See historic events for any day of the year by entering the date below. Why not try your birthday?
What happened that day?
1981 Springbok tour
It was simply called 'The Tour'. For 56 taut days in the winter of 1981, New Zealanders were divided against each other in the largest civil disturbance seen since the 1951 waterfront dispute. more...
Nuclear-free New Zealand
Learn about opposition to French nuclear testing on remote Pacific atolls, nuclear-free legislation and the 1985 sinking of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior. more...
Homosexual law reform
A bitter public and political debate swept the country during the homosexual law reform campaign of the mid-1980s. more...
1951 waterfront dispute
The waterfront dispute of 1951 was the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand’s history. more...
Labour Day
Labour Day is no ordinary holiday. It celebrates the struggle for an eight-hour working day, a right that New Zealand workers had been among the first in the world to claim. more...
1947 Greymouth beer boycott
An organised move by the hotels around Greymouth to raise the price of beer in 1947 led to one of the most effective consumer boycotts ever seen in New Zealand. more...
The 1912 Waihi strike
They called it 'Black Tuesday'. On 12 November 1912, in the goldmining town of Waihi, striker Fred Evans died during a violent confrontation. more...
