To mark our 160th birthday, we’re going through the archives of the New Zealand Herald to highlight key moments in our history.
The first collection in this visual journey covered 1863-1990 across five chapters. You can find that presentation here.
This article will cover New Zealand’s more recent history: 1990 to the present day. You will find a new chapter each day this week, starting with the colour and culture of the 1990s.
The first edition of the Herald on Friday, November 13, 1863 promised readers that “we shall bestow unwearied attention” on the stories that matter to New Zealanders. That has become the Herald’s calling card ever since.
Our readers have always turned us in times of crisis, no more so than in the last few years. The Christchurch mosque massacre, the eruption of White Island and then the Covid pandemic stretched New Zealand’s emotional resources to the limit. We take great pride in the Herald’s 90 per cent campaign, which achieved its ambitious vaccination target against all expectations.
Today the Herald reaches 2.2 million people every week, the biggest audience in our history. For many, catching our latest news alerts, podcasts and video as they scroll on their phones, we are no longer a newspaper, for others the printed edition remains a pleasure. One thing has not changed since 1863 – it’s still the stories that matter.
ARAMOANA MASSACRE: On November 13, 1990, 33-year-old Aramoana resident David Gray went on a rampage following a dispute with neighbour Garry Holden. Armed with a semi-automatic rifle, Gray killed Holden, burnt down his house, and killed 12 other people, including Port Chalmers Sergeant Stewart Guthrie. It was, at the time, New Zealand’s largest mass murder.
DEATH OF BILLY T: Groundbreaking comedian Billy T James died on August 7, 1991 from heart-failure at the age of just 43.
WELCOME TO SHORTLAND ST: Nurse Carrie (Lisa Crittenden) and Dr Ropata (Temuera Morrison) in the first episode of Shortland Street, which went to to air on May 25, 1992. Thirty-one years and more than 7800 episodes later, the show continues.
GOLDEN MOMENT: Barbara Kendall is hoisted by fellow-medal-winners, from left Leslie Egnot, Rod Davis, Don Cowie, Craig Monk and Jan Shearer, in Barcelona after winning gold in boardsailing at the 1992 Olympic Games. Kendall was the only Kiwi gold medallist at Barcelona and the first New Zealand woman to win Olympic gold since Yvette Williams 40 years earlier.
ANNA’S NIGHT: Anna Paquin, at the age of 11, became the first Kiwi to win an Academy Award for acting at the Oscars on March 21, 1994. She won best supporting actress for her role in The Piano, which was directed by Jane Campion who won the Oscar for best screenplay. The historical drama filmed at Karekare Beach also starred Holly Hunter, Sam Neill and Harvey Keitel.
CAVE CREEK DISASTER: Fourteen people died at Cave Creek in Paparoa National Park, West Coast on April 28, 1995 when a viewing platform collapsed. A commission of inquiry found the Department of Conservation had made mistakes in the design and construction of the platform.
NEW ZEALAND’S CUP: Team NZ boss Peter Blake holds the America's Cup aloft after the team, skippered by Russell Coutts, won the final in San Diego on May 31, 1995, sweeping Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes 5-0.
AGE OF MMP BEGINS: New Zealanders went to the polls in the first MMP election on October 12, 1996. MMP – or mixed-member proportional representation - replaced the previous first-past-the-post system after a referendum. Here, deputy returning officer for Auckland Central, Sarah Munro, readies the ballot boxes.
SKY POWER: Auckland’s Sky Tower officially opened on August 3, 1997. Built as part of SkyCity's casino precinct, the tower’s size and raw-concrete design was controversial but it has become an iconic part of Auckland’s skyline.
TRAILBLAZER: Labour MP Georgina Beyer delivers her maiden speech on February 9, 2000 after becoming the first transgender woman elected to Parliament in the 1999 General Election.
DEATH OF SIR PETER: New Zealand yachting hero Sir Peter Blake was killed by pirates near the mouth of the Amazon river on December 6, 2001. Sir Peter, aged 53, was shot and killed by armed intruders who boarded his vessel Seamaster.
CROWNING THE KING: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, directed by Sir Peter Jackson, won all 11 Oscars it was nominated for at the 76th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. The final film in the trilogy was the first fantasy movie to win Best Picture. Shown here are Jackson with fellow winners Fran Walsh (left) and Phillippa Boyens.
FIGHTING BACK: A hikoi of thousands of people is led down Lambton Quay to Parliament to protest Foreshore and Seabed legislation on May 5, 2004.
NEW BEGINNING: Māori Party co-leaders Tariana uria and Pita Sharples with president Whatarangi Winiata (left) at the launch of party in in Whanganui on July 10, 2004.
GOLDEN TWINS: Georgina (left) and Caroline Evers-Swindell hold hands after crossing the finish line to win gold in the women’s double sculls at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
BREAKTHROUGH: Steve Hay (left) and Glenn Lewis become one of the first couples to apply for the new Civil Union legislation that came into effect on April 26, 2005.
BATTLEFIELD HONOUR: Corporal Willie Apiata, VC, acknowledges the haka after being presented with the mere pounamu during the ceremony at Te Kaha Marae on July 2, 2007 to celebrate the awarding of his Victoria Cross. He received the award for bravery under fire during the War in Afghanistan in 2004, when he carried a wounded comrade across a battlefield.
ALL BLACK DAY: All Black coach Graham Henry and dejected captain Richie McCaw after losing the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final to France 20-19 in Cardiff, Wales.
MIGHTIEST TOTARA FALLS: Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to conquer Mr Everest with sherpa Tenzing Norgay, is farewelled at St Mary's Church in Parnell, Auckland on January 22, 2008.
PERPIGNAN DISASTER: Salvage workers from Perpignan, Southern France try to recover the tail plane wreckage from the Air New Zealand Airbus A320-200 aeroplane that crashed into the sea on November 28, 2008. The plane, operated by German charter firm XL Airways, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea killing all seven people on board.
WALKING FREE: David Bain is supported by Richard Karam (left) and Joe Karam after walking from the High Court in Christchurch on June 5, 2009 after Bain was found not guilty of the murder of his family in his retrial. He had having served 13 years in jail for the killings of Robin, Margaret, Arawa, Laniet and Stephen Bain.
UNBEATEN, UNBOWED: Winston Reid scores for New Zealand against Slovakia at the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa. New Zealand drew its three pool matches (1-1 against Slovakia, 1-1 against Italy and 0-0 against Paraguay) in our first football World Cup appearance since 1986.
PIKE RIVER EXPLOSION: The Pike River coal mine in the West Coast of the South Island at 3.44pm on Friday, November 19, 2010. Twenty-nine men died in the explosion or soon after from the toxic gases released by the blast. A Commission of Inquiry was highly critical of the mine company’s management and the lack of safety inspections.
CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE: Christchurch was struck by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 12.51pm on Tuesday, February 22. The quake caused widespread damage and killed 185 people, including 115 people in the collapse of the CTV building. Christchurch faced a decade-long recovery after the tragedy.
THE RENA: The container ship Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef while approaching Tauranga Harbour on October 5, 2011. The incident was described by Environment Minister Nick Smith as New Zealand’s “worst maritime environmental disaster” as 350 tonnes of oil was spilt into water. The wreck of the Rena broke in half on January 8, January 2012.
VICTORY AT LAST: All Black captain Richie McCaw holds aloft the Webb Ellis Cup after New Zealand beat France 8-7 in a nail-biting Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park in Auckland – ending 24 years of heartache for Kiwi rugby fans.
LATE GOLD: Valerie Adams receives her second Olympic gold medal for the shot put in at Auckland’s Cloud on September 19, 2012. She was presented with the medal weeks after she competed at the London Games: Adams at first won silver but it was upgraded to gold after the initial winner Nadzeya Ostapchuk tested positive for banned substances.
WE ALL DO: Louisa Wall is congratulated by Labour leader Davis Shearer and MP Jacinda Ardern after the Marriage Amendment Bill was passed in Parliament on April 17, 2013 allowing same-sex marriage.
BROKEN HEARTED: Dejected Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker at the team's base after their loss to Oracle Team USA at the America’s Cup in San Francisco, September 25, 2013. Team New Zealand squandered an 8-1 lead to lose the final 9-8.
OUR LORDE: Teenager Lorde at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards at Vector Arena on November 21, 2013, after releasing her debut album Pure Heroine. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 charts and went on to become one of the world’s best-selling albums of 2014.
CALLING IT QUITS: Prime Minister John Key announces his decision to resign at the Beehive on December 5, 2016 after winning three terms as PM.
AGE OF ARDERN: Prime Minister-elect Jacinda Ardern with Grant Robertson, left, and Kelvin Davis at Parliament on October 19, 2017 after Winston Peters and New Zealand First agreed to work with Labour to form a coalition Government.
MARCH 15 TRAGEDY: Fifty-one people died after being shot while at prayer at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019. They were shot by lone gunman Brenton Tarrant, who has been convicted of terrorism, murder and attempted murder. Here, crowds that had gathered in Hagley Park for the March For Love make their way to the floral tribute in central Christchurch one week after the attacks.
WHAKAARI ERUPTION: Whakaari/White Island, an active volcano in Bay of Plenty erupted on December 9, 2019. Forty-seven tourists from around the world were on the island at the time – 38 of them from the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas. Twenty-two people died from the eruption.
PRIORITY LANE: Otara testing centre opens early for essential worker Covid tests.
SHOT BRO: Covid vaccination volunteers (Kai Mahi) Emily Singh, Sinai M Vakauta and Debra Wai Henare-Pawa in front of one of the Covid-19 mobile vaccination buses at Kia Aroha College in Otara.
STILL SMILING: A woman waves from her MIQ room at the GV Grand Millennium hotel in Auckland.
QUEUE HERE: Cars line up at a Covid-19 Testing Station in Otara during the Auckland Delta lockdown.
REUNITED: The travel bubble with Australia opens, allowing families and friends to reconnect.
AIMING HIGH: The Herald’s successful campaign to achieve 90% Covid vaccination coverage was projected onto the Sky Tower.
DAILY BRIEFING: Ashley Bloomfield during his Covid-19 update at the Ministry of Health in Wellington.
SHOWDOWN: Protesters confront police on the violent final day of the Covid-19 Convoy protest at Parliament, Wellington.
FAREWELL MA’AM: Condolence books at Auckland Town Hall for Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 in September, 2022.
WORLD BEATERS: Captain Kane Williamson congratulates Ross Taylor, who scored the winning runs as New Zealand beat India to win the inaugural ICC World Test Championship.
TĀTOU TĀTOU E: The Black Ferns carried the country with them when they won the Rugby World Cup, beating England in a dramatic final at Eden Park.
PM RESIGNS: Jacinda Ardern announces she will stand down as Prime Minister at a Labour press conference in Napier on January 19. After two elections, the March 15 mosque attacks and two years of battling Covid and the divisiveness that followed, Ardern said “I’ve got nothing left in the tank.”
NIGHT OF THE FLOODS: The storm that struck Auckland on January 27 was a “once-in-200-year” event and caused huge damage from flooding and landslides. Four people died and more than 5000 properties were damaged by the storm, which broke rainfall records.
CYCLONE GABRIELLE: The wild weather wreaked havoc again when Cyclone Gabrielle hit in February, devasting parts of the North Island, including Hawke’s Bay and Muriwai, and claiming 11 lives.
GOLDEN TOURNAMENT: Hannah Wilkinson scores for New Zealand against Norway in the opening goal of the Fifa Women’s World Cup at Eden Park on July 20. The tournament, hosted by New Zealand and Australia, was eventually won by Spain.
ELECTION 2023: Prime Minister Chris Hipkins enjoying a pie at Real Meat Pies after his visit to his old school in Lower Hutt on the campaign trail on March 21.
Christopher Luxon with wife Amanda, daughter Olivia and son William celebrate victory at the Cloud on Election Night, October 14.
New Zealand First Party leader Winston Peters, National Party leader Christopher Luxon and Act Party leader David Seymour at the table for their coalition talks in Auckland.
VICTORY AND DEFEAT: All Blacks captain Sam Cane leads the All Blacks through a guard of honour from the Ireland squad after the All Blacks defeat Ireland in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final at the Stade de France in Paris, France on October 15.
Sam Cane walks past the Webb Ellis Cup after losing to South Africa 11-12 in the final, in which he received a red card.
Picture Editor: Alex Robertson
Words: David Rowe, Andrew Laxon
Design: Paul Slater
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