anniversaries

Dominion status

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  On 26 September 1907 the colony of New Zealand ceased to exist. It became, instead, a dominion within the British Empire.

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• Page 2 – Becoming a dominion

  New Zealand had its own reasons for wanting to become a dominion. Premier Sir Joseph Ward hoped the term ‘dominion’ would remind the world that New Zealand was not

• Page 3 – The first Dominion Day

  The first Dominion Day, 1907, was a holiday for public servants as all government offices closed to mark the occasion.

• Page 4 – Demise of Dominion Day

  Dominion Day, 26 September, never really took hold in New Zealand. Wellington was one of the few places that kept up ceremonies after 1907.

• Page 5 – What changed?

  What changed when New Zealand became a dominion in 1907?

• Page 7 – Dominion status symposium, 2007

  Read and hear the papers from the Dominion status symposium held at  Parliament Buildings on Dominion Day - 26 September 2007

Labour Day

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  Celebrated on the fourth Monday in October, Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day, a right that carpenter Samuel Parnell had famously fought for in 1840. Our first Labour Day was held on 28 October 1890, and it has been a statutory public holiday since 1900.

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• Page 1 - Labour DayCelebrated on the fourth Monday in October, Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day, a right that carpenter Samuel Parnell had famously fought for in

Christmas in New Zealand

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  Christmas in New Zealand is less about snow and sleigh bells and more about sun, sand and backyard barbecues. Over the holiday season we explore the Kiwi Christmas experience –
  from Abel Tasman’s first New Zealand Christmas in 1642 to the declining
  reign of the Queen’s message

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• Page 1 - Kiwi ChristmasChristmas in New Zealand is less about snow and sleigh bells and more about sun, sand and backyard barbecues. Over the holiday season we explore the Kiwi Christmas experience –

Selected anniversaries 2014-2018

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  Celebrating or commemorating anniversaries is a popular way to mark significant events in New Zealand history. We've provided a list of anniversary milestones coming up in the next few years

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• Page 1 - Selected anniversaries 2014-2018Celebrating or commemorating anniversaries is a popular way to mark significant events in New Zealand history. We've provided a list of anniversary milestones coming up in the

The Merchant Navy

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  3 September is Merchant Navy Day, which was first officially commemorated in New Zealand in 2010. The date marks the sinking of the first Allied merchant ship in 1939, just hours after the Second World War began. This is the story of the 'fourth service' at war.

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• Page 7 - Merchant Navy timelineAn outline of some of the key events relating to the war at sea and merchant shipping in the Second World War, with a particular focus on New Zealand involvement.