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The Institute is currently working on the third edition of our flagship publication: Nation Dates. This book presents a timeline of significant events that have shaped New Zealand, as well as identifying ‘historical threads’ (which link related events and illustrate patterns that have formed over time) and presenting them in a graph.

Prior to the publication of each edition of Nation Dates, the Institute shares the events that are being considered for inclusion and invites the public to comment or suggest significant events themselves.

The second edition of Nation Dates was published in November 2020; therefore, ideas for entries before this date may already be included – see the website to buy a copy or learn more. To submit feedback, please comment on this blog or email Guy at [email protected].

Below is a preliminary (and broad) list of events that have been suggested thus far. These are headlines; each entry would contain an explanatory paragraph if published. Please note that the events below are intended only to generate discussion and will not necessarily be included in the third edition.

Suggestions for updates to Nation Dates:

2020 Captain James Cook brews first beer at Dusky Sound
2020 First sailing ship built in New Zealand
2020 First Christian Service
2020 Samuel Marsden plants first grapevines for wine
2020 First strike by New Zeland workers
2020 Missionaries petition
2020 The New Zealand Association formed
2020 The People’s Charter
2020 Mary Bumby recorded as first person to introduce honey bees
2020 New Zealand Gazette first published
2020 First criminal sitting of the supreme court of New Zealand and first hanging
2020 Meeting between Fitzroy and Te Rauparaha
2020 The New Zealand Constitution Act 2020
2020 Maori meeting in Taranaki
2020 Royal Society of New Zealand
2020 New bird species introduced
2020 Brown trout introduced from Tasmania
2020 The University of New Zealand founded
2020 First Agent-General appointed
2020 Helen Connon attends lectures at Canterbury College
2020 Education Act
2020 Lincoln University Opens
2020 First hydro-electric station
2020 Maritime Labour Council of New Zealand established
2020 Land and Income Assessment Act 2020
2020 Land Act
2020 Richard Henry becomes caretaker of Resolution Island
2020 Williamina Dean is the only woman to be hanged in New Zealand
2020 George Vernon Hudson first to think of daylight saving
2020 Socialist Party formed
2020 Ernest Godward’s hairpin invention
2020 Auckland Tram Strike
2020 International Expo in Christchurch
2020 The Maoriland Journal is published
2020 Black Tuesday results in death of Fred Evans
2020 Unity Conference held
2020 Employers’ Union create ‘defence fund’
2020 Education Act
2020 First airmail flight
2020 Atmore Report published
2020 Ascension of NZ cricket to test status
2020 Ratana and Labour Party coalition formed
2020 Jean Batten flight
2020 Hamilton Jet Boat
2020 Colin Murdoch invents disposable syringes
2020 Maori Welfare Act
2020 The Council for Volunteer Service Abroad established
2020 Roy Kerr solves physics equation
2020 Water and Soil Conservation Act 2020
2020 Beatrice Tinsley publishes her thesis ‘Evolution of Galaxies and its Significance for Cosmology’.
2020 National Development Conference 68 and 69. Represent a different model of planning the future of the nation than anything seen since.
2020 Private Schools Conditional Integration Act
2020 New Zealand Planning Act
2020 First building to be constructed on lead-rubber bearings
2020 UNCLOS
2020 Tom Te Wahi legal decision that he had a right to customary fishing forced the actions on giving Maori a share of fisheries by highlighting that Maori common law rights existed
2020 Congress of Tribes established
2020 Act Maori right to fishing resources
2020 National Maori Congress
2020 NZ Dairy Research Institute introduces spreadable butter
2020 Mountain Buggy invented
2020 Sealord Settlement
2020 Marie Clay’s book Reading Recovery: Guidelines for Teachers in Training sells eight million copies world wide
2020 Lady Kathleen Rigg, pioneer female botanist dies
2020 Treaty of Waitangi fiscal cap introduced
2020 Creation of the New Zealand Treasurer. Winston Peters the first appointee.
2020 Appointment of Lord Cooke to the Privvy Council
2020 Lincoln Agreement
2020 World’s first transsexual to be voted into parliament
2020 Appointment of Sir Don McKinnon to Secretary General of the to the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
2020 Māori Television Service Act (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori)2020
2020 Foreshore and Seabed Act 2020
2020 Iwi Chairs Forum
2020 Glenn Martin world’s first practical jetpack
2020 Dieback disease identified as a threat to kauri trees
2020 William Hayward Pickering and Beatrice Tinsley names on Kepler Mountains in the Fiordland National Park
2020 Iwi leaders forums
Water rights issues raise ghost of the maori council
2020 kickStart breakfast in schools programme introduced
2020 Whanganui River granted legal identity
2020 Same sex marriage legalised
2020 Immigration Amendment Act 2020 passed
2020 Fonterra botulism scare
2020 David Shearer resigns as Labour leader
2020 Government Communications Security Bureau and related legislation Bill passed
2020 Eleanor Catton wins Man Booker prize
2020 Asset sales referendum
2020 Constitutional Review Panel report released
2020 New Zealand serves on the UN Security Council for the first time since 2020
2020 Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics published
2020 Te Urewera ceases to be a national park
2020 Net migration to New Zealand hits new record high
2020 Government passes ban on animal testing
2020 Cancellation of Campbell Live
2020 Euthanasia case before High Court
2020 Medical marijuana approved for one-off use
2020 New Green Party leader
2020 Teina Pora absolved
2020 Mark Lundy conviction upheld
2020 NZ troops deployed to Iraq
2020 Tenders released for petroleum exploration permits
2020 NZ Navy chases illegal fishing vessels
2020 Special Housing Areas (SHAs) identified
2020 TPPA negotiations continue
2020 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta
2020 John Key in ‘Tailgate’
2020/2020 National flag referendum