’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.
The 2010 World Rowing Championships was the third major international rowing event to be held at Lake Karāpiro in Waikato. Find out about earlier events and other fascinating stories from New Zealand's rich rowing past.
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.
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.
Five decades ago most Kiwis enjoyed a standard of living that was the envy of other nations. During the 1960s the arrival of TV and jet airliners shrank our world, and New Zealanders began to express themselves on a range of international issues, including opposition to the Vietnam War.
The legendary mountaineer, adventurer and philanthropist – whose familiar, craggy face beams out from the $5 note – is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived. His ascent of Mt Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953 brought him worldwide fame – literally overnight.
On a fine, calm day ‘Cruising on the Interislander’ can be like a luxury Mediterranean cruise. But on a bad day Cook Strait can be one of the world's roughest stretches of water: seasickness, dodgy food and wildcat strikes have all been part of the colourful Cook Strait ferry story.
Christmas in New Zealand is less about snow and sleigh bells and more about sun, sand and backyard barbecues. Over the holiday season we explore the Kiwi Christmas experience –
from Abel Tasman’s first New Zealand Christmas in 1642 to the declining
reign of the Queen’s message
On 28 November 1979, 237 passengers and 20 crew were killed when Air New Zealand Flight TE901 crashed into Mt Erebus, Antarctica. The tragedy was followed by a demanding recovery operation and a raging debate over who or what was to blame
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.
When four young Liverpool musicians landed in Wellington on a lazy Sunday afternoon in June 1964, seven days of pandemonium erupted. Young New Zealanders flocked in their thousands to hear or just catch a glimpse of the famous 'Fab Four'.
First observed in 1916, Anzac Day - 25 April - commemorates those killed in war and honours returned servicemen and women. The ceremonies held at war memorials around the country, and in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, are rich in tradition and ritual.
For 56 days in July, August and September 1981, New Zealanders were divided against each other in the largest civil disturbance seen since the 1951 waterfront dispute. The cause of this was the visit of the South African rugby team – the Springboks.
The lethal influenza pandemic that struck New Zealand between October and December 1918 killed about 9000 people in two months. No other event has claimed so many New Zealand lives in such a short time.
