Nation Dates preview

1. NATION
DATES
WENDY MCGUINNESS
Timelines of significant events
that have shaped the history of
Aotearoa New Zealand
FIFTH EDITION

2. mcg
publishing
Timelines of significant events that have
shaped the history of Aotearoa New Zealand
NATION
DATES

3. 4
Nation Dates
‘My books & MSS [manuscripts]. I hope will assist future
Searchers after the truth.’
Image: Alexander Turnbull Library, Bowen Street, Wellington
— Unknown photographer, c. 1930
Quotation: Bibliophile Alexander Turnbull, 1912 (Traue, J. E., 2010)
— Alexander Turnbull

4. Contents
He Kōrero ......................................................................................................................................7
Navigating this book.................................................................................................................. 9
1. Historical Events .............................................................................................................47
2. Heads of State .............................................................................................................. 303
3. Governors and Governors-General ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 305
4. Premiers and Prime Ministers ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 309
5. Political Parties ............................................................................................................ 313
6. Political Agreements ................................................................................................... 317
7. Political Referenda....................................................................................................... 323
8. Royal Commissions...................................................................................................... 327
9. Treaty Settlements ...................................................................................................... 335
10. New Zealand Wars ....................................................................................................... 341
11. Peace Support Operations ......................................................................................... 347
12. States of Emergency ................................................................................................... 355
13. Pandemics...................................................................................................................... 357
14. Governance Boundaries.............................................................................................. 361
15. Government Net Worth and Net Debt 1990–2023 ����������������������������������������������� 365
16. Government Revenue and Expenses 1899–2023 ������������������������������������������������� 369
17. Exports and Imports 1898–2023 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 373
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. 381
Final thoughts........................................................................................................................ 384
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ 386
Index ........................................................................................................................................ 390

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Nation Dates
Image: The pounamu mauri stone on the marae at Te Papa. For Māori, mauri is the life force that exists in and
connects all things. The stone was presented in 1988 by Ngāi Tahu at the opening of the Museum of New Zealand
Te Papa Tongarewa (He Paika Tōtara, n.d.)
— Wendy McGuinness, 12 October 2020

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‘Kia hora te marino
Kia whakapapa pounamu te moana
Kia tere te kārohirohi’
‘May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
and may the shimmer of summer dance across your path’
Interconnected impacts from these chains of events, people, communities and dates – in
this summation – ripple outwardly, appearing unrelated and yet related once revealed, once
collated: a recorded intergenerational summation. A present and, therefore, a future of
options, of opportunities – decreed by leaders, seers, builders, and by our own actions and
their sometimes serendipitous impacts.
They make ripples today, illuminate paths forward, and reflect trails back, like stars in the
heavens have always marked waypoints in a great Pacific voyage, commanding horizons to
draw near, urging a great voyaging waka forward, unifying in vision, purpose and intent.
Paradoxically, there is more yet to learn and discern.
Be strong. Be courageous. Be resolute.
There is life.
Kia kaha. Kia māia. Kia manawanui.
Tihei Mauri Ora
— Rangawhenua Tawhaki, Miringa Te Kakara, Te Tīroa, 1884
— Trevor Moeke, Horouta, Mātaatua, Tākitimu waka
Māori foresight and thought leader
He Kōrero

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Nation Dates
Image: Betty Radford (the author’s mother) in front of Tāne Mahuta, also known as God of the Forest,
New Zealand’s largest known living kauri tree (Mckenzie, P., 2022)
— Wendy McGuinness, 17 September 2016

8. 47
1. Historical Events
This timeline is an overview of 857 historical events that have contributed to the development
of Aotearoa New Zealand from 8 October 1769 to today.
Every event has been designated a domain and a thread. In addition, many of the historical
events listed also refer to another timeline elsewhere in Nation Dates.
This timeline can be read in four different ways:
1. By chronological order
Where precise dates or months could not be found, the event is recorded as n.d.
(no date) and placed at the end of that year.
2. By domain
To read the timeline by domain, simply choose one of the nine icons that best
represents your area of interest (see list on p. 12) and follow the left-hand column
until you find the icon again.
3. By thread
Each domain is divided into a set of smaller, more specific types of events, referred to
as a thread. There are 70 threads. To read the timeline by a thread, simply choose your
area of specific interest (a full list of threads and events can be found on pp. 14–45).
4. By index
The index is separated into (i) names of people, places and institutions; (ii) Letters
Patent, Charters and Ordinances; and (iii) legislation.

9. 48
Nation Dates
1769
8 Oct
Cook lands in Poverty Bay
Lieutenant James Cook’s ship, the Endeavour, lands at the mouth of
the Tūranganui River, near Gisborne. Cook writes in his diary that ‘We saw
in the Bay several Canoes, People upon the shore and some houses in
the country. The land on the Sea-Coast is high with steep cliffs and back
inland are very high mountains.’ Many early encounters between Cook’s
men and Māori are ‘short, suspicious and violent’. During this first voyage,
one of Cook’s crew kills a Māori man who is judged to be approaching in a
‘hostile’ manner after ceremoniously challenging the crew and a second
Māori man is killed after ‘snatching a sword from an Englishman and
brandishing it menacingly’. Neither casualty has been ordered by Cook,
who regrets the actions taken by his men. On Cook’s second voyage,
in 1773, ten crew ‘were killed by Maori at Queen Charlotte Sound’, but
Cook suspects ‘his own men may have provoked the incident’. See a map
of the coast of New Zealand charted in 1769 and 1770 overleaf. [t3]
(Belich, J., 1996: 122; Cook, J., 1769; King, M., 2003: 103–104; Salmond, A., 1993: 138)
1769
15 Nov
Cook proclaims British sovereignty over New Zealand
at Coromandel Peninsula
From 1769 to 1770 Lieutenant James Cook charts the New Zealand
coastline, showing that the land is a group of islands rather than one
continent. He proclaims British possession of New Zealand at Mercury Bay
on the Coromandel Peninsula. See map overleaf. [t3]
(MCH, 2009a)
1769
7 Dec
De Surville lands in Tokerau (Doubtless Bay)
Jean-François-Marie de Surville anchors his ship the St Jean Baptiste, a
‘French Indian vessel on a trading expedition bound for “Davis Land”, an
island rumoured to be off the coast of Terra Australis’. While in Doubtless Bay
to gather food and water for his men, Surville takes local chief Ranginui
prisoner for what was thought to be theft of a yawl (a two-masted sailboat)
that had washed ashore, and ‘seize[s] two fine canoes’ — one of which is
set alight. The St Jean Baptiste sets sail for Peru, a journey that takes
more than three months. During this time Ranginui is freed and exempted
from work. However, he dies of scurvy shortly before arriving in Peru. [t70]
(Salmond, A., 1993: 299, 322, 339, 340, 343)

10. Historical Events
49
1769
n.d.
European diseases significantly affect the Māori population
The arrival of Europeans brings diseases such as measles, influenza, typhoid
fever and tuberculosis. As more Europeans arrive, Māori populations are
significantly affected. Between 1769 and 1840, the Māori population falls by
up to 30%. The 19th-century historian Elsdon Best noted that ‘many villages
[were] almost depopulated, and many settlements were decimated on account
of the scourge. Natives of several parts of the North Island have told me that,
when the famous rewharewha [probably influenza] was ravaging the land, the
dead were often so numerous that they were left in the houses unburied, while
the survivors fled in terror to seek a new home elsewhere.’ [t40]
(Best, E., 1904: 223; Lange, R., 2011; Royal Society NZ, 1904)
1770
31 Jan
Cook proclaims British sovereignty over New Zealand
at Queen Charlotte Sound
Lieutenant James Cook proclaims British possession of New Zealand a second
time, this time at Motuara Island. He raises the Union flag and names the inlet
Queen Charlotte Sound: ‘… we took it up to the highest part of the Island and
after fixing it fast in the ground hoisted thereon the Union flag and I dignified this
Inlet with the name of Queen Charlottes Sound and [took] formal pos[s]ession
of it and the adjacent lands in the name and for the use of his Majesty.’ [t3]
(Cook, J., 1770; MCH, 2009a)
1772
4 May
Du Fresne lands in the Bay of Islands
Two French naval vessels, the Mascarin and the Marquis de Castries, arrive in
the Bay of Islands. On 12 June Captain Marc Joseph Marion du Fresne is
‘attacked and killed along with other members of a fishing party which had gone
ashore. A second party was attacked the next day. In all, 25 officers and men
lost their lives.’ Although no one is sure of the actual events, an account of the
massacre is written by the French writer Alexandre Dumas, based on the log of
du Fresne’s Lieutenant, Julien Crozet, who believed many of the crew were killed
and eaten. Reports of cannibalism and slavery (sometimes including Pākehā
slaves) were not uncommon in the late 1700s. [t70]
(Bentley, T., 2019: 109; Dieffenbach, E., 1843: 127–131; Dumas, A., 1949: 21, 28, 30, 32, 34–39, 51-52;
Dunmore, J., 1990)
1773
20 May
Sheep, pigs and goats introduced
During his second voyage to New Zealand, Cook (now officially Captain
James Cook) releases a ram, a ewe, and a number of boars and sows in Queen
Charlotte Sound. This is the first time sheep set foot on New Zealand soil, and
they only survive a few days. Cook releases a pair of goats in the same year. [t45]
(MCH, 2019a; Petrie, H., 2009)

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Nation Dates
Image: Map of the coast of New Zealand charted in 1769 and 1770
— Lieutenant James Cook, 1769–1770
Note: The name for the North Island is given as ‘Ea hei nom auwe’, which is either a version of ‘He ahi nō Māui’
(meaning ‘fire from Māui’) or ‘He mea hī nō Māui’ (meaning ‘fished up by Māui’). The name for the South Island
is given as ‘Toai Poonamo o’. This is believed to be a corruption of Te Wai Pounamu, which means ‘the greenstone
waters’. (Taonui, 2011)

12. Historical Events
51
Quotation: Missionaries C. Wilson and J. Jefferson. See 19 June 1801 journal entry in The Missionaries Journale
in the Royal Admiral from Port Jackson [Sydney, Australia] to Matavai, Taheite, via New Zealand. The Royal
Admiral anchored at Coromandel Peninsula from 20 April to 19 June 1801 (Wilson, C. & Jefferson, J., 1801: 1, 8, 27, 30)
‘Some of the natives here have informed us that
Tongatta Tubua or White people took with them two of
Tongata Maure (New Zealanders) to their own country,
and some time after they returned[;] they say they lived
well with the white people eating Bunga Bunga (bread)
and Gure (flesh of all kinds).’
Image: Original page from the 1801 journal of C. Wilson and J. Jefferson, missionaries on the Royal Admiral, with the
first known European recording of the term ‘Tongata Maure’ (tāngata Māori)
— Journal of C. Wilson and J. Jefferson, 1801
— Missionaries C. Wilson and J. Jefferson