1769 De Surville first sights NZ near Hokianga
As James Cook rounded the northern tip of the North Island from east to west, the French explorer Jean François Marie de Surville was in the same waters, sailing in the opposite direction. A storm prevented any chance of an historic meeting. Read more...
1961 First Golden Kiwi lottery draw
The Golden Kiwi lottery replaced the euphemistically named ‘art union'. The government saw this new lottery, with its bigger prizes, as a way to regain ground that had been lost to more glamorous overseas lotteries. Read more...
