Today in History
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Historic NZ events in September
Sep
1
1987 New Zealander sentenced to death in Malaysia
Lorraine Cohen was sentenced to death by a Malaysian judge for heroin trafficking. On appeal her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The trial of Lorraine and her son Aaron, who was arrested at the same time, gained worldwide attention. more...
Sep
2
1960 Golden day for Kiwi runners in Rome
It was arguably New Zealand's greatest day at the Olympics. Peter Snell won gold in the 800 metres and Murray Halberg followed up 30 minutes later to win the 5000 m, completing a remarkable track double in Rome's Olympic Stadium. more...
Sep
3
1958 First open-heart surgery in NZ
Pioneering heart surgeon Brian Barratt-Boyes performed the surgery using a heart-lung bypass machine. The procedure, at Green Lane Hospital in Auckland, was performed on an 11-year-old girl with a hole in her heart. more...
1939 New Zealand declares war on Germany
Alongside Britain and Australia, New Zealand was one of the first countries to become involved in the global conflict precipitated by Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. more...
Sep
4
1863 The wreck of the Delaware
Soon after leaving Nelson for Napier, the Delaware was wrecked in what is now known as Delaware Bay. Accounts of the incident often focus on the heroism of Huria Matenga, the only woman in a party of five local Maori who assisted the crew to shore. more...
Sep
5
1939 PM declares NZ's support for Britain
In declaring New Zealand's support for Britain in the war that had just begun with Germany, an ailing Michael Joseph Savage famously told the nation that 'Where she goes, we go. Where she stands, we stand'.
more...
Sep
6
1948 New Zealand citizenship established
Prior to this act coming into effect all New Zealanders were classified as British subjects. This was a change New Zealand did not initiate and separate New Zealand nationality was possible from 1 January when the act came into effect. more...
Sep
7
1868 Von Tempsky killed at Te Ngutu-o-te-manu
Von Tempsky was killed during the assault on Titokowaru's pa in south Taranaki. His paintings and accounts of the New Zealand wars had made him a folk hero to European settlers. more...
Links
- The New Zealand Wars - New Zealand's 19th-century wars
- The South Taranaki war: Titokowaru's war (The NZ Wars)
- Gustavus von Tempsky (NZETC)
- Gustavus von Tempsky biography (DNZB)
- Gustavus von Tempsky (1966 encyclopaedia)
- Riwha Titokowaru biography (DNZB)
- Ngati Ruanui: a new order emerges (Te Ara)
- Major von Tempsky - Soldier of Fortune (Puke Ariki)
Sep
8
1954 NZ signs Manila Pact
The South-East Asia Collective Defence Treaty, or Manila Pact, aimed to contain the spread of communism in the region. The South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) grew out of the Manila Pact and was the institutional expression of this Treaty. more...
Sep
9
1976 Wanganui Computer legislation passed
'Big Brother is watching?': the Wanganui Computer Act established the New Zealand government's first centralised electronic database. It raised questions about the state's ability to gather information on its citizens. more...
Sep
10
1984 Te Maori exhibition opens in New York
This exhibition was a milestone in the Maori cultural renaissance. After being hugely successful in New York, St Louis and Chicago, it returned to tour New Zealand to great acclaim. more...
Sep
11
1928 First trans-Tasman flight
Australians Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm, in their Southern Cross triplane, landed at Wigram, Christchurch, 14 hours 25 minutes after leaving Sydney. More than 30,000 people thronged to greet them. more...
Sep
12
1981 'Flour-bomb test' ends Springbok tour
The third and deciding test at Eden Park, Auckland, is perhaps best remembered for the flares and flour bombs dropped onto the pitch from a light plane. Outside the park violence erupted on an unprecedented scale. more...
Sep
13
1933 NZ's first woman MP elected
The Labour Party's Elizabeth McCombs became the first woman Member of Parliament, winning a by-election in the Lyttelton seat caused by the death of her MP husband James McCombs. more...
Sep
14
1938 Social Security Act passed
The cornerstone of the first Labour government's 'cradle to the grave' welfare policies, this act introduced revised pensions and extended benefits for families, invalids and the unemployed. more...
Sep
15
1976 Lyttelton–Wellington ferry service ends
The last sailing of the Rangatira brought to an end more than 80 years of regular ferry services between Lyttelton and Wellington.
more...
1968 Steel production begins at Glenbrook
New Zealand Steel's mill at Glenbrook, south of Auckland, began producing a range of iron and steel products for both the domestic and export markets. Using local ironsand and coal, the mill today produces about 650,000 tonnes of steel a year. more...
Sep
16
1905 'Originals' kick off All Black tradition
New Zealand's first fully representative rugby team to tour the Northern Hemisphere was known as the 'Originals'. They won 34 of the 35 matches played, and popularised both the haka and the 'All Black' nickname. more...
Sep
17
1941 Death penalty abolished...for the time being
The Labour government had been commuting death penalties since 1935. This law change also ended flogging and whipping as punishments. National reintroduced the death penalty in 1950 and it was finally abolished as punishment for murder in 1961. more...
Sep
18
1937 First state house opened in Miramar
Most of the Labour Cabinet helped the McGregor family move into 12 Fife Lane in Miramar, Wellington. The government's aim was to build 5000 new homes a year to rid New Zealand of sub-standard housing. more...
Links
- The first state house - state housing in New Zealand
- Michael Joseph Savage
- First State House (Historic Places Trust)
- Liberal to Labour (Te Ara)
- Social Security: scope of 1938 legislation (1966 encyclopaedia)
- Labour Party (1966 encyclopaedia)
- Michael Joseph Savage biography (DNZB)
- John A Lee biography (DNZB)
Sep
19
1893 Women's suffrage day
Governor Lord Glasgow signed a new Electoral Act into law, making New Zealand the first self-governing country in the world to grant all women the right to vote in parliamentary elections. more...
Links
- Brief history - women and the vote
- Women MPs - Parliament's people
- Political and constitutional timeline
- Women's suffrage petition (Archives NZ)
- Votes for women (Elections NZ)
- Monumental Stories (Learning Media)
- Liberal to Labour (Te Ara)
- The electoral system (Te Ara)
- Kate Sheppard biography (DNZB)
- John Ballance biography (DNZB)
Sep
20
1954 Mazengarb report released
The Mazengarb report into 'juvenile delinquency' blamed the perceived promiscuity of the nation's youth on the absence from home of working mothers, the easy availability of contraceptives, and on young women who enticed men into having sex. more...
Sep
21
1834 Rescue of Harriet survivors begins
Betty Guard and her children were rescued from Ngati Ruanui (who had held them captive in Taranaki since April) by troops landed from HMS Alligator and the Isabella. It was the first clash between British forces and Maori. more...
Sep
22
1906 Domestic workers call for 68-hour week
The labour reforms of the Liberal government had earned New Zealand a reputation of being a 'working man's paradise'. But what about working women? A 68-hour working week hardly seemed an unreasonable demand. more...
1931 Coalition formed to combat Depression
Prime Minister Forbes informed an inter-party conference that a coalition government was needed to 'share the responsibility' of dealing with the depression. Labour withdrew from these discussions but Forbes was supported by the Reform Party. more...
Sep
23
1887 Tongariro mountains gifted to Crown
Horonuku (Te Heuheu Tukino IV), the paramount chief of Ngati Tuwharetoa, signed a deed presenting the mountain tops of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu to the Crown for the purpose of establishing a national park. more...
Sep
24
1905 Race killing in Haining St, Wellington
Lionel Terry killed Joe Kum Yung to draw attention to his crusade to rid New Zealand of Chinese people. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on the grounds of insanity.
more...Sep
25
1819 NZ's first grape vines planted?
The Anglican missionary Samuel Marsden noted in his journal that he had just planted 100 vines at Kerikeri and that New Zealand 'promises to be very favourable to the vine.' more...
Sep
26
1907 Joseph Ward proclaims dominion status
From the steps of the General Assembly Library in Wellington, the prime minister read the proclamation to the gathered crowd. This first Dominion Day was a full public holiday. more...
1865 Native Rights Act declares Maori British subjects
The Act deemed all Maori to be natural-born subjects of the Crown, confirming in law the Treaty promise that Maori were to be accorded the same rights and privileges as other British subjects. more...
Sep
27
1974 William Sutch charged with spying
Economist Dr W. B. Sutch was charged with spying after what the NZSIS claimed were 'surreptitious and clandestine' meetings with a Russian diplomat. Despite his acquittal and death in 1975, speculation continues as to whether he was a spy.
more...Sep
28
1899 NZ answers Empire's call to arms in South Africa
Premier R.J. Seddon asked Parliament to approve the offer to the Imperial government of a contingent of mounted rifles. Amid emotional scenes, the proposition was overwhelmingly endorsed - only five members voted against it. more...
1844 Birth of Robert Stout, Premier and Chief Justice
Described as a rarity in New Zealand life, an intellectual in politics, Stout was a cautious politician who condemned those guided merely by expediency. He emphasised educating public opinion to accept change. more...
Sep
29
1862 NZ's first professional opera performance
Dunedin's Royal Princess Theatre was the venue for this performance of Donizetti's Daughter of the regiment by the visiting 'English Opera Troupe', supplemented by local performers. more...
Sep
30
1962 Government watchdog appointed
Sir Guy Powles became New Zealand's first Ombudsman. Loosely translated from Swedish, the term Ombudsman means ‘grievance person’. The office was created to investigate complaints about central government departments and organisations. more...
