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Kiwi of the Week

Elizabeth Yates

Elizabeth Yates was elected mayor of Onehunga on 29 November 1893, becoming the first woman in the British Empire to hold the office.

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Today in History

3 December

1863 Land confiscation law passed

This law allowed for the confiscation (raupatu) of Māori land to punish North Island tribes which were deemed to have rebelled against the British Crown in the early 1860s. Pākehā settlers would occupy the confiscated land. more...

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Raupatu - Maori King movement 1860-94

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NZ Settlements Act (Te Ara)
War and its aftermath (Te Ara)

1960 Bluff Island Harbour opened

The 40-ha man-made Island Harbour, eight years in the making, is the centrepiece of the modern port facilities at Bluff, New Zealand's southernmost commercial deepwater port. more...