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February
1873 The Russian Scare
During the 19th century the Russian and British empires were involved in a number of conflicts, prompting many New Zealanders to fear a Russian sea borne invasion. On the 17 February 1873 the editor of The Daily Southern Cross, David Luckie, published a hoax report of a Russian invasion of Auckland by a Russian warship. This hoax was believed by a considerable part of Auckland’s population.
The Russian war scares of the 1880s caused the New Zealand Government to erect batteries overlooking the harbours of the four main centres.
Check out the historic places below to find out more about harbour defences:
Blumine Island Battery Historic Area, Queen Charlotte Sound
January
In January 1863 Canterbury Provincial Geologist Julius von Haast led an exploratory expedition in search of an overland route from the east to the west coast of the South Island. Haast's exploration of the West Coast revealed the extent of the Grey River coalfields and found traces of gold in rivers. The Haast Pass and Haast River are named after him.
The surveying of the New Zealand inland areas was fundamental to European settlement, defining the boundaries of ownership and identifying resources, useable land and access routes known to Maori for generations.
Check out the historic places below to find out more about surveying history in New Zealand:
Standard Chain Mark, Wanganui
Dobson Monument, Dobson
John Turnball Thomson Mausoleum and Family Plot, Invercargill
Cook Monument, Gisborne
Brunner Industrial Site, Greymouth
Standard Chain Mark, Wanganui
December
The worst railway disaster in New Zealand's history occurred on Christmas Eve 1953, when the Wellington-Auckland night express plunged into the flooded Whangaehu River at Tangiwai, 10 kilometres west of Waiouru in the central North Island. Of the 285 people on board, 151 were killed.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were visiting New Zealand on their first royal tour when the disaster occurred. The Queen made her Christmas broadcast from Auckland, finishing with a message of sympathy to the people of New Zealand.
Find out more about historic places associated with the railway disaster below:
Tangiwai Memorial, Tangiwai |
Heads Road Cemetery, Wanganui |
All Saints' Church (Anglican), PalmerstonNorth
Tangiwai Historic Reserve, Tangiwai
Heads Road Cemetery, Wanganui
North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) Historic Area
November
Otago Daily Times was first published on 15 November 1861 by founding members William Cutten and future Premier Julius Vogel. Under Vogel’s editorship the ODT became a strong advocate for Otago Province. To this day the newspaper has the longest history of daily publication in New Zealand and has a reputation for providing comprehensive coverage of the Otago region and advocacy for regional causes.
Find out more about places associated with New Zealand's publishing industry below:
Wairarapa Times-Age building, Masterton
Daily Telegraph building, Napier
Southland Times building, Invercargill
Cleave's Building (former), Auckland
Wairarapa Times-Age building, Masterton
The technology used to create and display a newspaper has dramatically changed in an online age but some of the country’s papers still work out of heritage buildings. Read more in "Pressing On", Heritage New Zealand, Autumn 2011
October
On 18 October 1924, the first trans-global radio transmission was sent from New Zealand to London. Otago farmer and amateur radio pioneer, Frank Bell sent the ground-breaking Morse code message from his family’s sheep farm in Shag Valley, Otago to London were it was received and replied to by amateur operator Cecil Goyder.
Find out more about places associated with telecommunications:
Te Naupata/Musick Point, Manukau
Shag Valley Station Buildings, Otago
Chief Post Office (former), Christchurch
Television New Zealand Studios, Auckland
Khandallah Telephone Exchange (former), Wellington
Te Naupata/Musick Point, Manukau
September
Rugby is an internationally recognised part of New Zealand’s heritage. This month and next, 20 teams will take part in the Rugby World Cup.
Although international rugby has been played for well over a century, the Rugby World Cup is a relatively recent phenomenon. The first tournament took place in May and June 1987, with games played in both New Zealand and Australia. The final was held at Eden Park, Auckland, on 20 June, where the home team beat France to become the inaugural holders of the Webb Ellis Cup.
Find out more about places associated with sports that are a part of New Zealand's identity:
Grandstand, Eketahuna
Grandstand, Eketahuna
Whare Tane, Auckland
Glacier Hut, Ruapehu
Carisbrook, Dunedin
Totalisator Building, Hokitika
August
Efforts to secure the survival of the Maori language stepped up a gear in 1987. The Maori Language Act came into force, meaning that Maori became an official language of New Zealand, alongside English. The Act also established Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Maori – the Maori Language Commission to promote the use of Maori as a living language and as an ordinary means of communication.
Find out more about places associated with the Maori language below:
Maori University Building |
Pompallier |
Pompallier, Russell, Bay of Islands
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Motukaraka
Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Hall, Auckland
Maori University Building (formerly Maori College Hostel), Otaki
July
On 10 July 1967 New Zealand introduced a decimal currency system. Pounds, shillings and pence were abandoned in favour for dollars and cents. The move, radical as it was, was quickly accepted by New Zealanders. The names 'kiwi' or 'zeal' were considered for the new currency but in the end the word 'dollar' was selected.
Find out more about places associated with New Zealand currency below:
Bank of New South Wales Gold Office, St Bathans
Bank of New South Wales, St Bathans
Bank of New Zealand, Hamilton
National Bank (former), Paparoa
Auckland Savings Bank (former), Auckland
Bank of Otago, Outram
June
1906 Death of Richard Seddon
Richard John Seddon, known as ‘King Dick’ is to date the longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is regarded by some, as one of New Zealand’s greatest political leaders.
Wellington Zoo was originally created when a young lion was presented to Seddon by the Bostock and Wombwell Circus. Seddon created the Zoo from this single specimen and the lion was later named King Dick in the Prime Minister’s honour. The stuffed body of King Dick (the lion) is displayed on the ground floor of the Museum of Wellington City & Sea.
Seddon died on 10 June 1906 while returning from Australia. He was buried in Wellington, with his grave being marked by a large monument.
Find out more about places associated with ‘King Dick’:
Seddon Statue, Hokitika
Gilmer Hotel (Former), Greymouth
Garrison Hall, Dunedin
Seddon Statue, Hokitika
Government Buildings/Courthouse, Hokitika
Church of St Mary the Virgin Historic Area, Christchurch
May
1926 NZ Railways magazine launched
The New Zealand Railways Magazine was the official publicity outlet of the New Zealand Government Railways Department. The magazine was published each month until June 1940. Based on British and American railway company magazines, it was originally intended as a shop organ for the Railways Department’s 18,000 staff and major customers. Over its 14-year history, the magazine covered the economic expansion of the late 1920s, the Great Depression and the years leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War.
During the inter-war years no other monthly magazine matched its commitment to promoting a popular literary culture in New Zealand.
Find out more about the places associated with the New Zealand rail system:
Dunedin Railway Station |
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Dunedin Railway Station
Westport Railway Workshop (former)
Frankton Junction New Zealand Railways Institute, Hamilton
Railway House (former), Whangarei
Makatote Viaduct, Pokaka; Erua April
1873 Julius Vogel becomes Premier
Julius Vogel became New Zealand’s eight Premier on 8 April 1873. Vogel was the dominant political figure of the 1870s, serving as Colonial Treasurer and Premier on several occasions. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works.
Check out the places associated with Julius Vogel:
Engine Shed, Arthur's Pass
Napier Courthouse
Greymouth Railway Station
Engine Shed, Arthur's Pass
North Island Main Trunk Line 'Last Spike' Memorial. Ohakune
Vogel House, Cottage and Grounds, Wellington March
1947 Debut performance of NZ Symphony Orchestra
Until the 1940 Centennial celebrations, symphonic music in New Zealand was provided by various orchestras formed in the cities and larger towns. The success of the Centennial Festival Orchestra encouraged the government to form a permanent national orchestra. The Second World War delayed the creation of the National Orchestra until 1946, and its first concert was in early 1947 at Wellington’s Town Hall opening with the obligatory performance of God Save the King.
Check out the places associated with New Zealand music:
Auditorium, Nelson School of Music |
Nelson School of Music |
Anthem House Oamaru
Old Choral Hall, University of Auckland
Nelson School of Music
Lilburn House, Wellington February
1882 First shipment of frozen meat leaves New Zealand
The Dunedin sailed from Port Chalmers with the first refrigerated cargo destined for Britain, pioneering the frozen meat and dairy trade that would become the cornerstone of the New Zealand economy.
Read more about the places associated with the frozen meat trade below:
Oamaru Harbour |
Carcass hanging shed, Totara Estate |
Totara Estate Carcass Hanging Shed, Oamaru
Oamaru Harbour Historic Area
Mona Vale, Christchurch
Gear Homestead 'Okowai', Porirua
Edwin Fox Hull and Anchor Windlass, Picton January
1958 Hillary arrives at Pole by tractor
On 4 January 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary and his New Zealand party reached the South Pole. They were the first to do so overland since Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated journey in 1912, and the first to reach it in motor vehicles.
Read more about the association New Zealand has with the Antarctic below:
Captain Scott Memorial, Christchurch
Captain Scott Memorial, Christchurch
St Saviour's Anglican Church (former), Christchurch
Dunedin Club
Te Koraha, Christchurch
Lyttelton Graving Dock and Pump House December
1964 NZ whalers harpoon their last victim
More than 170 years of New Zealand whaling history ended when J. A. Perano and Company caught its last whale off the coast near Kaikoura. The whale they killed on 21 December was the last to be harpooned in New Zealand waters from a New Zealand-owned ship. Perano Head, a steep headland that stands sentinel over the Cook Strait waters in which Joe Perano and two of his sons whaled for more than half a century, is named after the family.
Find out more about New Zealand whaling:
Fyffe House, Kaikoura
Fyffe House, Kaikoura
Howell's Cottage, Riverton/Aparima
Whaler's Cottage, Pitt Island, Chatham Islands
Akaroa Waterfront Historic Area
Te Kahuoterangi Whaling Station, Honeymoon Bay, Kapiti Island November
1886 Birth of iconic Anchor butter brand
From a dairy factory at Pukekura, Waikato, Henry Reynolds launched his Anchor butter. The brand name was allegedly inspired by a tattoo on the arm of one of his workers. The Anchor brand quickly established itself as a market leader and became synonymous with the New Zealand dairy industry. It would become one of this country's best-known trademarks.
Check out historic places that are associated with national identity and icons of New Zealand culture:
Woodlands
Woodlands, Gordonton
Treaty House, Waitangi
Chelsea Sugar Refinery and Estate, Auckland
Carisbrook, Dunedin October
1972 Death of poet, James K Baxter
James K. Baxter was one of New Zealand's best known and best loved poets. A hugely influential figure, Baxter was as well known for his life as for his writing. Baxter had devoted the last years of his life to social work among alcoholics and drug addicts. He died in Auckland, aged 46, soon after leaving the commune he had founded several years earlier at Jerusalem on the Whanganui River. He was buried at Jerusalem on Maori land in front of "the Top House" where he had lived, in a ceremony combining Maori and Catholic traditions.
St Joseph's Church (Catholic)
Check out historic places that are associated with James Baxter and other New Zealand literary figures below:
St Joseph's Church (Catholic), Jerusalem
Stone Store (former), Lichfield
Ngaio Marsh House, Christchurch
Katherine Mansfield Birthplace, Wellington
Frank Sargeson House, Takapuna, North Shore September
Some of Canterbury's most treasured landmark buildings were severely damaged by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010. Amongst the losses are the historic Homebush Station Homestead, former home to All Black Bob Deans who played in the first international rugby tour in 1905-06 and centrepiece of the station established by the Dean’s family in 1851. The 150 year-old mudbrick Coton’s Cottage at Hororata has also collapsed and the Repertory Theatre in Kilmore Street has been extensively damaged just months ahead of a major restoration project. While earthquake strengthened buildings have fared well many of the brick buildings in the CBD have been severely affected. NZHPT staff will be working with owners, councils and insurers on ways to retain heritage fabric in building repairs and for seismic strengthening.
Read more about the history of buildings damaged by the quake:
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| Lyttelton Timeball Station |
Afterward - one chimney collapsed (left), with part of it falling through the ceiling of the Library at the Timeball Station (right)
Photos: Paul Titus |
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Homebush Station Homestead
Darfield |
Afterward - a buckled wing, brick walls collapsed. |
The Stables and Woolshed at Homebush remain relatively unscathed. |
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| Repertory Theatre, Christchurch |
Afterward |
St Luke's Anglican Church, Little Akaloa (see below for afterward) |
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| Coton's Cottage, Hororata |
Afterward - plaster has collapsed, and part of the sod wall juts out below the roof. All is repairable. |
Afterward at St Luke's - Win Clark (structural engineer)and Alison Dangerfield (NZHPT) assess the damage |
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| Church of the Holy Innocents |
Afterward - windows broken, stone and plaster damage, but the altar stands. |
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| Cranmer Court, Christchurch. Afterward (left) - earthquake strengthening has helped minimise damage, and any less stable stonework is removed carefully to allow it to be reused when repairs commence. |
Manchester Courts, Christchurch. The building has been seriously affected and options for its future are being reviewed. |
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| Blackwell's Department Store, Kaiapoi |
Royal Hotel, Temuka |
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| Girls' Training Hostel (former), Christchurch |
Afterward - damaged chimneys and missing tiles |
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| Riverlaw, Christchurch |
Afterward - roofing damage |
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Contribute photos
If you have some photos of registered historic buildings and places damaged by the earthquake that you would be willing to share with us as part of our record of these special places, their stories, and what they mean to us, please visit our Flickr site, and upload them there. Our Flickr page provides further information about copyright and how the photos may be used by NZHPT. Go to the Register Search page to check whether the place is registered.
Visit NZHPT's Flickr page now
Suffrage
New Zealand was the first nation to bring in universal adult suffrage in 1893. Governor Lord Glasgow signed a new Electoral Act into law, making New Zealand the first self-governing country in the world to grant all women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
Even so, New Zealand women still had a long way to go to achieve political equality. They would not gain the right to stand for Parliament until 1919, and the first female Member of Parliament (Elizabeth McCombs) was not elected until 1933 – 40 years after the introduction of women's suffrage.
Terrace Station Homestead
Check out historic places that are associated with women's suffrage below:
Terrace Station Homestead. Hororata
Pitt Street Church (Methodist), Auckland
Odeon Theatre, Christchurch
Old Choral Hall, University of Auckland August
The first train to travel the length of the North Island Main Trunk line, the 'Parliament Special' left Wellington on the evening of 7 August. The 'Parliament Special' travelled over a makeshift track in the central section of the still-unfinished main trunk line. It carried Prime Minister Joseph Ward and other MPs north to greet the American navy's 'Great White Fleet'.
Mangaturuturu Viaduct
Check out historic places that are connected with the North Island Main Trunk line below:
Mangaturuturu Viaduct, Horopito
Ohakune Railway Station, Ohakune
North Island Main Trunk Line Historic Area
Taonui Viaduct, Ohakune
Matapuna Bridge, Manunui July
Horse racing was quickly introduced to the early settlements. Race meetings soon became important social and sporting events. Early race meetings in New Zealand were controlled by local committees elected for that meeting only. In July 1893 the New Zealand Racing Conference was formed to allow rules and regulations in jockey clubs and control the thoroughbred horseracing industry in New Zealand.
Redwood Racing Stables Main Block
Check out historic places that are associated with the horseracing industry below:
Redwood Racing Stables Main Block, Appleby (Richmond)
Chokebore Lodge, Christchurch
Makaraka Racecourse Totalisator Building, Gisborne
Kensington Park Grandstand, Whangarei
Canterbury Jockey Building, Christchurch June
The arrival of American forces in June 1942 brought a feeling of relief to many New Zealanders. Between 1942 and 1944 about 100,000 American servicemen were stationed in New Zealand, in support of the Allies' counter offensive against Japan.
This ‘American invasion’ brought a considerable clash of cultures which would have a profound impact on both visitors and hosts over the next 18 months.
Dilworth Building, Auckland
Check out historic places that are associated with the US troops below:
Old St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington
Dilworth Building, Auckland
Paekakariki Railway Station Paekakariki
Jean Batten Departmental Building, Auckland
Warkworth Town Hall, Warkworth May
In 1820, a missionary in Kerikeri was the first person in New Zealand to use a European plough. Reverend John Butler was the first ordained resident clergymen and is credited with important developments in New Zealand agriculture.
Chief Post Office (former), Christchurch
Check out historic places that are linked to other first achievements in New Zealand below:
Pencarrow Lighthouse (former), Pencarrow Head
Chief Post Office (former), Christchurch
Television New Zealand Studios, Auckland
Waihohonu Hut, Ruapehu
Feilding Community Centre, Feilding April
First Golden Shears competition
First held at the Masterton War Memorial Stadium in 1961, the inaugural Golden Shears surpassed all expectations with crowds so great; the local Army was called upon to control crowds around the stadium.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, before the impact of live sport on TV, the fascination and excitement of Golden Shears became a household name with seats booked twelve months in advance.The competition has become an icon of the shearing and wool-handling industry in New Zealand.
Ruatuna, Auckland
Check out historic places that are linked to the New Zealand wool industry below:
Ruatuna, Auckland
Wellington Woollen Manufacturing Company Building (former), Christchurch
Telford Farm Training Institution Administration Block, Balclutha
Kawarau Station Homestead and Woolshed, Bannockburn
Orari Gorge Station Farm Buildings, Geraldine March
First 'Talking Picture'
The first "talking picture" shown in New Zealand was at the Paramount Theatre, Wellington on March 6th, 1929.
Moviegoers flocked to see Frank Borzage’s Street Angel, a silent picture with a recorded musical soundtrack. As silent movies had usually been accompanied by live music, a recorded soundtrack was indeed a novelty. The first New Zealand-made talkie screened in January 1930 and by the early 1930s they were a global phenomenon.
Paramount Theatre, Wellington
Check out historic places that showed talking pictures below:
Civic Theatre Building, Auckland
Murchison Theatre, Murchison
Kerridge House, Gisborne
Arcadia Picture Theatre, Dannevirke
King Edward Picture Theatre (former), Dunedin February
Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day is the national day of New Zealand. It is a public holiday held each year on February 6 to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. This Treaty, often described as New Zealand's founding document, was an agreement between Maori chiefs and the British Crown, and covered issues of sovereignty, possession and rights of citizenship. For some people, Waitangi Day is a holiday; for many, and especially for Maori, it is the occasion for reflecting on the Treaty. The day was first officially commemorated in 1934, and it has been a public holiday since 1974 recognised as an important marker in the country’s history. This year marks the 170th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty.
Mangungu Mission House
Web links
For more information about Waitangi day and the Treaty of Waitangi, see New Zealand History Online
Check out places associated with the Treaty of Waitangi below:
Mangungu Mission House, Mangungu
Te Waimate Mission House, Waimate North
Treaty House, Waitangi
Holy Trinity Church (Anglican), Pakaraka
Waitangi Treaty Monument, Paihia December
1953 Queen Elizabeth II arrives for summer tour
In the summer of 1953-1954 the young Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Phillip visited New Zealand. The Queen visited 46 towns or cities and attended 110 separate functions during her stay. It was said that three in every four New Zealanders saw her. Some still regard the Royal Tour as New Zealand's greatest public occasion.
Grand Hotel Building
Find out more about places associated with the Royal Tour below:
Grand Hotel Building, Palmerston North
Cricket Ground Pavilion, Auckland
Clarendon Hotel facade, Christchurch
Tangiwai Historic Reserve
Carisbrook, Dunedin November
1939 NZ Centennial Exhibition opens
New Zealand's commemoration of the 1940 centennial was a major event. More than 2.6 million people visited the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, which ran from 8 November 1939 - 5 May 1940 at Rongotai, Wellington. Communities throughout the country held pageants, with hundreds dressing up in colonial costume and parading through the streets.
Cricket Ground Pavilion
Find out more about places associated with Centennial celebrations:
Cricket Ground Pavilion, Auckland
Treaty House, Waitangi
Petone Settlers Museum, Lower Hutt
Church Steps, Nelson
One Tree Hill Obelisk October
1861 First Cobb & Co coach service runs to Otago goldfields
Cobb & Co were not the first coach service in New Zealand but they quickly became the biggest. In its first venture from Dunedin to Gabriel's Gully in Central Otago, Cobb & Co reduced the time for the trip from two days to nine hours beginning a new era in New Zealand coaching.
Clarendon Hotel facade
Find out more about places associated with Cobb & Co below:
Carlton Hotel, Christchurch
Clarendon Hotel facade, Christchurch
Clyde Post Office (former), Clyde
House, Broadfield
Ohakune to Horopito Coach Road, Ohakune September
1928 First trans-Tasman flight
Australians Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm, in their Southern Cross triplane, landed at Wigram, Christchurch, 14 hours 25 minutes after leaving Sydney. More than 30,000 people thronged to greet them to see the first successful trans-Tasman flight.
Bankside Fuel Depot
Find out more about places associated with aviation below:
Jean Batten Departmental Building (former), Auckland
Guy Menzies Landing Site, Harihari
Melanesian Mission Buildings and Stone Garden Walls, Auckland
Bankside Fuel Depot, Bankside August
1914 New Zealand's fist ski club
The Ruapehu Ski Club was New Zealand’s first ski club making it the pioneer of New Zealand skiing organisations and one of the earliest in the British Commonwealth. The club held their first meeting in August 1914 at Waihohonu hut. They were also the driving force in the opening up of Tongariro National Park to visitors.
Waihohonu Hut
Find out more about places associated with the Ruapehu Ski Club below:
Waihohonu Hut, Ruapehu
Glacier Hut, Ruapehu
Kaikawaka Villa, Ruapehu
Fergusson Cottage Complex, Mount Ruapehu July
1916 Labour Party founded
After some 10 years of indecision and internal strife in the Labour movement, this country’s oldest existing political party, the New Zealand Labour Party was formed at a joint conference held in Wellington on 7 July 1916. It quickly gained the support of the urban working classes during the Great Depression. The sweeping victory of the 1935 general election brought Labour 55 seats in Parliament and the party remained in office until 1949.
Dixon Street Flats
Web links
For more information about the Labour Party and its early years, see New Zealand History Online
Find out more about historic places associated with the Labour Party below:
First State House, Wellington
Denniston Historic Area, Denniston
Dixon Street Flats, Wellington
Windle Settlement Workers' Dwellings Historic Area, Dunedin
Nash House, Lower Hutt June
1901 Cornwall Park gifted to Auckland
In 1901 Mayor John Logan Campbell gifted the land that is now Cornwall Park to the people of Auckland. The park was named in honour of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York who were on a royal visit at the time.
The park is centred on a volcanic cone and is renowned for its landscape design and its wide variety of trees. A pre-European Maori fortification (pa) was built on the cone, many features of which can still be seen. The park's donor, Sir John Logan Campbell, is buried on the summit of One Tree Hill alongside the obelisk.
One Tree Hill obelisk
Web links
For more information about John Logan Campbell, see New Zealand History Online
Find out more about places associated with parks below:
One Tree Hill Obelisk, Cornwall Park, Auckland
Sergeant Art Gallery, Queens Park, Wanganui
Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland Domain
Truby King Historic Area, Truby King Park, Wellington
Blue Baths, Government Gardens, Rotorua
May
1773 New Zealand's first sheep released
In 1773 James Cook released a ewe and a ram from the Cape of Good Hope in Queen Charlotte Sound during his second voyage to New Zealand. The sheep only survived a few weeks, but represented the start of New Zealand's long association with the animal as sheep farming has played an important part in the country’s economic history.
Telford Farm Training Institute
Web links
For more information about sheep and agricultural production, see New Zealand History Online
Find out more about places associated with sheep and the wool industry below:
Ruatuna, Matakohe
Highwic, Auckland
Landing Service Building (Former), Timaru
Telford Farm Training Institute Administration Block, Balclutha
Shag Valley Station Buildings, Otago
April
1922 New Zealand’s first poppy day
The first Poppy Day Appeal was held in New Zealand in 1922, which makes it one of the oldest nationwide appeals in the country.Unlike other countries; the NZRSA did not hold its inaugural Poppy Appeal in association with Armistice Day (11 November).
Because the shipment arrived in New Zealand too late for Poppy Day to be properly promoted prior to Armistice Day, the NZRSA decided to postpone it until the day before Anzac Day, 1922. The NZRSA declared the first Poppy Day a 'brilliant success'. The annual Poppy Day Appeal has become its primary means of raising funds for the welfare of returned service personnel and their dependants.
Hall of Memories, National War Memorial
Web links
For more information about Poppy Day, see New Zealand History Online
Find out more about places associated with the ANZACs below:
National War Memorial and Carillon, Wellington
Citizens' War Memorial, Christchurch
ANZAC and Kiwi Halls, Featherston
War Memorial Hall, Wanganui
Mangapurua Valley Historic Area, Ruapehu
March
1860 First Taranaki war erupts at Waitara
The opening shots of the first Taranaki War were fired on 17 March 1860 when Imperial troops attacked a pa built by the Te Ati Awa chief Te Rangitake at Te Kohia. Te Rangitake (also known as Wiremu Kingi) and his supporters were resisting the governments claims to have purchased the Waitara block.
Whiteley Mission House
Web links
For more information about the Taranaki Wars, see New Zealand History Online
Find out more about places associated with the Taranaki Wars below:
The Gables Colonial Hospital, New Plymouth
Whiteley Mission House, New Plymouth
Waverley Ralway Station, Waverley
Te Koru Pa, New Plymouth
Sap (Pratt's), Waitara
February
Wanganui Opera House opens February 1900
The Wanganui Opera House was built in response to an upsurge of theatrical entertainment in Victorian New Zealand, and also a Wanganui Borough Council decision that Queen Victoria's record reign should be marked. The building was officially opened on 9 February 1900 by the Premier, Rt Hon Richard Seddon and has served as one of Wanganui’s finest entertainment venues for over 100 years.
Wanganui Opera House
Weblinks
For more information about the Wanganui Opera House, see New Zealand History Online
Find out more about places associated with music, theatre and dance below:
Wanganui Opera House, Wanganui
Hastings Municipal Theatre, Hastings
Odeon Theatre, Christchurch
St James Theatre, Auckland
January
Pencarrow Lighthouse was the first permanent lighthouse to be built in New Zealand.
On 1 January 1859 the lighthouse shone for the first time, amid great celebration. It was, for a time, operated by New Zealand's first and only female lighthouse keeper, Mary Jane Bennett.
Pencarrow Lighthouse remained operational till June 1935 when it was replaced by an automated light at Baring Head. Used a day mark, it has been maintained by NZHPT since 1966.
Pencarrow Lighthouse
Find out more about significant historic lighthouses below:
Pencarrow Lighthouse (former), Pencarrow Head
Boulder Bank Lighthouse, Nelson
Cape Egmont Lighthouse, Pungarehu
Kaipara North Head Lighthouse
SS Tararua Wreck Site, Tararua Acre, and Waipapa Lighthouse Site, Otara
December
Samuel Marsden conducts NZ's first Christian service on 25 December 1814
The earliest recorded church service in New Zealand took place at Oihi Beach in the Far North on Christmas Day 1814. A service led by Samuel Marsden that launched the Christian Missionary phase of New Zealand history.
Web links
For more information about this first Christian service, see New Zealand History Online
Find out more about places associated with the Christian Missionary Society (CMS) below:
Kerikeri Mission House, Kerikeri
Te Waimate Mission House, Waimate North
Stone Store, Kerikeri
The Elms Mission House and Library, Tauranga
Rangihoua Historic Area, Bay of Islands November
Death of Te Rauparaha, war chief of Ngati Toa
This famous chief of the Ngati Toa won a reputation for cunning and audacious war leadership. His fame rests principally upon the extent of his conquests and, as a result, he has often been dubbed the "Maori Napoleon". Te Rauparaha died on 27 November 1849 and was buried near the church, Rangiatea, in Otaki. He is believed to have been reinterred on Kapiti Island.
Paremata Barracks
Web links
For more information about Te Rauparaha see New Zealand History Online
Find out more about places associated with this tribal leader below:
St Alban's Church (Anglican), Pauahatanui
Paremata Barracks, Paremata
Te Rauparaha Memorial & Jubilee Memorial, Otaki
Te Awamate, Rangitikei
St Stephen's Church, Tuahiwi