Today in History
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Historic NZ events in January
Jan
1
1859 NZ's first lighthouse, Pencarrow, lit for the first time
The lighthouse on Pencarrow Head was lit for the first time amid great celebration. After years of inadequate solutions Wellington finally had a permanent lighthouse – a New Zealand first. more...
1951 Legislative Council abolished
The Legislative Council was New Zealand's Upper House, to which members were appointed not elected. It was abolished by government legislation. more...
Jan
2
1938 First official airmail flight to San Francisco
The first official New Zealand airmail to the United States departed Auckland for San Francisco aboard Pan American Airline's Samoan Clipper. This Sikorsky S-42B flying boat was piloted by Captain Ed Musick. more...
Jan
3
1840 New Zealand Company surveyors arrive in Port Nicholson
Surveyors arrived in Port Nicholson to lay out plans for the proposed New Zealand Company settlement of Britannia at Pito-one (Petone). But this original site would prove unsuitable, prompting a move across the harbour to the present-day site of Wellington. more...
1930 First NZ-made 'talkie' screened
Coubray-tone News, the work of the inventive Ted Coubray, had its first public screening at Auckland’s Plaza Theatre.
Jan
4
1958 Hillary reaches South Pole
Sir Edmund Hillary led the New Zealand component of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition in completing the first overland trip to the South Pole since Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated journey in 1912. more...
1869 Te Kooti defeated at Nga Tapa
Pursued by kupapa and Pakeha troops to Nga Tapa, an ancient hilltop pa inland from Poverty Bay, Te Kooti narrowly avoided capture. But 120 of his followers were captured and killed the following day. more...
Jan
5
1977 Occupation of Bastion Point begins
Joe Hawke leads occupation of Takaparawha (Bastion Point reserve), Auckland, to protest the Crown's decision to sell land that Ngati Whatua maintained was wrongly taken from them. more...
Jan
6
1953 Godfrey Bowen sets world sheep-shearing record
At Opiki, Manawatu, Godfrey Bowen set a new world record when he sheared 456 full-wool ewes in nine hours. He helped establish sheep shearing as a legitimate sport and was one of the inaugural inductees into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. more...
Jan
7
1931 Completion of first trans-Tasman solo flight
Australian Guy Menzies' flight from Sydney ended in some embarrassment as he crash-landed his Avro Avian bi-plane in a swamp at Harihari on the West Coast. more...
Jan
8
1863 Haast begins West Coast expedition
Haast's exploration of the region revealed the extent of the Grey River coalfields as well as reporting traces of gold in West Coast rivers. The Haast Pass is named after him. more...
Jan
9
1923 Death of Katherine Mansfield
This internationally acclaimed author revolutionised 20th-century English short-story writing. Her work has been translated into more than 25 languages. She died from tuberculosis at the age of 34. more...
Jan
10
1838 Catholic missionaries arrive at Hokianga
French Bishop Jean Baptiste François Pompallier, a priest and brother of the Society of Mary, arrived at Hokianga. His party celebrated the first Roman Catholic mass three days later. more...
1928 Pioneer aviators vanish over the Tasman
George Hood and John Moncrieff’s flight was described as a ‘gallant if somewhat ill-organised attempt to be the first to fly the Tasman from Australia to New Zealand’ more...
Jan
11
1846 Ruapekapeka pa occupied by British forces
The skirmish at Ruapekapeka, which means the 'bats nest’, was the last encounter of the Northern War. Debate raged as to whether the pa was simply abandoned by its defenders or captured by the British. more...
Jan
12
1954 QEII opens NZ Parliament
A crowd of 50,000 greeted Queen Elizabeth II as she arrived at Parliament. This was the first time New Zealand's Parliament had been opened by a reigning monarch. more...
Jan
13
1890 'Torpedo' Billy Murphy wins the world featherweight boxing title
In defeating Ike Weir at San Francisco Murphy became the first New Zealander to win a world title in professional boxing. more...
Jan
14
1891 Bob Fitzsimmons wins world middleweight boxing title
Fitzsimmons knocked out Jack Dempsey in New Orleans and was to hold the title for seven years. more...
Jan
15
1970 Anti-Vietnam War protestors greet US Vice President
United States Vice-President Spiro Agnew's visit to New Zealand sparked violent confrontations between anti-war demonstrators and police outside his hotel. more...
Jan
16
1941 Women's Auxiliary Air Force founded
New Zealand's first female military personnel were joined within 18 months by members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women's Royal Naval Service. more...
Jan
17
1853 NZ Constitution Act comes into force
The New Zealand Constitution Act (UK) of 1852, which established a system of representative government for New Zealand, was declared operative by Governor Sir George Grey. more...
Jan
18
1980 'Montego Bay' hits number one
Upper Hutt's Jon Stevens made it back-to-back No. 1 singles when ‘Montego Bay’ bumped ‘Jezebel’ from the top of the New Zealand charts. He would later become lead singer for Australian bands Noiseworks and INXS. more...
Jan
19
1845 Hone Heke cuts down the British flagstaff - again
Increasingly disenchanted with the effects of European colonisation this was Heke's third assault on the symbol of British power, the flagstaff at Kororareka (Russell). more...
1967 Explosion at Strongman mine at Runanga
Nineteen men were killed when an explosion ripped through the Strongman Mine at Runanga. An investigation concluded that safety regulations were not followed and that the shot was incorrectly fired. more...
Jan
20
1957 Scott Base opened in Antarctica
New Zealand’s
permanent Antarctic research support station at Scott Base was established as part of New Zealand’s
commitment to the 1957 Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE).
more...
Jan
21
1944 NZ and Australia sign the Canberra Pact
The Canberra Pact represented an undertaking by both countries to co-operate on international matters, especially in the Pacific. more...
Jan
22
1840 First European settlers arrive in Wellington
The New Zealand Company's first settler ship, the Aurora, arrived at Petone, marking the official commencement of the settlement that would eventually become Wellington. more...
Jan
23
1855 Massive earthquake hits Wellington
Measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale, the earthquake lifted the southern end of the Rimutaka Range by six metres. Land raised from the harbour today forms part of Wellington's CBD. more...
Jan
24
1865 Imperial forces invade South Taranaki
In his final campaign in New Zealand, General Cameron allegedly earned the Maori sobriquet 'The Lame Seagull' for slowness and timidity. more...
Jan
25
1974 First day of competition at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games
In what are billed as the 'Friendly Games', Canterbury runner Dick Tayler pulls off a surprise victory for the host nation in the 10,000 metres. more...
Jan
26
1984 Floods devastate Southland
A record one-day total of 84.8 millimetres of rain had by 9 p.m. caused extensive surface flooding in the streets of Invercargill, Riverton, Otautau, Tuatapere and Bluff. more...
1844 Governor FitzRoy arrives to investigate Wairau incident
Despite demands for revenge after the deaths of 22 settlers in the incident at Wairau, FitzRoy decided that the Maori had been provoked by the unreasonable actions of the Europeans. more...
Jan
27
1962 Peter Snell breaks world mile record
Widely considered the greatest middle distance runner of all time, Snell broke Herb Elliott's world record on grass at Cook's Garden, Wanganui, in a time of 3m 53.4s. more...
Jan
28
1901 Hardham wins VC in South Africa
William Hardham was a Wellington blacksmith who served in South Africa with the fourth contingent. He was the only New Zealander to win the Victoria Cross in the South African War.
more...
1827 D'Urville sails through French Pass
In a feat of great navigational daring - and after several attempts - the French explorer Dumont d'Urville sails the Astrolabe through French Pass and into Admiralty Bay in the Marlborough Sounds. more...
Jan
29
1842 Auckland's first Anniversary Day Regatta
The date commemorates the arrival of Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson in the Bay of Islands in 1840. Today 29 January is best known for the huge Anniversary Day Regatta on Waitemata Harbour. more...
Jan
30
1911 Bookies banned from NZ racecourses
An amendment to the Gaming Act at the end of 1910 banned bookmakers from racecourses in New Zealand. Bookies were officially farewelled at the now defunct Takapuna racecourse.
more...
1954 Queen farewells New Zealand
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh left Bluff at the conclusion of the first tour of New Zealand by a reigning monarch.
more...Jan
31
1921 NZ’s first regular airmail service begins
The first flight of the Canterbury Aviation Company’s new airmail service took off from Christchurch bound for Ashburton and Timaru. more...
