Pages tagged with: anniversaries

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

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

Celebrated on the fourth Monday in October, Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day, a right that carpenter Samuel Parnell had famously fought for in 1840. Our first Labour Day was held on 28 October 1890, and it has been a statutory public holiday since 1900.

On 26 September 1907 the colony of New Zealand ceased to exist. It became, instead, a dominion within the British Empire.

An outline of some of the key events relating to the war at sea and merchant shipping in the Second World War, with a particular focus on New Zealand involvement.

The first Dominion Day, 1907, was a holiday for public servants as all government offices closed to mark the occasion.

Dominion Day, 26 September, never really took hold in New Zealand. Wellington was one of the few places that kept up ceremonies after 1907.

What changed when New Zealand became a dominion in 1907?

See a video and related text about a 2006 survey of New Zealanders' attitude to Christmas.

The Parliamentary Library was lit up on 26 September 2007 to mark the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of dominion status.

1908 Dominion Day celebrations at the Basin Reserve, Wellington

New Zealanders celebrated British victories in the South African War with gusto. Here the citizens of Timaru assemble with instruments and weapons to mark Pretoria Day on 7 June 1900.