Today in History
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Historic NZ events in August
Aug
1987 Maori becomes official language
The Maori Language Act came into force, meaning that te reo Māori could now be used in some legal proceedings. The Act also established the Maori Language Commission. more...
Links
- History of the Maori language - Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori
- Treaty events since 1950 - Treaty timeline
- David Lange
- Maori language Act (Maori Language Commission)
- History of Maori Language (Korero Maori)
- Maori Language Commission (Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori)
- Maori people and culture today (Te Ara)
- Maori language (1966 encyclopaedia)
Aug
1983 Protest as USS Texas visits Auckland
The visit sparked anti-nuclear rallies on land and sea. Nuclear ship visits became an election issue in 1984 and they were later banned by David Lange's Labour government. more...
Aug
1941 Finnish barque Pamir seized as war prize
Following its arrival in Wellington on July 29, the Pamir was seized as Finland was deemed to be 'territory in enemy occupation'. The ship sailed under the New Zealand ensign until 1948. more...
Aug
1965 Cook Islands achieve self-government
First included within the boundaries of New Zealand in 1901, the islands were governed by a Resident Commissioner until 1946. Despite gaining self-government, Cook Islanders remained New Zealand citizens. more...
Aug
1988 Cartwright Report condemns cervical cancer treatment
The report was triggered by Sandra Coney and Phillida Bunkle's Metro article, 'An Unfortunate Experiment'. Published in June 1987, this claimed that dozens of cervical cancer patients at National Women's Hospital were receiving inadequate treatment. more...
Aug
1936 Lovelock wins 1500-m gold at Berlin
Jack Lovelock won New Zealand's first Olympic athletics gold medal before Adolf Hitler and a crowd of 110,000 at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He led the 1500-m field home in a world record time of 3:47.8.
more...Links
- Jack Lovelock
- NZ's first Olympic century
- Timaru's heroes - roadside stories
- Jack Lovelock: Rhodes Scholar (University of Otago)
- Speedsters: Come on Jack (NZEdge)
- Jack Lovelock (NZ Sports Hall of Fame)
- Organised sports (Te Ara)
- John Edward Lovelock (DNZB)
- Jack Lovelock 1910-1949 (Timaru Boys’ High School)
Aug
1908 First train runs length of main trunk line
The 'Parliament Special' travelled over a makeshift track in the central section of the still-unfinished main trunk line. It carried MPs north to greet the American navy's 'Great White Fleet'. more...
Links
- Rise and fall - the North Island main trunk line
- The North Island main trunk line
- Engineering heritage: The Main Trunk line (IPANZ)
- North Island Main Trunk Line 'Last Spike' Memorial (Historic Places Trust)
- Raurimu Spiral (Historic Places Trust)
- Makohine Railway Viaduct (Historic Places Trust)
- Ohakune to Horopito Coach Road (Historic Places Trust)
- Birth of a national railway system (1966 encyclopaedia)
Aug
1915 Wellington Battalion captures Chunuk Bair
Led by Lieutenant-Colonel William Malone, this attack was one of the high points of the New Zealand effort at Gallipoli. more...
Aug
1930 George Nepia plays last All Blacks test
Nepia was one of the stars of the 1924-5 All Blacks, playing in all 32 matches on the team's tour of the British Isles, France and Canada. He played the last of his nine tests in 1930, against the British Lions. more...
1908 US 'Great White Fleet' arrives in Auckland
The arrival of the 16 American battleships under the command of Admiral C.S. Sperry was greeted with much pomp and ceremony. An extensive programme of 'fleet week' entertainment was put on for the 14,000 sailors. more...
Aug
1840 British assert sovereignty as French head for Akaroa
HMS Britomart arrived at Akaroa, on Banks Peninsula, a week before a shipload of French colonists landed. The ship's captain raised the Union Jack to confirm British sovereignty over the area. more...
Links
- European explorers - exploration of New Zealand
- History of Auckland City (Auckland City Council)
- Ngai Tahu report (Waitangi Tribunal)
- A place as important as Waitangi? (PHANZA)
- The French in New Zealand (Te Ara)
- Ngai Tahu (Te Ara)
- French settlement at Akaroa (1966 encyclopaedia)
- Captain Lavaud (1966 encyclopaedia)
Aug
1962 Picton ferry Aramoana enters service
The country's first roll-on roll-off ferry, New Zealand Railways' Aramoana revolutionised transport between the North and South islands. more...
Aug
1895 Baby-farmer Minnie Dean hanged
In 1895 Minnie Dean became the first (and only) woman to be hanged by law in New Zealand. Known as the 'Winton baby farmer', she had been convicted of the murder of baby Dorothy Edith Carter after a sensational trial in Invercargill. more...
Aug
2005 Death of David Lange
David Lange was New Zealand's youngest prime minister during the 20th century. Renowned for his sharp wit and oratory, he is best remembered as leader of the fourth Labour government from 1984 to 1989. more...
Aug
1891 Women's vote petitions presented to Parliament
These petitions, signed by 9000 women, contributed to the introduction of a Female Suffrage Bill in Parliament. But while this received majority support in the House of Representatives, it was defeated in the Legislative Council.
more...Aug
1951 Troop ship Wahine wrecked en route to Korean War
Carrying New Zealand troops to the Korean War, the 38-year-old Lyttelton–Wellington ferry Wahine ran aground in the Arafura Sea. There were no casualties but the ship became a total loss. more...
1945 The war is over! VJ Day
Japan's surrender following the atomic explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the Second World War. More than 200,000 New Zealanders had served during the war and more than 11,500 had died. more...
Aug
1944 CORSO formed
CORSO was set up to support aid efforts in war-torn nations. It became increasingly involved in the developing world and also spoke out about poverty in New Zealand. more...
Aug
1839 NZ Company ship Tory arrives
The New Zealand Company party, which included William Wakefield and his nephew Jerningham, was sent to make preparations for organised settlement. more...
Aug
1955 20-year old hanged for murder
Edward Te Whiu was one of the last four people executed in New Zealand. He admitted to killing 75-year-old widow Florence Smith, but his underprivileged background and childlike mental state led some to question the appropriateness of the death penalty. more...
1971 Deadline for Vietnam pull-out announced
Prime Minister Keith Holyoake’s announcement to Parliament that New Zealand’s combat force would be withdrawn before the end of the year coincided with a similar announcement by the Australian government. more...
Aug
1944 Kiwi pilot's sacrifice saves French village
As his damaged Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber rapidly lost height, Pilot Officer James Stellin struggled to avoid crashing into Saint-Maclou-la-Brière, a village of 370 people. He succeeded, but at the cost of his own life. The villagers gave him a hero’s funeral and have honoured his memory ever since. more...
1853 Wakefield elected to Parliament
The brains behind the New Zealand Company was elected to the House of Representatives as the member for Hutt. Having only arrived in February, he was quick to lobby for the introduction of responsible government. more...
Aug
1940 Turakina sunk by German raider in Tasman
It was the Tasman Sea's first naval battle. The New Zealand Shipping Company freighter Turakina was intercepted and sunk by the Orion nearly 500 km off the Taranaki coast with the loss of 36 lives. Twenty survivors were taken prisoner. more...
Aug
1958 Auckland pedestrians begin 'Barnes Dance'
Auckland became the first city in New Zealand to introduce the ‘Barnes Dance’ street-crossing system, which stopped all traffic and allowed pedestrians to cross intersections in every direction at the same time. more...
Aug
1969 First 'Young Farmer of the Year' chosen
Held at the South Pacific Hotel in Auckland, this competition was open to all members of the Young Farmers' Club. The inaugural winner was Gary Fraser from Swannanoa, near Christchurch. The contest has since become an established part of the farming calendar. more...
Aug
1939 Writer Robin Hyde dies in London
The journalist, poet and novelist, born Iris Wilkinson, was one of New Zealand's finest inter-war writers. Troubled by depression, illness and poverty, she took her own life in London. more...
1947 Assisted immigration resumes after war
Between 1947 and 1975, 77,000 women, children and men arrived from Great Britain under the assisted immigration scheme. The first draft of 118 immigrants arrived in Auckland on the New Zealand Shipping Company liner Rangitata. more...
Aug
1878 Wellington steam-tram service opened
The Governor, the Marquess of Normanby, opened the new service, reportedly the first to operate in the Southern Hemisphere. The unpopular steam-powered trams were later replaced by horse-drawn trams. more...
Aug
1948 Killer twister hits Frankton
Three people were killed and about 150 houses and buildings damaged by New Zealand's deadliest recorded tornado. Damage was estimated at more than £1 million. more...
Aug
1911 New Zealand Coat of Arms warranted
On this day King George V signed the Royal Warrant assigning the first New Zealand Coat of Arms. The Warrant was published in the New Zealand Gazette on 11 January 1912.
more...
1894 Death of second Maori King
As the second Māori King, Tāwhiao had led his people through the traumatic period of the wars of the 1860s. He was succeeded by his son Mahuta. more...
Aug
1911 Pawelka's last prison break
Joseph Pawelka escaped from Wellington's Terrace Gaol. It was the last in a series of bold but seemingly effortless prison escapes he made over a period of 18 months. more...
1904 Foundation stone for Victoria’s first building laid
Victoria College (now Victoria University of Wellington) was founded in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria's 60th jubilee. Until the opening of the Kelburn building in 1906, classes were taught in rented accommodation. more...
Aug
1954 'Heavenly Creatures' found guilty of murder
Pauline Parker, aged 16, and Juliet Hulme, 15, were convicted of the murder of Pauline's mother Honora at Christchurch on 22 June. Their story was later the subject of Peter Jackson's film Heavenly Creatures. more...
1992 Canterbury's 'Big Snow'
Cantabrians awoke to find their region blanketed in snow. ‘The Big Snow', as the 1992 storm came to be known, was the region's worst for 30 years, killing more than a million sheep and costing farmers $40 million. more...
Aug
1914 NZ force captures German Samoa
Colonel Robert Logan led a 1374-strong expeditionary force to capture German Samoa (afterwards renamed Western Samoa). The Germans stationed there were in no position to offer resistance. more...
Aug
1903 Four killed by Rotorua geyser
Guide Joseph Warbrick and three tourists were killed instantly when Waimangu geyser, then one of the largest and most active in the world, erupted unexpectedly.
more...Aug
1974 Death of Norman Kirk
Leader of the Labour Party since 1965 and Prime Minister from late 1972, 'Big Norm' died suddenly at the age of 51. He was the fifth New Zealand PM to die in office. more...
1894 Arbitration Act becomes law
The brainchild of Liberal Minister of Labour William Pember Reeves, the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act made New Zealand the first country in the world to outlaw strikes in favour of compulsory arbitration. more...
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