Skip to main content

Search form

Search

TODAY IN HISTORY

See more

1938, Social Security Act passed

Topics
Events
People
Places

Browse NZ History

Browse by

Events A-Z
Date
Calendar month

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

1

Dec

1898

First movie shot in NZ
1

Dec

1933

First flight from North Cape to Bluff
2

Dec

1917

'Six o'clock swill' begins
3

Dec

1863

Land confiscation law passed
3

Dec

1960

Bluff Island Harbour opened
4

Dec

1966

Radio Hauraki rules the waves
5

Dec

1890

First 'one man one vote' election
6

Dec

1935

First Labour government takes office
7

Dec

1963

Bassett Road machine-gun murders
8

Dec

1941

New Zealand declares war on Japan
8

Dec

1942

Fire at Seacliff Mental Hospital kills 37
9

Dec

1899

NZ troops fire first shots during South African War
10

Dec

1908

Rutherford wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry
10

Dec

1962

Wilkins wins Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
11

Dec

1907

Parliament's library escapes great fire
11

Dec

1931

Statute of Westminster passed
12

Dec

1769

De Surville first sights NZ near Hokianga
12

Dec

1961

First Golden Kiwi lottery draw
13

Dec

1642

First recorded European sighting of New Zealand
13

Dec

1939

Battle of the River Plate
14

Dec

1843

First Auckland A and P Show
15

Dec

1915

The evacuation of Gallipoli begins
15

Dec

1944

Poll tax on Chinese immigrants abolished
15

Dec

1951

Belmont viaduct blown up
16

Dec

1905

All Blacks' non-try hands Wales historic win
17

Dec

1773

Ten crew of Cook's ship Adventure killed and eaten
17

Dec

1889

New Zealand’s own Eiffel Tower opens
17

Dec

1944

Major Major, mascot of 19 Battalion, dies of sickness
18

Dec

1642

First contact between Māori and Europeans
19

Dec

1879

Universal male suffrage introduced
19

Dec

1941

HMS Neptune lost in Mediterranean minefield
20

Dec

1913

Waterfront strike ends
21

Dec

1964

NZ whalers harpoon their last victim
21

Dec

1971

Full steam ahead for Kingston Flyer
22

Dec

1916

Future PM Fraser charged with sedition
23

Dec

1953

Queen Elizabeth II arrives for summer tour
24

Dec

1953

Tangiwai railway disaster
25

Dec

1814

NZ's first Christian service?
26

Dec

1879

Sectarian violence in Canterbury
27

Dec

1987

Rewi Alley dies
28

Dec

1929

'Black Saturday' - NZ police open fire in Apia
29

Dec

1880

Tuhiata hanged for murder of Mary Dobie
30

Dec

1835

Charles Darwin leaves NZ after nine-day visit
31

Dec

1853

Grey leaves NZ after first term as governor

Site Quicklinks

Culture & Society

Pre-1840 contact, Holidays and events, The arts and entertainment, Disasters, Transport, Health and welfare, Decade studies, Sport, Crime and punishment, Immigration, Lifestyle, Places, The great outdoors, Memorials

Politics & Government

Political milestones, Protest and reform, Treaty of Waitangi, Maori leadership, Heads of State, Parliament and the people, The work of government, New Zealand in the world

War & Society

New Zealand's internal wars, South African War, First World War, Second World War, Post Second World War, Other conflicts, Memorials, mascots and memorabilia

The Classroom

NCEA history, Junior social studies and history, First World War centenary, Links and resources

Hands On History

History guides, Links and resources

Media Library

Interactives, Videos, Sounds, Photos

General

Contact us, Site Information, Quizzes, Calendar, Biographies

Follow Us

Check out the links below to like us, follow us, and get the latest from NZHistory

© Crown Copyright.

All text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence. Commercial re-use may be allowed on request. All non-text content is subject to specific conditions. This site is produced by the History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Meet the NZHistory.net.nz team

Other Ministry Websites