first commercial wind farm opened in the windy hills of Wairarapa.

Jun

1917 Battle of Messines

The Battle of Messines was a prelude to the much larger Third Battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele. New Zealanders played a prominent role in the successful action at Messines but paid a heavy price: 3700 casualties, including 700 dead.

1921 First Rotary club in New Zealand founded

A local Rotary club was established at a luncheon in Wellington’s YMCA, with Alexander Roberts elected as the first president.

1940 Fighter ace Edgar ‘Cobber’ Kain killed

Known to some as ‘Killer Kain’, the Hastings-born pilot's exploits flying Hurricanes for the Royal Air Force’s No. 73 Squadron in the first year of the Second World War had made him a household name.

1976 McDonald's arrives in New Zealand

The golden arches appeared for the first time in New Zealand at Cobham Court, Porirua.

Jun

1987 New Zealand goes nuclear-free

The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act was passed into law, establishing this country as a nuclear and biological weapon-free zone.

Jun

1868 Beginning of Tītokowaru's war

Ngā Ruahine fighters led by Riwha Tītokowaru killed three Pākehā settlers near Ketemarae, north of Hāwera, signalling the resumption of fighting in south Taranaki.

1909 Public Trust Office building opens

Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward opened the Public Trust Office Building in Lambton Quay, Wellington. The occasion was marked by a lunchtime banquet and a concert and dance that evening

Jun

1886 Eruption of Mt Tarawera

The eruption lasted six hours and caused massive destruction. It destroyed several villages, along with the famous silica hot springs known as the Pink and White Terraces. Approximately 120 people, nearly all Māori, died.

1889 First kindergartens

The first New Zealand kindergarten to educate children, in Dunedin, was based on the ideas of the German educationalist Friedrich Froebel.

1906 Death of Richard Seddon

Known as 'King Dick', Seddon had dominated New Zealand politics since the early 1890s. His Liberal government established the tradition of state-supported welfare in this country. Read more...

Jun

1901 Cornwall Park gifted to Auckland

At a civic reception for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, John Logan Campbell handed over the deed to land around One Tree Hill/Maungakiekie. The new park was named in honour of the royal couple.

Jun

1902 New Zealand flag confirmed

The New Zealand blue ensign that had been adopted for use on government ships in 1869 was proclaimed as ‘the recognised flag of the colony'

1942 First US troops arrive in Auckland

Over the following two years, about 100,000 American servicemen would spend time in New Zealand, which became a rear base for the Allies’ counter-offensive against Japan.

Jun

1866 Murder on the Maungatapu track

The murder of five men on the Maungatapu track, south-east of Nelson, in June 1866 shocked the colony.

Jun

1984 Muldoon calls snap election

Prime Minister Robert Muldoon surprised many by announcing a ‘snap’ election to be held in exactly one month’s time.

Jun

1935 Lovelock wins ‘Mile of the Century’

The Ivy League Princeton University hosted an annual elite mile race during the 1930s. New Zealand medical student Jack Lovelock, who had set a world record there in 1933, was invited to return in 1935 to run in what became known as the ‘Mile of the Century’.

1959 Chinese gooseberry becomes kiwifruit

The prominent produce company Turners and Growers announced that it would from now on export Chinese gooseberries under the name 'kiwifruit'. First grown here in 1906, kiwifruit are now cultivated worldwide, with New Zealand-grown fruit marketed as 'Zespri'.

Jun

1923 Baby-farmer Daniel Cooper hanged

A generation after the hanging of the infamous Minnie Dean, the murder trial of Daniel and Martha Cooper revealed that ‘baby farming’ and illegal abortion were still regarded as solutions to the problem of unwanted children in New Zealand.

1971 Polynesian Panther Party founded

The Polynesian Panther Party was founded in Auckland by six young Pacific Islanders: Paul Dapp, Will ’Ilolahia, Vaughan Sanft, Fred Schmidt, Nooroa Teavae and Eddie Williams. The group included Samoans, Tongans, Cook Islanders, and a few Māori.

Jun

1843 The Wairau incident

Four Māori and 22 Europeans were killed in the first violent clash between Māori and Pākehā since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Read more...

Jun

1932 Long-distance walker Esther James reaches Bluff

The Aucklander, a well-connected former model, had left Spirits Bay in the Far North on 3 December to walk the length of the country to promote New Zealand-made goods during the Depression. She had government patronage and support from the Manufacturers’ Federation.

Jun

<em>Niagara</em> mined off Northland coast

1940 Niagara mined off Northland coast

The Second World War arrived in New Zealand with a bang when German mines sank the trans-Pacific liner Niagara off Northland’s Bream Head.

1869 First game of rugby played in NZ?

The first game of football in New Zealand played under Rugby rules may have been a match between Whanganui Town and Countr at suburban Aramoho on Saturday 19 June 1869

Jun

1943 US Navy tragedy at Paekākāriki

Ten United States Navy personnel drowned off the Kāpiti Coast, north of Wellington, during a training exercise in bad weather.

1987 All Blacks win the first World Cup

With Michael Jones, John Kirwan and David Kirk scoring tries, the All Blacks defeated France 29–9 at Eden Park, Auckland. Kirk became the first captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. Read more...

Jun

1864 Battle of Te Ranga

At Te Ranga the British sought revenge for their humiliating defeat at the battle of Gate Pā

1964 The Beatles land in New Zealand

Beatlemania hit New Zealand when 7000 hysterical fans greeted the Fab Four in Wellington during their ‘Far East’ tour. After concerts in the United States, Europe, Hong Kong and Australia, the lads from Liverpool touched down in New Zealand.

Jun

1954 Parker-Hulme murder in Christchurch

Armed with a brick in a stocking, 16-year-old Pauline Parker and her best friend Juliet Hulme, 15, became two of New Zealand's most notorious female murderers when they killed Pauline's mother, Honorah, in Victoria Park, Christchurch.

Jun

1961 Antarctic Treaty comes into force

As claimant to the Ross Dependency, New Zealand took part in a 1959 conference in Washington DC about the political and international status of Antarctica. The resulting Antarctic Treaty was agreed to by the 12 participating states.

1973 World Court condemns French nuclear tests

The ruling by the International Court of Justice was part of New Zealand's long campaign to end French nuclear testing in the Pacific. The French ignored the court's injunction to cease testing. Read more...

Jun

<em>New Zealand Truth</em> hits the news stands

1905 New Zealand Truth hits the news stands

At its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, New Zealand Truth prided itself on being ‘the champion of the little person and the scourge of corruption and scandal in high places’. Read more...

Jun

1860 Death of the first Māori King

The Māori King movement came into existence in the late 1850s as an attempt to unite the tribes, prevent land sales and make laws for Māori. Pōtatau Te Wherowhero became the first Māori King in 1858, but died two years later. Read more...

2003 Parliament votes for prostitution reform

The Prostitution Reform Act was passed on a tumultuous night in Parliament, with the public galleries filled with supporters from both sides.

Jun

1918 Wimmera sunk by German mine

The steamer Wimmera, bound from Auckland to Sydney, struck a mine laid north of Cape Maria van Diemen in 1917 by the German raider Wolf. Twenty-six of its 151 passengers and crew were lost.

1987 A.J. Hackett bungy jumps from Eiffel Tower

The speed skier and bungy pioneer planned the 110-m leap meticulously. His dozen-strong team hid on the tower overnight and Hackett jumped at dawn. He described it as ‘one small step for a man, a bloody great leap for the adventure tourism industry.’

Jun

1936 Māui Pōmare memorial unveiled

Māori and Pākehā from around the country converged on Manukorihi Pā in Waitara, Taranaki, to attend the unveiling of a memorial to ‘one of New Zealand’s greatest men’, Sir Māui Pōmare.

1975 Mark Williams hits no. 1

'Yesterday was just the beginning of my life' topped the New Zealand music charts for three weeks. Williams successfully combined soul and pop with an image that merged glam rock with disco.

Jun

1881 First registered female pharmacist

Elizabeth Robinson of Christchurch was the first woman to register as a pharmacist under a registration system established by the Pharmacy Act 1880.

1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 eventually led to the outbreak of the First World War. Read more...

1919 New Zealand Prime Minister signs Treaty of Versailles

Bill Massey’s was the 17th signature on the treaty, the implementation of which formally ended the war between the Allies and Germany.

1920 Alexander Turnbull Library opens

Alexander Turnbull’s ‘most generous bequest to the people of New Zealand’ was officially opened at the bottom of Bowen St in Wellington.

HMNZS <em>Otago</em> sails for Mururoa test zone

1973 HMNZS Otago sails for Mururoa test zone

Prime Minister Norman Kirk told the 242 crew of HMNZS Otago that their Mururoa mission was an ‘honourable’ one – they were to be a ‘silent accusing witness with the power to bring alive the conscience of the world’.

Jun

1862 Wreck of the White Swan

No human lives but many irreplaceable government records were lost when the steamer was wrecked on the Wairarapa coast

1990 First female Anglican diocesan bishop appointed

Dr Penny Jamieson’s rise through church ranks was rapid. The first women were ordained to the Anglican priesthood in New Zealand in 1977. Jamieson was ordained and appointed to a Wellington parish in 1985.

Jun

First issue of <em>New Zealand Listener</em> published

1939 First issue of New Zealand Listener published

The New Zealand Listener soon expanded beyond its original brief to publicise radio programmes to become the country’s only national weekly current affairs and entertainment magazine.

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TODAY IN HISTORY

Historic NZ events in June

1960 New Zealand's first official TV broadcast

1917 New Zealand steamer captured by the Wolf

1970 Motor racing driver Bruce McLaren dies

1869 University of Otago founded

1936 Colin 'Pinetree' Meads born

1941 First women enter police training

1943 Rail tragedy at Hyde

1847 Auckland Savings Bank opens for business

1866 Te Kooti exiled to Chathams

1823 Wesleyan mission established

1996 New Zealand’s first wind farm becomes operational

1917 Battle of Messines

1921 First Rotary club in New Zealand founded

1940 Fighter ace Edgar ‘Cobber’ Kain killed

1976 McDonald's arrives in New Zealand

1987 New Zealand goes nuclear-free

1868 Beginning of Tītokowaru's war

1909 Public Trust Office building opens

1886 Eruption of Mt Tarawera

1889 First kindergartens

1906 Death of Richard Seddon

1901 Cornwall Park gifted to Auckland

1902 New Zealand flag confirmed

1942 First US troops arrive in Auckland

1866 Murder on the Maungatapu track

1984 Muldoon calls snap election

1935 Lovelock wins ‘Mile of the Century’

1959 Chinese gooseberry becomes kiwifruit

1923 Baby-farmer Daniel Cooper hanged

1971 Polynesian Panther Party founded

1843 The Wairau incident

1932 Long-distance walker Esther James reaches Bluff

1940 Niagara mined off Northland coast

1869 First game of rugby played in NZ?

1943 US Navy tragedy at Paekākāriki

1987 All Blacks win the first World Cup

1864 Battle of Te Ranga

1964 The Beatles land in New Zealand

1954 Parker-Hulme murder in Christchurch

1961 Antarctic Treaty comes into force

1973 World Court condemns French nuclear tests

1905 New Zealand Truth hits the news stands

1860 Death of the first Māori King

2003 Parliament votes for prostitution reform

1918 Wimmera sunk by German mine

1987 A.J. Hackett bungy jumps from Eiffel Tower

1936 Māui Pōmare memorial unveiled

1975 Mark Williams hits no. 1

1881 First registered female pharmacist

1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

1919 New Zealand Prime Minister signs Treaty of Versailles

1920 Alexander Turnbull Library opens

1973 HMNZS Otago sails for Mururoa test zone

1862 Wreck of the White Swan

1990 First female Anglican diocesan bishop appointed

1939 First issue of New Zealand Listener published

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