Historic NZ events in October
Oct
1923 First Chatham Cup football final
At Athletic Park, Wellington, Seacliff from Otago defeated Wellington YMCA 4-0 in the first final of the Chatham Cup, which has become New Zealand football’s longest-running and best-known national club competition. Read more...
1962 Government watchdog appointed
Sir Guy Powles was New Zealand's first Ombudsman. In a loose translation from Swedish, the word means ‘grievance person’. The office was created to investigate complaints about government departments and other national public sector organisations. Read more...
1986 Goods and Service Tax Act comes into force
Adding 10% to the cost of most goods and services, GST was a key part of the economic reforms of the fourth Labour government that were dubbed 'Rogernomics' after Minister of Finance Roger Douglas. Read more...
Oct
1941 NZ pilot saves Scottish village
In October 1941, New Zealand Spitfire pilot Carlyle Everiss heroically sacrificed his life to save the Scottish village of Cowie from serious damage. Read more...
1986 'Slice of Heaven' hits No. 1
Written for the movie Footrot Flats: the dog's tale, which was based on the iconic New Zealand cartoon series, Dave Dobbyn's hit single featured reggae band Herbs singing a cappella (unaccompanied). It topped the charts for eight weeks. Read more...
Oct
1888 NZ Natives team plays first game in UK
Privately organised and mainly Māori, this was the first national rugby team to wear the silver fern. During their tour of New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, they played 107 rugby matches and 11 under Australian rules. Read more...
Oct
1957 Morris Yock trademarks the jandal
Inspired by an Asian example, Yock and his son began manufacturing this simple rubber footwear in his garage. The name 'jandal' combined the words 'Japanese' and 'sandal'. Read more...
Oct
1866 Maungatapu murderers hanged in Nelson
Burgess, Kelly and Levy were hanged. Joseph Sullivan, the fourth member of the 'Burgess gang', received a life sentence after turning Queen's evidence and helping convict his co-accused. Read more...
Oct
1769 Young Nick sights land
Ship's boy Nicholas Young received a gallon of rum and had Young Nicks Head named in his honour for being the first aboard the Endeavour to spot land. Read more...
Oct
1917 German 'Sea Devil' imprisoned in NZ
Count von Luckner's raider Seeadler sank 14 Allied ships in 1917 before he was captured in Fiji. His subsequent escape from Motuihe Island in the Hauraki Gulf made him a legend. Read more...
Oct
1941 Stan Graham runs amok on West Coast
Graham shot dead three policemen and mortally wounded two other men before escaping into the bush. One of New Zealand's largest manhunts ended when Graham was shot and mortally wounded on 20 October. Read more...
Oct
1967 The end of the 'six o'clock swill'
Six p.m. closing for pubs was introduced as a 'temporary' wartime measure in 1917. The resulting 'six-o'clock swill' encouraged binge drinking as patrons tried to drink their fill before closing time. Read more...
Oct
1975 Waitangi Tribunal created
The Waitangi Tribunal was established to provide 'for the observance and confirmation of the principles' of the Treaty. It initially investigated claims dating from the passage of the Treaty of Waitangi Act, but in 1985 its jurisdiction was extended back to 1840. Read more...
Oct
1861 First Cobb & Co. coach service runs to Otago goldfields
In its first venture from Dunedin to Gabriels Gully in Central Otago, Cobb & Co. reduced the time for the trip from two days to nine hours. Read more...
Oct
1917 NZ's ‘blackest day’ at Passchendaele
In terms of lives lost in a single day, this was the greatest disaster in New Zealand's modern history. The failed assault on Passchendaele in Belgium took the lives of 45 officers and 800 men, and left more than 2700 wounded. Read more...
1918 Niagara's arrival blamed for flu pandemic
Many people blamed the liner Niagara for bringing a deadly new influenza virus to New Zealand. But six people had died of the flu in Auckland in the three days before it arrived, and the upsurge in cases in the city came two weeks later. Read more...
Oct
1975 Whina Cooper leads land march to Parliament
About 5000 marchers arrived at Parliament and presented a petition signed by 60,000 people to Prime Minister Bill Rowling. The main goal of the hīkoi was to end the alienation (sale) of Māori land. Read more...
Oct
1979 'Mr Asia' found murdered
The mutilated body of Marty Johnstone, the nominal leader of the 'Mr Asia' drug syndicate, was found by divers in Eccleston Delft, a flooded disused quarry in Lancashire. His execution had been ordered by syndicate kingpin Terry Clark. Read more...
Oct
1877 Former Governor Grey becomes Premier
Grey played a central role in 19th-century New Zealand politics, serving two terms as governor before entering Parliament to fight Julius Vogel's plans to abolish the provinces. He was the first of just two men who have held both positions. Read more...
1942 NZ coastwatchers executed by the Japanese
Seventeen New Zealand coastwatchers and five civilians who had been captured in the Gilbert Islands in August-September 1942 were beheaded at Betio, Tarawa. Read more...
2007 'Anti-terror' raids in Urewera
Citing the Terrorism Suppression Act, police arrested 18 people in nationwide raids linked to alleged weapons training camps near the eastern Bay of Plenty township of Rūātoki. Read more...
Oct
1914 Main Body of NZEF sails to war
Thousands of Wellingtonians rose before dawn and crowded vantage points around the harbour to watch as 10 grey-painted troopships, escorted by four warships, sailed to war. Read more...
1936 Jean Batten conquers UK-NZ route
Jean Batten set a number of aviation firsts before flying from the UK to NZ in 11 days 45 minutes. A crowd of 6000 greeted her at Mangere Aerodrome. Read more...
Oct
1877 Chief Justice declares Treaty 'worthless' and a 'simple nullity'
Sir James Prendergast's statements, made when delivering a reserved judgment in the case of Wi Parata v The Bishop of Wellington, would influence government decision-making on Treaty of Waitangi issues for decades. Read more...
Oct
1924 First trans-global radio transmission to London
From the family sheep station in Shag Valley, East Otago, amateur radio operator Frank Bell sent a ground-breaking Morse code transmission which was received and replied to by London-based amateur operator Cecil Goyder. Read more...
1954 NZ Opera Group's first opening night
Soon to be renamed the New Zealand Opera Company, the Group performed The telephone in Wellington. The performance was broadcast live on radio. Read more...
Oct
1992 Fred Hollows Foundation launched in NZ
The foundation was established in Australia by the Kiwi-born ophthalmologist (eye doctor) to treat eye problems in poorer countries. Within six years 200,000 people had their sight restored through cataract surgery. Read more...
1966 New Zealand’s day with LBJ
President Lyndon Johnson's 24-hour visit was aimed at shoring up support for the war in Vietnam. Protesters were outnumbered by enthusiastic crowds. Read more...
Oct
1941 Fugitive Stan Graham shot by police
Graham died of his wounds the following day. He had been on the run since 8 October and was responsible for the deaths of seven people. Read more...
Oct
1964 Peter Snell wins second gold in Tokyo
Snell had successfully defended his 800-m title earlier at the Tokyo Olympics and completed the coveted middle-distance double with gold in the 1500 m. Fellow Kiwi John Davies won bronze. Read more...
Oct
1972 Death of poet James K. Baxter
Acknowledged as one of New Zealand’s most accomplished poets, Baxter had devoted the last years of his life to social work among alcoholics and drug addicts. He died in Auckland, aged 46. Read more...
Oct
1915 Ten NZ nurses lost in Marquette sinking
Thirty-two New Zealanders, including 10 nurses, were killed when the troop transport Marquette was torpedoed by a German U-boat. Read more...
1948 Mt Ruapehu air crash kills 13
The Lockheed Electra airliner ZK-AGK Kaka went missing in poor weather on a flight from Palmerston North to Hamilton. Searchers did not reach the wreckage for a week. Read more...
2011 All Blacks win their second World Cup
The All Blacks won the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time in seven attempts, defending grimly to hold onto an 8–7 lead over France in front of 61,000 spectators at Eden Park, Auckland. Read more...
Oct
1913 Violence flares on Wellington wharves
Events in Wellington on and around 24 October marked the beginning of the Great Strike of 1913 – a bitter two-month struggle that would ultimately involve 16,000 unionists around the country. Read more...
Oct
1971 End of the line for steam railways
The Christchurch-Dunedin overnight express, headed by a JA-class locomotive, ran the last scheduled steam-hauled service on New Zealand Railways, bringing to an end 108 years of regular steam rail operations in this country. Read more...
1949 Foundation of IHC
A meeting in Wellington set up an interim committee for the Intellectually Handicapped Children's Parents' Association (IHCPA), the forerunner of IHC. Read more...
Oct
1942 Women Jurors Act allows women to sit on juries
The Act provided for women aged between 25 and 60 to have their names placed on the jury list on the same basis as men – if they so desired. The first female juror, Miss E.R. Kingsford, served at the Auckland Supreme Court in 1943. Read more...
Oct
1943 NZ troops make first opposed landing since Gallipoli
New Zealanders of 8 Brigade, 3 New Zealand Division, helped their American allies clear Mono Island in the Solomons of its Japanese defenders. Forty New Zealanders lost their lives in weeks of fierce fighting. Read more...
Oct
1835 Declaration of Independence signed by northern chiefs
Thirty-four northern chiefs signed a Declaration of Independence at a hui called by the British Resident, James Busby, at his home at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. This was one of several events that led eventually to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Read more...
1890 First Labour Day celebrations
The first Labour Day celebrated the struggle for an eight-hour working day. Parades in the main centres were attended by several thousand trade union members and supporters. Read more...
Oct
1894 SS Wairarapa wrecked on Great Barrier Island
Only weeks earlier the glamorous steamer had set a record time for the Tasman crossing from Sydney to Auckland. A Court of Enquiry blamed the captain for the disaster, which cost 121 lives. Read more...
1995 Forgotten silver film hoax screened
Peter Jackson and Costa Botes' documentary about Colin McKenzie, a forgotten hero of early New Zealand movie-making, was later revealed as the biggest Kiwi film hoax of the century. Read more...
Oct
1865 Native Land Court created
The Native Land Court was one of the key products of the 1865 Native Lands Act. It converted traditional communal landholdings into individual titles, making it easier for Pākehā to purchase Māori land. Read more...
1918 Massive prohibition petition presented to Parliament
A petition with more than 240,000 signatures demanding an end to the manufacture and sale of alcohol in New Zealand was presented to Parliament. Read more...
Oct
1985 Keri Hulme’s Bone people wins Booker Prize
By 1985 Keri Hulme had won several New Zealand awards for her writing. But the decision to award her first novel, The bone people, the Booker Prize surprised literary critics, bookies and Hulme alike. Read more...
2015 All Blacks defend World Cup title
The All Blacks defeated Australia 34-17 at London's Twickenham stadium to become the first team to win back-to-back Rugby World Cup competitions, and the first to win the title three times. Read more...
