Selected anniversaries 2010-2018

Celebrating or commemorating anniversaries is a popular way to mark significant events in New Zealand history. We've provided a list of anniversary milestones coming up in the next few years. If you have other suggestions please add them as community contributions at the end of the page.

2012

• 370th of Abel Tasman’s voyage to NZ (1642)
• 160th of NZ Constitution Act (UK) (1852)
• 150th of NZ’s first professional opera performance (1862)
• 150th of Dunstan gold rush (1862)
• 130th of first frozen meat export (1882)
• 125th of gift of Tongariro mountains to Crown/Tongariro National Park (1887)
• 120th of formation of NZ Rugby Football Union (1892)
• 110th of NZ’s national flag (1902)
• 110th of end of South African (Boer) War (1902)
• 100th of Robert Falcon Scott’s death in Antarctica – news was sent from NZ and we have numerous memorials (1912)
• 95th of battles of Messines and Passchendaele (1917)
• 75th of establishment of RNZAF as a separate service (1937)
• 75th of opening of first state house (1937)
• 70th of Battle of El Alamein (1942)
• 70th of arrival of US troops in NZ (1942)
• 70th of establishment of Abel Tasman National Park (1942)
• 60th of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne (1952) (Diamond Jubilee)
• 60th of establishment of Fiordland National Park (1952)
• 50th of appointment of Ombudsman in NZ (1962)
• 50th of introduction of first Cook Strait roll-on roll-off ferry: Aramoana (1962)
• 50th of Western Samoan independence (1962)
• 50th of NZ Maori Council (1962)
• 50th of Outward Bound (1962)
• 40th of withdrawal of last NZ personnel from Vietnam (1972)
• 25th of Maori becoming official language (1987)
• 25th of NZ winning first rugby world cup (1987)
• 25th of NZ’s nuclear-free status (1987)

2013

• 240th of first sheep being released in NZ (1773)
• 180th of James Busby’s arrival as British Resident (1833)
• 170th of Wairau incident (1843)
• 160th of NZ’s first general election (1853)
• 150th of NZ’s worst shipwreck: HMS Orpheus disaster (1863)
• 150th of invasion of Waikato (1863)
• 150th of NZ’s first steam railway, at Ferrymead (1863)
• 120th of women’s suffrage (1893)
• 120th of first woman mayor in British Empire (1893)
• 110th? of Richard Pearse’s first flight (date disputed, 1903?)
• 100th of Great Waterfront Strike (1913)
• 100th of first national lawn bowls competition (1913)
• 95th of Armistice Day (1918)
• 80th of election of first woman MP: Elizabeth McCombs (1933)
• 75th of Social Security Act (1938)
• 70th of victory in North African campaign (1943)
• 70th of beginning of Italian campaign (1943)
• 60th of Tangiwai rail disaster (1953)
• 60th of end of Korean War (1953)
• 60th of establishment of Mt Cook/Aoraki National Park (1953)
• 60th of Hillary’s conquest of Mt Everest (1953)
• 50th of golfer Bob Charles’s British Open win (1963)
• 50th of Massey University (1963)
• 50th of opening of Lynnmall, NZ’s first shopping mall (1963)
• 30th of Closer Economic Relations (CER) with Australia (1983)
• 20th of decision to adopt MMP (1993)

2014

• 200th of first mission station in NZ: Samuel Marsden (1814)
• 180th of NZ’s first flag (1834)
• 160th of opening of NZ’s first Parliament (1854)
• 150th of battles of Orakau and Gate Pa (1864)
• 120th of Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act (1894)
• 120th of Land for Settlements Act (1894)
• 120th of first ascent of Mt Cook (1894)
• 115th of start of South African (Boer) War (1899)
• 100th of outbreak of First World War and NZ occupation of German Samoa (1914)
• 100th of IPENZ – Institution of Professional Engineers NZ (1914)
• 75th of outbreak of the Second World War (1939)
• 75th of Battle of River Plate (1939)
• 75th of Merchant Navy Day (1939)
• 75th of opening of NZ Centennial Exhibition (1939)
• 75th of NZ Listener magazine (1939)
• 70th of battles for Cassino, Italy (1944)
• 70th of D-Day – NZ involvement via RAF/Royal Navy/Merchant Navy (1944)
• 70th of signing of Canberra Pact with Australia (1944)
• 60th of establishment of Te Urewera National Park (1954)
• 50th of Beatles’ NZ tour (1964)
• 50th of opening of Marsden Point refinery (1964)
• 50th of Christchurch-Lyttelton road tunnel (1964)
• 50th of establishment of Mt Aspiring National Park (1964)
• 40th of Waitangi Day as public holiday (1974)

2015

• 180th of Declaration of Independence of NZ (1835)
• 175th of Treaty of Waitangi (1840)
• 175th of NZ becoming a separate crown colony (1840)
• 170th of start of Northern War (1845)
• 150th of capital moving to Wellington (1865)
• 100th of Gallipoli campaign (1915)
• 75th of Battle of Britain – NZers in RAF (1940)
• 70th of NZ troops’ advance to Trieste, Italy (1945)
• 70th of end of Second World War, VE day and VJ day (1945)
• 50th of Rolling Stones’ NZ tour (1965)
• 50th of Air New Zealand (previously TEAL) (1965)
• 50th of NZ commitment of combat troops to Vietnam (1965)
• 50th of Waikato University (1965)
• 50th of signing of NAFTA (New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement) – forerunner of CER (1965)
• 50th of Cook Islands self-government (1965)
• 50th of Benmore hydroelectric scheme (1965)
• 20th of Cave Creek disaster (1995)
• 20th of NZ’s America’s Cup win (1995)

2016

• 225th of sighting of Chatham Islands from RN vessel Chatham (1791)
• 200th of NZ's first school (1816)
• 150th of first Cook Strait submarine cable (1866)
• 150th of NZ's first oil well, at New Plymouth (1866)
• 125th of Bob Fitzsimmons winning world middleweight boxing title (1891)
• 100th of arrest of Rua Kenana at Maungapohatu (1916)
• 100th of Battle of Somme (1916)
• 100th of founding of NZ Labour Party – NZ’s oldest existing political party (1916)
• 75th of Battle for Crete (1941)
• 75th of founding of Royal NZ Navy (1941)
• 75th of declaration of war with Japan (1941)
• 75th of Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act (1941)
• 75th of first playcentres (1941)
• 75th of National Council of Churches (1941)
• 75th of National Film Unit (1941)
• 50th of launch of Country Calendar (1966)
• 50th of coronation of first Maori queen (1966)
• 50th of launch of Radio Hauraki (1966)
• 50th of first visit by US President (LBJ) (1966)
• 50th of implementation of NAFTA (NZ Australia Free Trade Agreement) (1966)
• 25th of Resource Management Act (1991)
• 25th of Employment Contracts Act (1991)

2017

• 150th of Maori Representation Act, setting up Maori seats (1867)
• 100th of First World War battles for Messines (June) and Passchendaele (Oct) in Flanders, Belgium (1917)
• 100th of first enemy incursion into NZ territory (German raider Wolf lays mines, sinking several ships – 1917)
• 100th of introduction of six o’clock closing of bars (Dec 1917)
• 100th of change of title from Governor to Governor-General (1917)
• 75th of fall of Singapore (Feb 1942)
• 75th of battles of Minqar Qaim (June), Ruweisat Ridge (July) and El Alamein (Oct-Nov), in North Africa (1942)
• 75th of arrival of US Forces in NZ (June 1942)
• 50th of adoption of decimal currency (July 1967)
• 50th of end of six o’clock closing (Oct 1967)
• 50th of Strongman coalmine disaster on West Coast (Jan 1967)
• 25th of first, non-binding referendum on electoral reform (Sept 1992)

2018

• 175th of Wairau incident (June 1843)
• 150th of election of first Māori MPs (April 1868)
• 150th of Tītokowaru’s war (1868)
• 125th of women’s suffrage (Sept 1893)
• 100th of various Western Front battles, including NZ role in stopping German offensive (Mar), Allied offensive (Aug) and battle for Le Quesnoy (Nov 1918)
• 100th of Armistice ending First World War (Nov 1918)
• 100th of influenza pandemic that killed 8600 New Zealanders (Oct-Dec 1918)
• 75th of Allied victory in North Africa (May 1943)
• 75th of start of NZ involvement in Italian campaign (Oct 1943)
• 50th of Wahine disaster (April 1968)
• 50th of Īnangahua earthquake (May 1968)
• 25th of binding MMP referendum (Nov 1993)

See also:

2010

• 175th of Declaration of Independence of NZ (1835)
• 170th of Treaty of Waitangi (1840)
• 150th of start of Taranaki War (1860)
• 150th of death of first Maori King, Potatau Te Wherowhero (1860)
• 120th of trans-Tasman Maritime Strike (1890)
• 120th of first ‘one-man, one-vote’ election (1890)
• 120th of first Labour Day (1890)
• 100th of first surf lifesaving clubs (1910)
• 100th of NZ Libraries Association (LIANZA) (1910)
• 100th of Grafton Bridge, Auckland (1910)
• 95th of Gallipoli campaign (1915)
• 70th of Battle of Britain – NZers in RAF (1940)
• 60th of start of Korean War (1950)
• 50th of first official TV broadcasts (1960)
• 50th of publication of Barry Crump’s A Good Keen Man (1960)
• 50th of NZ’s border inspection service (now MAF Biosecurity)
• 50th of computing in NZ – NZ Computer Society formed, six months before first computer arrived (1960)
• 50th of NZ Association of Women in Aviation (1960)
• 35th of Waitangi Tribunal (1975)
• 25th of Rainbow Warrior bombing (1985)
• 25th of Waitangi Tribunal’s right to investigate claims back to 1840 (1985)
• 25th of Keri Hulme’s Booker Prize win (1985)
• 10th of NZ’s successful defence of America’s Cup (2000)

2011

• 150th of Tuapeka gold rush (1861)
• 125th of opening of Wellington & Manawatu Railway (1886)
• 125th of Mt Tarawera eruption (1886)
• 120th of formation of NZ Football (soccer) Association (1891)
• 100th of first national referendum on prohibition, when almost 56% of NZers voted for prohibition but it failed to reach 60% threshold (1911)
• 95th of Battle of the Somme (1916)
• 80th of Hawke’s Bay earthquake (1931)
• 75th of Jean Batten’s UK-NZ solo flight (1936)
• 75th of National Party’s founding (1936)
• 70th of battles for Greece and Crete and Operation Crusader (1941)
• 70th of establishment of Royal NZ Navy (1941)
• 70th of NZ’s worst naval disaster: loss of HMS Neptune in Mediterranean (1941)
• 70th of start of war with Japan (1941)
• 70th of seizure of Finnish sailing ship Pamir – NZ’s only ‘war prize’ (1941)
• 60th of waterfront dispute (1951)
• 50th of first Golden Shears competition (1961)
• 50th of peak year of post-war baby boom (1961)
• 50th of end of capital punishment in NZ (1961)
• 50th of first Golden Kiwi draw (1961)
• 25th of Homosexual Law Reform (1986)
• 25th of Constitution Act (1986)
• 25th of GST (1986)
• 25th of report of Royal Commission on Electoral System (1986)