Viewing New Zealand
Features
Essence
Time Line
Peace & Quiet
Famous People
AD 950 The legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe discovers New Zealand. 1150 The approximate date for early Polynesian settlement. 1642 Dutchman Abel Tasman is the first known European to discover New Zealand, but does not land. 1769 English navigator James Cook rediscovers New Zealand and returns on two more voyages. After him come whalers, sealers and merchants, who exploit the country and its Maori inhabitants. 1814 The first Christian missionary, Samuel Marsden, arrives. There are attempts to administer New Zealand from Australia. 1840 Captain Hobson, dispatched by the British government, arrives to initiate a treaty with the Maori and install British law. This Treaty of Waitangi still causes controversy today with its varying interpretations. Auckland was selected as the country's capital. 1861 Gold is discovered in Central Otago, and later on the West Coast of the South Island and around the Thames-Coromandel area. 1865 The capital is transferred from Auckland to Wellington. 1876 Having been temporarily established in 1867, Maori seats in Parliament were made permanent. 1882 First export of frozen meat to England. Supply of meat and wool to Britain becomes an essential component of the NZ economy. 1886 Mt Tarawera erupts, destroying three villages and the famous Pink and White Terraces. 1887 The central North Island volcanic peaks are given by Maori to the people of New Zealand and become the country's first national park. 1893 New Zealand women are the first in the world to vote in national elections. 1915 Gallipoli landings: New Zealand & Australian troops bond in battle and the ANZAC spirit is born. 1919 Women are permitted to stand for Parliament. 1928 The first aeroplane flight between New Zealand and Australia takes place. 1931 Hawkes Bay earthquake shatters the cities of Napier and Hastings, killing 256 people. 1935 The First Labour government introduces the Welfare State. 1936 Jack Lovelock wins New Zealand's first Olympic athletics gold medal in Berlin. 1953 The first tour of the country by a reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, takes place. 1970s Mass market air travel paves the way for tourism to become major feature of New Zealand economy. 1981 South African rugby tour of New Zealand pro vokes violent anti-apart heid protests in main cities. 1990s The Internet and technological revolution means that New Zealand's geographic isolation is less of an economic disadvantage. 1991 A Resource Manage-ment Act is passed, becoming the first environmental legislation of its kind in the world. 1996 The first national elections are held under a mixed-member proportional system, resulting in a new-style coalition government. 1997 Jenny Shipley becomes New Zealand's first woman prime minister. 2000 New Zealand's proximity to the International Dateline makes it one of the first countries in the world to usher in the new millennium.
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