1880: Death of Chief Tainui
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Today in history: 8 December, 1880, Burial of Chief Werita Tainui in Greymouth where he had been a very early inhabitant. He had died on November 30th. Tainui’s brother, Tarapuhi had come seeking greenstone in the late 1700s but met with a lethal reception from the local Ngati Wairangi tribe. The brothers’ war party, perhaps with […]
Read more..December 7, 2018
1969: Ripped off in Rotorua
By AHNZ
Rotorua Museum to consign closure to history by 2021 – Stuff; Benn Bathgate, Sep 27 2018 Jokes! In 2006-2011 Rotorua Museum sucked in $$ to extend the building (‘Centennial project’) over 5 years and then…oh-oh…we’re closing it all down because we just remembered earthquakes were a thing! The above article by Benn Bathgate highly resembles the […]
Read more..October 6, 2018
1926: The Wonder Man
By AHNZ
Died today in New Zealand history, 28 April, 1926. English-American daredevil and sexagenarian Bobby Leach didn’t make it out of Auckland alive. He had come here to cash in on his fame and publicise his next suicide mission: going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. He he slipped on an orange peel on Queen Street, […]
Read more..April 28, 2024
1915: Fiasco at Gallipoli
By AHNZ
Today in history, 25 April, 1915, we invaded Turkey from the Gallipoli Peninsula. It was a gamble, a fiasco, a disaster, and the object of a national propaganda exercise so complete that it re-framed our national identity. Colonial New Zealand had been a much freer place to live, almost Libertarian. The Millennial Age that followed […]
Read more..April 25, 2024
1990: Dignity Culture Played Out
By AHNZ
A Dignity Culture history era of 5 years or so terminated at year’s end 1990 and it was marked by the Kiwi cover of the song To Sir With Love. In October 1990 the track was released as a single that soon charted at number 1 and stayed there for 5 weeks. It was written […]
Read more..April 24, 2024
1941: The Greek King’s Bodyguard
By AHNZ
Today in history, 23 April, 1941, New Zealand troops formed the bodyguard to King George II of Greece. Our men safely evacuated George from Greece to Crete and on the Egypt. “KING OF GREECE ENTERTAINS NEW ZEALANDERS WHO FORMED HIS BODYGUARD IN RETREAT ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF CRETE” The thing about George (who was related […]
Read more..April 23, 2024
1885: The Club Hotel
By AHNZ
Bluff’s Club Hotel’s demolition started in April 2024 putting an end to an institution going back to the 1860s. It ceased trading in the mid-2000s. The latest owner, Bluff Oyster and Food Festival Charitable Trust purchased it in 2014 and have been let it deteriorate and be vandalised for 10 years culminating in the ability […]
Read more..April 22, 2024
1960: New Zealand PM Meets Khrushchev
By AHNZ
20 April 1960: New Zealand Prime Minister Walter Nash held talks with USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev for 6 hours in total. We were 7 months out from a General Election which would boot out Nash’s Labour 2.0 Ministry. New Zealand had had enough of Commies. Walter apparently upset Nikita a bit by mentioning how his […]
Read more..April 20, 2024
1959: Oxford Branch Closed
By AHNZ
In early 1959 the Labour 2.0 Ministry signaled that 6 under-performing government railway lines were under threat. This included Oxford Branch (est. 1875) which was duly culled on 19 April of that year. The Minister for Railways was Mick Moohan. The other lines that were to close were Ngapara, Donnelly’s Crossing, Foxton, and Waikaia. They […]
Read more..April 19, 2024
1976: Orana Park
By AHNZ
Orana Park 25 September, 1976, in Paparua County (1911-1989.) Now it’s just another part of MegaCity Christchurch. Orana always called itself a ‘Wildlife Park’ because there’s something apparently non-PC about the word ‘Zoo’. However, the founders called themselves the South Island Zoological Society. Go figure. The concept was an open range, drive-through, zoo. You could […]
Read more..April 18, 2024
2007: Holocaust Centre of New Zealand
By AHNZ
Today in history, 15 April, 2017, the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand was opened in Wellington. Various VIPs were there to listen and talk. The Governor General Anand Satyanand himself was there and in costume as politicians will be whenever appearing with an elect audience (image, left.) The HCNZ was established in 2007 and continues […]
Read more..April 15, 2024
