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TODAY IN HISTORY
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1884, First New Zealand rugby team in action
May
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18 February
18 February
1957
New Zealand's last execution
Walter Bolton, a 68-year-old Whanganui farmer, became the last person executed in New Zealand.
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1982
'Queen of Crime' Ngaio Marsh dies
Ngaio Marsh, one of the 'Queens of Crime' in the 1920s and 1930s, died just weeks after submitting her 32nd detective novel,
Light thickens
, to her publishers.
She was also an artist, playwright, actor and director.
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This Week in History
20 May
1773
New Zealand's first sheep released
21 May
1840
Hobson proclaims British sovereignty over New Zealand
22 May
1884
First New Zealand rugby team in action
23 May
1861
First major gold rush in Otago
24 May
1854
Parliament's first sitting in Auckland
25 May
1861
The
Press
goes to press
26 May
1879
Parihaka ploughing campaign begins