Historic NZ events in July
Jul
1988 Bastion Point land returned
The government announced that it had agreed to the Waitangi Tribunal's recommendation that Bastion Point on Auckland's Waitematā Harbour be returned to the local iwi, Ngāti Whātua. Read more...
Jul
1938 Electric trains come to Wellington
Opened on 2 July 1938, the Johnsonville suburban line was the first in the country to be served by electric multiple units. Read more...
Jul
1963 DC-3 crashes in Kaimai Range
All 23 passengers and crew were killed in what is still New Zealand's worst internal civil aviation accident. Helicopters were used for the first time in the search and rescue operation that followed. Read more...
Jul
1868 Te Kooti escapes from the Chathams
Te Kooti and 300 followers captured the schooner Rifleman and sailed for New Zealand. The fugitives landed at Whareongaonga, just south of Poverty Bay, six days later. Read more...
1902 NZ Boxing Association formed in Christchurch
The New Zealand Boxing Association was formed to promote and foster amateur boxing in this country. After drawing up its rules and obtaining parliamentary sanction, the association staged its first New Zealand championships in Christchurch later in 1902. Read more...
Jul
1881 Poll tax imposed on Chinese
The Chinese Immigrants Act of 1881 introduced a ‘poll tax’ of £10. Ships arriving in New Zealand could land only one Chinese passenger for each 10 tons of cargo. Read more...
Jul
1923 Main trunk express train disaster
Early hours in the morning the express crashed into a landslip at Ōngarue in the King Country. Seventeen people were killed, the first major loss of life on New Zealand railways. Read more...
Jul
1916 NZ Labour Party founded
The country's oldest existing political party, the New Zealand Labour Party emerged from a joint conference in Wellington of the United Federation of Labour, the Social Democratic Party and local Labour Representation Committees. Read more...
1924 'Tom Watson' wins bronze for New Zealand
The character in the Academy Award-winning film Chariots of fire (1981) was based on Arthur Porritt, who won a bronze medal for New Zealand in the 100 m at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Read more...
Jul
1893 NZ Racing Conference established
The New Zealand Racing Conference was formed to control the thoroughbred horse-racing industry in this country. Read more...
Jul
1986 Homosexual Law Reform Bill passed
Wellington Central MP Fran Wilde's bill, which came into force in August, removed criminal sanctions against consensual male homosexual practices. Read more...
Jul
1967 NZ adopts decimal currency
Pounds, shillings and pence were replaced with dollars and cents − 27 million new banknotes and 165 million new coins. Read more...
1985 Rainbow Warrior sunk in Auckland harbour
The Greenpeace ship, which was protesting against French nuclear testing, was torn apart by two bombs planted by French secret agents. A Portuguese crew member was killed. Read more...
Jul
1877 Kate Edger becomes NZ’s first woman graduate
Kate Edger became the first woman in New Zealand to gain a university degree and the first woman in the British Empire to earn a BA. Read more...
Jul
1863 British forces invade Waikato
Lieutenant-General Cameron's force crossed the Mangatawhiri stream. This was the first act of war in the Waikato campaign, which had been planned in part to gain land for European settlement. Read more...
2001 New Zealander wins Tour de France stage
The first stage win by a New Zealander in the Tour de France came in a team time trial. Although Chris Jenner didn't finish with the core of his Credit Agricole team, he shared in the stage win and got to stand on the podium. Read more...
Jul
1916 Walsh becomes first NZer to obtain pilot's certificate
Vivian Walsh became the first New Zealander to obtain an aviator's certificate. The New Zealand Flying School had been established at Ōrākei in October 1915. Read more...
Jul
1853 NZ's first general election begins
The first member of New Zealand's inaugural Parliament was elected unopposed at Russell in the Bay of Islands. It would take another two and a half months to elect the remaining 36 members of the House of Representatives. Read more...
1950 Death of Sir Āpirana Ngata
Ngata contributed hugely to the revival of the Māori people in the early 20th century. His intelligence, tact, persistence and political skill helped him promote Māori culture and identity. Read more...
Jul
1915 Gallipoli wounded arrive home on the Willochra
The first large group of men wounded at Gallipoli to return to New Zealand arrived in Wellington on the Willochra in mid-July 1915 as part of a draft of around 300 men Read more...
1933 Lovelock smashes world mile record
Jack Lovelock's run at Princeton University beat the record for the mile, held by Jules Ladoumegue, by 1.4 seconds. The race was dubbed the 'greatest mile of all time' by Time Magazine. Read more...
Jul
1965 NZ artillery opens fire in Vietnam
161 Battery, stationed at Bien Hoa air base near Saigon, opened fire on a Viet Cong position in support of the American 173rd Airborne Brigade. Read more...
Jul
1939 Death of Paddy the Wanderer
Paddy, a ginger and brown Airedale terrier, became a national celebrity because of his exploits on the Wellington waterfront (and beyond) during the 1930s. He was remembered as providing a 'little light in the dark days of the Depression'. Read more...
1863 Māori force defeated at Koheroa
The British invasion force led by Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron had its first significant encounter with Waikato Māori at Koheroa, near Mercer. Read more...
Jul
1855 NZ's first postage stamps go on sale
These adhesive, non-perforated stamps for the prepayment of postage were the famous 'Full Face' or 'Chalon Head' design showing Queen Victoria in her coronation robes. Read more...
1884 Death of Ferdinand von Hochstetter
The Austrian geologist was the first to describe and interpret many features of New Zealand geology. He established a local tradition of systematic geological mapping. Read more...
Jul
1982 Privy Council rules on Samoan citizenship
The Privy Council granted New Zealand citizenship to Western Samoans born since 1924. When the government challenged this ruling, it was accused of betrayal and racism. Read more...
Jul
1892 Steam locomotive sets world speed record
The Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) Company’s locomotive No. 10 established a world speed record for the narrow 3 foot 6 inch (1067 mm) gauge, averaging 68 km per hour on a two-hour run and hitting a top speed of 103 kph. Read more...
1965 Riots rock Mt Eden prison
The disturbance followed a botched escape attempt by two prisoners and lasted into the next day. Several warders were taken hostage and part of the prison was gutted by fire. Read more...
Jul
1865 Capture of Weraroa pā
Governor George Grey led a small force that captured a Pai Mārire (Hauhau) pā at Weraroa, Waitōtara. The pā had long lost its strategic significance, and its small garrison had seemed willing to surrender. Read more...
Jul
1987 Lotto goes on sale for first time
Outlets opened to long queues, with the first division prize in the inaugural draw worth $360,000. In the first year Kiwis 'invested' nearly $249 million in the new lottery, which was based on a weekly draw of six numbers. Read more...
Jul
1851 The Maria wrecked near Cape Terawhiti
Twenty-six lives were lost when the barque Maria was wrecked near Cape Terawhiti. This provided more ammunition for Wellington settlers who were trying to convince the government of the need for a lighthouse. Read more...
1952 Yvette Williams leaps for gold at Helsinki
New Zealand's first female Olympic medallist, Yvette Williams (now Corlett) won gold in the long jump with an Olympic record leap of 6.24 m (20 feet 5 and 3/4 inches). Read more...
Jul
2000 New Zealand soldier killed in Timor-Leste
Private Leonard Manning was the first New Zealander killed in combat since the Vietnam War. Manning's patrol was part of New Zealand's contribution to a United Nations peacekeeping force in the fledgling nation of Timor-Leste (East Timor). Read more...
Jul
1981 Anti-Springbok protesters prevent Hamilton match
350 anti-tour demonstrators invaded Rugby Park in Hamilton, forcing the abandonment of the Springboks-Waikato match. Rugby supporters pelted the protesters with bottles and scuffles broke out. Read more...
Jul
1863 Floods kill 25 miners in Central Otago
Approximately 25 gold miners died on the Arrow diggings, north-east of Queenstown, as a result of flash floods after 24 hours of heavy rain that also melted much of the snow from the surrounding ranges. Read more...
1865 Parliament moves to Wellington
The capital moved from Auckland to more centrally located Wellington on the recommendation of an Australian commission. The former Wellington Provincial Council chamber became the new home for Parliament. Read more...
1928 Kiwi boxer fights for world heavyweight title
In the midst of boxing's golden age, Gisborne-born Tom Heeney took on Gene Tunney in front of 46,000 spectators at Yankee Stadium, New York. Although he was defeated, his title bid had aroused tremendous interest in both New Zealand and the USA. Read more...
Jul
1963 Pioneer aviator George Bolt dies
Bolt was an outstanding figure in the development of commercial aviation in this country. Among his many achievements were taking New Zealand's first aerial photographs in 1912 and delivering its first official airmail in 1919 Read more...
Jul
1893 Women's suffrage petition presented
This massive suffrage petition − signed by more 25,000 women, about a fifth of the entire adult European female population − helped pave the way for the passage of New Zealand's world-leading Electoral Act in September 1893. Read more...
Jul
1981 Police baton anti-tour protesters near Parliament
Up to 2000 anti-Springbok tour protesters were confronted by police who used batons to stop them marching up Molesworth St to the home of South Africa's Consul to New Zealand. Read more...
Jul
1979 Carless days introduced
Carless days for motor vehicles were introduced to combat the second oil shock of the 1970s. They did little to reduce petrol consumption and were scrapped in May 1980. Read more...
Jul
1976 John Walker wins gold in Montreal
Following in the footsteps of Jack Lovelock and Peter Snell, Walker won gold in the Olympic 1500 m. Black African nations boycotted the Games in protest at the All Blacks' tour of South Africa Read more...
