Today in History
Kiwi of the Week
Month Calendar View
Historic NZ events in July
Jul
1
1988 Bastion Point land returned
The government announced that it had agreed to the Waitangi Tribunal's recommendation that Bastion Point in Auckland be returned to Ngati Whatua ownership. more...
Jul
2
1938 Electric trains come to Wellington
Opened on 2 July 1938, the Johnsonville suburban line was the first in the country to be served by electric multiple units.
more...Jul
3
1963 DC-3 crashes in Kaimai Range
In what is still New Zealand's worst internal civil aviation accident, all 23 passengers and crew were killed. Helicopters were used for the first time in the search and rescue operation that followed. more...
Jul
4
1902 NZ Boxing Association formed at Christchurch
The New Zealand Boxing Association was formed to promote and foster amateur boxing in this country. Having drawn up the rules for fighting, the Association staged the inaugural New Zealand championships at Christchurch later in 1902. more...
1868 Te Kooti escapes from the Chathams
Te Kooti and 300 of his followers captured the schooner Rifleman and sailed for New Zealand, eventually landing at Whareongaonga, near Gisborne, nearly a week later. more...
Jul
5
1881 Poll tax imposed on Chinese
The Chinese Immigrants Act of 1881 introduced a ‘poll tax’ of £10. Ships arriving in New Zealand were also a restricted to one Chinese passenger per 10 tons of cargo.
more...Jul
6
1923 Main trunk express train disaster
In the early hours of the morning the express crashed into a landslip at Ongarue in the King Country. With 17 fatalities, this was the first major loss of life on New Zealand railways. more...
Jul
7
1924 'Tom Watson' wins bronze for New Zealand
The character in the Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire (1981) was based on Arthur Porritt, who won a bronze medal for New Zealand in the 100 metres at the 1924 Paris Olympics.
more...
1916 NZ Labour Party founded
This country's oldest existing political party, the New Zealand Labour Party emerged from a joint conference of the United Federation of Labour and the Social Democratic Party at Wellington.
more...
Jul
8
1893 NZ Racing Conference established
The New Zealand Racing Conference was formed to control the thoroughbred horseracing industry in this country.
more...Jul
9
1986 Homosexual Law Reform Bill passed
Wellington Central MP Fran Wilde's bill, which came into force in August, removed criminal sanctions against consensual male homosexual practices. more...
Jul
10
1985 Rainbow Warrior sunk in Auckland harbour
The Greenpeace ship, which was protesting against French nuclear testing, was torn apart by two bombs planted by French secret agents. A Portuguese crew member was killed. more...
Links
- Sinking the Rainbow Warrior - nuclear-free New Zealand
- Rainbow Warrior (Chch city libraries)
- Operation Wharf (NZ Police)
- The bombing and sinking of the Rainbow Warrior (Greenpeace)
- Rainbow Warrior bombing (NZ Herald)
- Rainbow Warrior sunk at dock sound file (Te Ara)
- The Rainbow Warrior and Mikhail Lermontov (Te Ara)
- French in New Zealand (Te Ara)
1967 NZ adopts decimal currency
Pounds, shillings and pence were replaced with dollars and cents − 27 million new banknotes and 165 million new coins. more...
Jul
11
1877 New Zealand’s first woman graduate
Kate Edger became the first woman in New Zealand to gain a university degree and the first woman in the British Empire to earn a BA. more...
Jul
12
2001 New Zealander wins Tour de France stage
The only stage win by a New Zealander in the Tour de France was a team time trial. Although Chris Jenner didn't finish with the core of his Credit Agricole team, he is still credited as sharing the stage win - he got to stand on the podium that day. more...
1863 British forces invade the Waikato
Lieutenant-General Cameron's force crossed the Mangatawhiri stream. This was the first act of war in the Waikato campaign, which had been planned in part to gain land for European settlement. more...
Jul
13
1916 First New Zealander obtains pilot's certificate
Vivian Walsh became the first New Zealander to obtain an aviator's certificate, following the establishment in October 1915 of the New Zealand Flying School at Orakei.
more...
Jul
14
1853 NZ's first general election begins
The first member of New Zealand's inaugural Parliament was elected unopposed at Russell in the Bay of Islands. It would take a further two and a half months to elect the remaining 36 members of the House of Representatives.
more...
1950 Death of Sir Apirana Ngata
Ngata contributed hugely to the revival of the Maori people in the early 20th century. His intelligence, tact, persistence and political skill helped him to promote Maori culture and identity. more...
Jul
15
1933 Lovelock smashes world mile record
Jack Lovelock's run at Princeton University beat the old record by almost two seconds and was dubbed the 'greatest mile of all time'. He went on to win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. more...
Jul
16
1965 NZ artillery opens fire in Vietnam
The 161 Battery, stationed at Bien Hoa air base near Saigon, opened fire on a Viet Cong position in support of the American 173rd Airborne Brigade. more...
Jul
17
1939 Death of Paddy the Wanderer
Paddy, a ginger and brown Airedale terrier, achieved national celebrity status due to his exploits on the Wellington waterfront (and beyond) during the 1930s. He was remembered as a 'little light in the dark days of the Depression'. more...
1863 Maori force defeated at Koheroa
The British invasion force led by General Cameron had its first significant encounter with Maori at Koheroa, near Mercer.
more...Jul
18
1855 NZ's first postage stamps go on sale
These adhesive, non-perforated stamps for the prepayment of postage were the famous 'Full Face' or 'Chalon Head', portraying a full-face likeness of Queen Victoria in her coronation robes. more...
1884 Death of Ferdinand von Hochstetter
The Austrian-born geologist von Hochstetter was the first to describe and interpret many features of New Zealand geology. He established a tradition of systematic geological mapping. more...
Jul
19
1982 Privy Council rules on Samoan citizenship
The Privy Council granted New Zealand citizenship to Western Samoans born after 1924. The government challenged this ruling, leading to accusations of betrayal and racism.
more...Jul
20
1965 Riots rock Mt Eden prison
The disturbance followed a botched escape attempt by two prisoners and lasted into the next day. Several warders were taken hostage and part of the prison was gutted by fire. more...
Jul
21
1865 Capture of Weraroa pa
Governor George Grey himself led a small force that 'took' the Pai Marire (Hauhau) pa at Weraroa, Waitotara. But it had long lost its strategic significance, and the small garrison had indicated a willingness to surrender. more...
Jul
22
1987 Lotto goes on sale for first time
Outlets opened to long queues with the first division prize of the inaugural draw amounting to $360,000. In the first year Kiwis 'invested' nearly $249 million in the new lottery, which was based on a weekly draw of six numbers. more...
Jul
23
1952 Yvette Williams leaps for gold at Helsinki
New Zealand's first female Olympic medallist, Yvette Williams (now Corlett) won gold in the long jump with an Olympic-record leap of 6.24 metres (20 feet 5 and 3/4 inches). more...
Jul
24
2000 New Zealand soldier killed in Timor-Leste
Private Leonard Manning became New Zealand's first combat death since the Vietnam War. Manning was part of New Zealand's contribution to a United Nations peacekeeping force in the fledgling nation of Timor-Leste (East Timor). more...
Jul
25
1981 Anti-Springbok protestors derail Hamilton match
350 anti-tour demonstrators invaded the rugby pitch at Hamilton, forcing the Springboks-Waikato match to be abandoned. There were violent scenes as rugby supporters pelted the protestors with bottles and physical scuffles broke out. more...
Jul
26
1928 Kiwi boxer fights for world heavyweight title
In the midst of boxing's golden age, Gisborne-born Tom Heeney took on Gene Tunney in front of 46,000 spectators at Yankee Stadium, New York. Although he was defeated, his title bid aroused tremendous interest in both New Zealand and the US. more...
1865 Parliament moves to Wellington
The capital moved from Auckland to the more central Wellington on the recommendation of an Australian commission. The old Wellington Provincial Council chamber became the new home for Parliament. more...
Jul
27
1963 Pioneer aviator George Bolt dies
Bolt was an outstanding figure in the development of commercial aviation in this country. He achieved a number of aviation firsts, taking New Zealand's first aerial photographs in 1912 and delivering its first official airmail in 1919.
more...Jul
28
1893 Women's suffrage petition presented
This massive suffrage petition − signed by nearly 32,000 women, almost a quarter of the entire adult European female population − helped pave the way for the passage of New Zealand's world-leading Electoral Act in September 1893. more...
Jul
29
1981 Police baton anti-tour protestors near Parliament
Up to 2000 anti-Springbok tour protestors were confronted by police who used batons to stop them marching up Molesworth Street to the home of South Africa's Consul to New Zealand. more...
Jul
30
1979 Carless days introduced
Carless days for motor vehicles were introduced to combat the second oil shock. They did little to reduce petrol consumption and were scrapped in May 1980. more...
Jul
31
1976 John Walker wins gold in Montreal
Following in the footsteps of Jack Lovelock and Peter Snell, Walker won gold in the Olympic 1500 metres. Black African nations boycotted the games in protest over the All Blacks tour to South Africa. more...
