Historic NZ events in April
Apr
1965 TEAL becomes Air New Zealand
On 1 April 1965 Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), New Zealand’s international airline, was renamed Air New Zealand Limited. Read more...
1974 Accident Compensation Commission comes into operation
ACC was created by the Accident Compensation Act 1972 to provide 24-hour, no-fault insurance for all personal injury. Read more...
1978 Thermal insulation required in NZ homes
Early European-style timber frame construction was not as effective as traditional Māori methods at keeping the heat in buildings. Specified levels of thermal insulation were not required by law until 1978. Read more...
1981 New Zealand Film Archive launched
The New Zealand Film Archive has grown considerably since it shared Wellington premises with the New Zealand Federation of Film Societies. Read more...
1987 State-owned enterprises are born
The State-Owned Enterprises Act heralded a major overhaul of the public sector and was a key part of the strategy of economic liberalisation known as 'Rogernomics'. Read more...
Apr
1915 Anzac soldiers riot in Cairo's Wazzir brothel district
On Good Friday about 2500 New Zealand and Australian troops rioted in the Haret Al Wassir red-light district of Cairo's Ezbekieh Quarter. Read more...
1916 Arrest of Rua Kēnana
On the morning of Sunday 2 April 1916, 57 armed police invaded the remote Tūhoe settlement of Maungapōhatu in the Urewera Ranges. They had come to arrest the prophet and community leader Rua Kēnana. Read more...
Apr
1943 'Battle of Manners Street'
In the most famous of several wartime skirmishes between New Zealanders and American servicemen, hundreds of soldiers and civilians slugged it out in downtown Wellington. Read more...
Apr
2001 Silvia Cartwright becomes governor-general
The swearing in of Dame Silvia Cartwright as governor-general meant that all five of the country's most powerful political and legal positions were held by women. Read more...
Apr
1871 NZ's first overseas diplomatic post created
New Zealand’s first overseas diplomatic post was created when Isaac Featherston was appointed as agent-general in London. Read more...
1932 Death of Phar Lap
Two weeks after winning one of North America's richest races, the Agua Caliente Handicap, the Australasian champion died of a mystery illness in California. Read more...
Apr
1864 Pai Mārire ambush in Taranaki
A British patrol was ambushed by Pai Mārire warriors near Ōakura. The heads of the seven men killed were taken around the North Island by Pai Mārire disciples to encourage enlistment in the movement. Read more...
1919 NZ (Māori) Pioneer Battalion returns from war
The Pioneer Battalion was one of only two NZEF formations to return from the First World War as a complete unit. Its welcome home was more extensive than that given to other troops. Read more...
Apr
1856 First state secondary school opens in Nelson
The first state secondary school in New Zealand, Nelson College, opened in temporary premises in Trafalgar St with a roll of just eight boys. Read more...
Apr
1873 Julius Vogel becomes premier
Vogel was the dominant political figure of the 1870s, serving as Colonial Treasurer and premier on several occasions, and borrowing heavily to invest in a massive public works and immigration programme. Read more...
Apr
1932 Unemployed disturbances in Dunedin
During the 'angry autumn' of 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, unemployed workers in Dunedin reacted angrily when the Hospital Board refused to assist them. Read more...
Apr
1919 Soldiers' votes defeat prohibition
A referendum gave prohibition a 13,000-vote majority, but this result was overturned by the votes of nearly 40,000 troops who were still overseas or in camp. Read more...
1968 Sinking of the Wahine
The ferry Wahine, en route from Lyttelton with 734 passengers and crew on board, struck Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington Harbour during a ferocious storm. Fifty-two lives were lost. Read more...
1973 Labour government cancels Springbok rugby tour
Following police warnings of civil strife, Prime Minister Norman Kirk informed the New Zealand Rugby Football Union that the government saw ‘no alternative’ to a 'postponement' of the planned tour by the South African Springboks. Read more...
Apr
1869 New Zealand's first royal visit
The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred, arrived in Wellington as captain of the frigate HMS Galatea. He was the first member of the British royal family to visit New Zealand. Read more...
1916 Arrival of the NZ Division in France
The Minnewaska, a troopship carrying the headquarters of the recently formed New Zealand Division, arrived in Marseilles, France Read more...
Apr
1902 Train accident in South Africa kills 16 NZ soldiers
Sixteen members of the Eighth New Zealand Contingent were killed when their train collided with a goods train at Machavie (Machavierug), near Potchefstroom in Transvaal. Read more...
1913 HMS New Zealand begins tour of NZ
During its 10-week New Zealand tour more than half a million people visited the battlecruiser, which the Dominion had gifted to the Royal Navy. Read more...
Apr
1896 NCW formed in Christchurch
The National Council of Women of New Zealand was established in Christchurch by women who had been active in the suffrage campaign. Their aim was to continue to improve the status and condition of women. Read more...
Apr
1932 Unemployed riots rock Queen St
Hundreds of unemployed people rioted in Auckland's Queen St for more than two hours. Trouble began after several hundred public servants marched to the Town Hall to protest against proposed wage cuts. Read more...
Apr
1868 First Māori MPs elected to Parliament
Four Māori seats were established in 1867 and elections for Māori members were held the following year. Initially created for five years, the seats' existence was prolonged indefinitely in 1876. Read more...
1885 First sod dug for North Island main trunk
Politicians and Māori leaders ceremonially turned the ‘first sod’ of the central section of the main trunk line – a project that would take 23 years to complete. Read more...
2008 Mangatepopo canyoning disaster
Six students and a teacher from Elim College died in a flash flood while canyoning in the Mangatepopo Stream, Tongariro National Park. Read more...
Apr
1892 NZ Rugby Union founded
As rugby increased in popularity, it became more important to standardise the administration of the game in the colony. Despite some opposition, a New Zealand Rugby Football Union was founded. Read more...
1912 News of Titanic sinking reaches NZ
Although no New Zealanders were aboard the world’s largest passenger ship when it sank in the chilly North Atlantic with appalling loss of life due to a lack of lifeboats, the country followed the news closely. Read more...
1973 Arthur Allan Thomas convicted of Crewe murders for a second time
In the retrial the defence case centred on a cartridge case that had been a key factor in Thomas’s original conviction. Despite questions about its relevance he was convicted for a second time. Read more...
Apr
1880 First inter-city brass band contest
About 2500 people attended the first inter-city brass band competition in the Christchurch Drill Hall. The inaugural winners were the Invercargill Garrison Band. Read more...
Apr
1847 Gilfillan killings near Whanganui
A Māori raid on the Gilfillan farm at Matarawa, just east of Whanganui, left four members of the family dead. The artist John Gilfillan and one of his daughters were severely wounded. Read more...
Apr
1884 Royal honour awarded to NZ woman for first time
The Royal Red Cross was awarded to Miss Alice Crisp, matron of Auckland Hospital, in a ceremony at Government House, Auckland. Read more...
1893 State buys Cheviot Estate
In the 1890s the Liberal government was determined to break up large estates for closer settlement by small farmers. The first major purchase under this policy was of the Cheviot Estate in North Canterbury. Read more...
1967 Dave McKenzie wins the Boston Marathon
The 24-year-old McKenzie set a new course record of 2 hours 15 minutes 45 seconds in finishing ahead of American Tom Laris and Yutaka Aoki of Japan. He was the first New Zealander to win the Boston Marathon. Read more...
Apr
1958 Mormon temple opens in Hamilton
This was the first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the southern hemisphere. Read more...
1981 Allison Roe wins Boston marathon
Allison Roe won the prestigious Boston race, taking nearly 8 minutes off the course record. She followed this performance six months later with victory in the New York marathon. Read more...
Apr
1961 First Golden Shears competition
First held at the Masterton War Memorial Stadium in 1961, the Golden Shears competition has become the iconic event for the shearing and wool-handling industry in New Zealand. Read more...
Apr
1936 Rātana and Labour seal alliance
The alliance between the Rātana Church and the Labour Party was cemented at an historic meeting between T.W. Rātana and Prime Minister M.J. Savage. Read more...
Apr
1979 Blair Peach killed in London
New Zealander Blair Peach was killed during a clash between police and protesters at an anti-fascism rally in Southall, London. Read more...
1983 Prince William meets 'buzzy bee'
The Prince and Princess of Wales played with their infant son Prince William and New Zealand's iconic children’s toy, the buzzy bee, on the lawn at Government House, Auckland. Read more...
Apr
1922 New Zealand's first poppy day
A total of 245,059 small poppies and 15,157 larger versions were sold, earning £13,166. Of that amount, £3,695 was sent to help war-ravaged areas of northern France; the remainder went to unemployed returned soldiers and their families. Read more...
1941 Sinking of the Hellas
Disaster struck during the hurried evacuation of Allied forces from Greece when a large number of civilians and Commonwealth troops, including New Zealanders, were killed while they were boarding the Greek yacht Hellas at the port of Piraeus, near Athens. Read more...
1951 First NZer killed in battle in Korean War
Kayforce suffered its first fatal battle casualty with the death of Second Lieutenant Dennis Fielden. Read more...
Apr
1915 NZ troops land at Gallipoli
New Zealand troops were part of the Allied invasion force that landed at what soon became known as Anzac Cove. About one-sixth of the New Zealanders who served on Gallipoli were killed. Read more...
1916 The first Anzac Day
On 25 April 1916, communities around New Zealand and overseas gathered to commemorate the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. Read more...
1963 NZ medics start work in South Vietnam
On Anzac Day 1963, a six-strong New Zealand civilian surgical team arrived in Qui Nhon, South Vietnam as part of the Colombo Plan assistance programme. Their deployment marked the beginning of New Zealand’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Read more...
Apr
1943 NZ ship torpedoed in Tasman
The Union Steam Ship Company freighter Limerick was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off the New South Wales coast. Two of its crew were lost. Read more...
1945 Death of John Mulgan
At the time of his suicide in Cairo, many New Zealanders knew little of the Christchurch-born author of Man alone Read more...
2005 Civil unions come into effect
Couples − heterosexual or homosexual − were now able to register their relationship as a civil union. All couples in New Zealand, whether married, in a civil union, or in a de facto partnership now had equal legal rights and obligations. Read more...
Apr
1806 Moehanga becomes first Māori to visit England
Moehanga (Ngāpuhi) became the first recorded Māori visitor to England when the Ferret berthed in London. Read more...
1893 Death of Premier John Ballance
Ballance was the first Liberal premier. He laid the foundation for a government that was widely seen as making New Zealand ‘the social laboratory of the world’. Read more...
Apr
1888 First British rugby team to play in NZ
The first British rugby team to tour New Zealand won its first match, against Otago at the Caledonian Ground in South Dunedin. Read more...
1941 Jack Hinton wins the Victoria Cross
Southlander Jack Hinton was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on the night of 28 April 1941 at Kalamata during the evacuation from Greece. Read more...
Apr
1864 Assault on Gate Pā
With substantial artillery and 1700 men, the British assaulted the Ngāi Te Rangi stronghold of Pukehinahina (Gate Pā), which was defended by just 230 warriors. Read more...
1881 131 perish in worst civilian shipwreck in NZ waters
The steamer Tararua, en route from Port Chalmers to Melbourne, struck a reef at Waipapa Point, Southland. Of the 151 passengers and crew on board, 131 were lost, including 12 women and 14 children. Read more...
1952 ANZUS treaty comes into force
Signed by Australia, New Zealand and the US, the ANZUS treaty recognised that an armed attack in the Pacific area on one member would endanger the peace and safety of the others. Read more...
Apr
1864 Pai Mārire defeated at Sentry Hill, Taranaki
In one of their first military efforts, several hundred Pai Mārire warriors attacked a British redoubt at Te Mōrere (Sentry Hill) in Taranaki. Scores were killed and wounded. Read more...
1865 Ex-Governor FitzRoy commits suicide
Robert FitzRoy, the second governor of New Zealand (1843-45), took his own life at his home in Surrey. Opinion on his governorship has always been divided. Read more...
1917 William Sanders wins New Zealand's only naval VC
Aucklander William Sanders was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery when the Q-ship he commanded was attacked by a German U-boat on 30 April 1917. He is the only New Zealander to have won the award in a naval action. Read more...
