Timeline

War changed the face of New Zealand in the 19th century. Many thousands of Māori died in the intertribal Musket Wars between the 1810s and the 1830s. There were more deaths during the New Zealand Wars of the 1840s to 1870s between some Māori and the Crown, which for many tribes had dire consequences. Read the full article

New Zealand's first state house was formally opened on 18 September 1937. But the government has provided rental housing for New Zealanders for more than a century. Explore the history of this country's various state housing schemes and their contribution to the New Zealand way of life. Read the full article

New Zealand's Parliament dates back to 1854, just 14 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the beginning of the European settlement of the country. For most of its history as a nation state, New Zealand has had some form of elected government. Read the full article

On 19 September 1893 the governor, Lord Glasgow, signed a new Electoral Act into law. As a result of this landmark legislation, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world in which all women had the right to vote in parliamentary elections. Read the full article

Each year on Anzac Day, New Zealanders (and Australians) mark the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings of 25 April 1915. On that day, thousands of young men, far from their homes, stormed the beaches on the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is now Türkiye. Read the full article

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders fought their way up the boot of Italy from 1943 to 1945 as part of the vast multinational force assembled to roll back Axis aggression in far-flung theatres of war across the globe Read the full article

The second battle of El Alamein, which began 70 years ago this month, was the turning point of the war in North Africa. For New Zealand forces, this was longest and most important land campaign of WWII. But victory came at a heavy price: between 1941 and 1943, 14,000 Kiwis were killed, wounded or became prisoners of war. Read the full article

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie were assassinated in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo. This was a key event in sparking the Great War of 1914–18. Read the full article

The Second World War was the greatest conflict ever to engulf the world. It took the lives of 50 million people, including one in every 150 New Zealanders, and shaped the world that we have lived in ever since. Read the full article

Thousands of New Zealanders fought in the Pacific War, which was sparked by the Japanese bombing of the American naval base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. It was a conflict fought on a vast scale over huge distances. For the New Zealanders, this was a war fought close to home. Read the full article

See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi. Read the full article

Pivotal political and constitutional events with links to further information Read the full article

The disasters timeline and map give an overview of New Zealand's worst natural disasters, transport accidents, fires, mining accidents and other tragedies that have caused major loss of life. Read the full article

Today most New Zealand men are clean-shaven (though an increasing number grow moustaches especially for the month of 'Movember'). That wasn’t always the case. Moustaches have come and gone as Kiwi blokes have shown themselves to be dedicated followers of fashion. Read the full article

On 1 January 2014 Pencarrow Lighthouse at the entrance to Wellington Harbour celebrates its 155th anniversary. New Zealand’s first permanent lighthouse, Pencarrow was also home to this country’s first – and only – female lighthouse keeper. Read the full article

NZ and Antarctica share a long and rich history. From Tuati in 1840 to Edmund Hillary in the 1950s and more recent scientists, Kiwis have explored, examined and endured the frozen continent. Read the full article

Timeline for the Wellington Mounted Rifles in 1915 Read the full article

New Zealand’s first non-experimental television transmission went to air on 1 June 1960. To mark five decades of TV, in 2010 we presented five snapshots of Kiwi TV history. Explore pre-1960 experiments, TV news, music shows and modern election coverage - and discover how our own history has been showcased on the small screen. Read the full article

This timeline covers some of the key events and major players in the history of Māori rugby. It was compiled to mark the centenary of the first official New Zealand Māori team. Read the full article

The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment actions in 1915, from Sinai to Gallipoli Read the full article

In May the CMR and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) are thrown – as infantry – into the desperate struggle to seize the commanding heights of the Gallipoli Peninsula. In the next four months the regiment suffers more than half of all its casualties in the war. Read the full article

The history of photography in New Zealand dates from the 1840s. Today it’s hard to imagine life without photographic images. Their ubiquity extends from the newspaper to the art gallery, from the billboard to the family album, from product packaging to the internet. Read the full article

’New Zealand is often seen as a relatively safe country, but as this selection of notable crimes shows, the country has had its share of homicides, violence and other criminal acts. This timeline of more than 75 events can also be viewed as a map. Read the full article

In 1937 the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) became an independent service within the New Zealand defence forces. In the subsequent 75 years the RNZAF has built up a proud tradition of service, demonstrating resourcefulness and professionalism in the face of changes and challenges. Read the full article

The Post and Telegraph Department (the government agency from which New Zealand Post, Telecom and Kiwibank are descended) was crucial to this country’s participation in the First World War. Read the full article

An overview of the formation and units of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles in the First World war Read the full article