The bank was opened in response to Maori concerns that they were being cheated by Pakeha bankers, but it was not a success.

At 96 m long and 90 m high, the suspension bridge over the Shotover River near Queenstown in Central Otago is one of the most spectacular bridges in New Zealand.

A milling road provided the first vehicle access to the tiny Urewera settlement of Maungapōhatu – famous as the former home of the prophet Rua Kēnana

After more than a year on the run in northern Italy, New Zealand prisoner of war David Russell was recaptured and executed. His courage in the face of death earned him the George Cross.

The government ordered the armed forces to begin handling cargo at the ports of Auckland and Wellington as the waterfront dispute escalated.

Two Wellington lawyers, W.V. Brewer and H. Ross, drew pistols over a legal difference in Wellington. Brewer fired into the air but was shot in the groin. He died a week later.

Forty-eight Japanese POWs and one guard were killed in the riot. News of the incident was kept quiet until 1945 for fear of retribution against Allied prisoners in Japanese camps.

The final detachment of the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment departs from New Zealand, leaving the Armed Constabulary (formed in 1867) responsible for the colony's internal defence.

Twenty-four New Zealanders were killed in this battle during the South African (Boer) War. A total of 234 New Zealanders died while serving in New Zealand's first overseas war.

940,000 ha in western Southland was permanently reserved for a national park. The 1952 National Parks Act formally created what has become New Zealand's largest national park and one of the largest in the world.

The New Zealand cruiser HMS Achilles had taken part in the Battle of the River Plate, the Allies' first naval victory of the Second World War.

Wellington's iconic cable car was built to provide residents of the developing hill suburb of Kelburn with quick access to downtown Lambton Quay.

On Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12.51 p.m. Christchurch was badly damaged by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, which killed 185 people and injured several thousand.

Imperial policy was initially against 'native peoples' fighting in a war among Europeans. In February 1915, though, a 500-strong Native Contingent left Wellington for Egypt.

An underground explosion at Kaitangata, South Otago, killed 34 coal miners. The accident resulted in stricter control of mining.