Timeline of Auckland

This is a timeline of the history of the city of Auckland in New Zealand.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

19th century

• 1840 – Auckland founded.
• 1841
  • St Paul's founded, Auckland's first church.
  • Mr Powell's School founded, Auckland's first school.
• 1842
  • Auckland designated capital of New Zealand.^[1]
  • Immigrant ships Duchess of Argyle and Jane Gifford arrive from Greenock, Scotland.^[1]
  • Mechanics' Institute and Library opens.^[1]
  • Population: 2,895.^[1]
• 1843
  • Southern Cross newspaper begins publication.^[1]
  • Queen Street gravelled.
  • Auckland Domain laid out.
• 1844 – May: Maori Festival held.^[1]
• 1847 – First fencible settlers arrive.
• 1848 – St Patrick's Cathedral built.^[1]
• 1849 – St Barnabas Church built, Auckland's first Māori church.^[2]
• 1850 – St Andrew's Church built.^[1]
• 1855 – Auckland Choral Society founded.
• 1857 – St Peter's School established.
• 1860 – Old St Mary's built.
• 1861
  • Population: 7,989.^[1]
  • Great South Road commenced.
• 1863 – The New Zealand Herald begins publication.
• 1864 – Population: 12,423.^[1]
• 1865
  • New Zealand capital relocated from Auckland to Wellington.^[1]
  • Original St Sepulchre's built.
• 1868 – Auckland Institute incorporated.
• 1869 – First Royal Tour – the Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh.
• 1870 – Evening Star newspaper begins publication.^[3]
• 1871
  • Auckland City Council established.
  • Philip Philips becomes first mayor.
  • Auckland Harbour Board established.
• 1873
  • Onehunga Branch railway begins operating.
  • New City Markets opens.^[1]
• 1874 – Ellerslie Racecourse laid out.
• 1880 Church of the Holy Sepulchre founded.
• 1881
  • Population: 16,664.^[1]
  • Auckland Teachers' Training College established.
• 1883 – Auckland University College founded.
• 1884 – Horse-drawn trams begin operating.^[1]
• 1885 – Newmarket becomes a borough.
• 1885 – Old St Paul's Church demolished.
• 1886
  • Population: 33,161.^[1]
  • Devonport becomes a borough.
• 1887
  • Public Library opens.^[1]
  • Auckland Sailors' Home built.^[4]
• 1888
  • St Mary's Cathedral built.
  • Art Gallery opens.^[1]
  • Birkenhead, New Zealand becomes a borough.
• 1890 – Elam School of Fine Arts founded.
• 1894 – Current St Paul's Church dedicated.
• 1895 – Auckland Technical School founded.
• 1896 – 13 October: First motion pictures screened in New Zealand shown at the Wellesley Street Opera House as part of Charles Godfrey’s Vaudeville.
• 1898 – Old Colonists' Association meetings begin.^[1]
• 1899 – Great Barrier Island–Auckland pigeon post begins operating.^[5]

20th century

• 1901 – Grand Hotel Fire.
• 1901 – Royal Tour – The Duke & Duchess of Cornwall. The Mayor, Dr John Logan Campbell donates Cornwall Park to the city.
• 1902 – Electric tram system installed.
• 1905 – Victoria Park opens.
• 1906 – Mount Eden becomes a borough
• 1908 – St Patrick's Cathedral dedicated. North Island Main Trunk railway opened. Northcote becomes a borough.
• 1909 – Auckland Girl's Grammar School moves to Howe Street, Freeman's Bay.
• 1910 – Grafton Bridge and Kings Theatre built.
• 1911 – Mount Albert becomes a borough
  • Auckland Town Hall built.
  • Population: 40,536.^[1]
• 1912 – Auckland Ferry Terminal built. Otahuhu becomes a borough
• 1913 – 1913 Great Strike. Takapuna becomes a borough. Municipal Coal fired Electricity Power Station on King's Wharf completed and opened February. Auckland Industrial Exhibition held in Auckland Domain over summer 1913/1914.
• 1914 – Start of World War I
• 1915 – Auckland Presbyterian College for Ladies established in Epsom
• 1915 – Myers Park opened.
• 1916 – Myers Free Kindergarten building opened. Auckland grammar School moves to Mt Eden.
  • Old Colonists' Museum opens.^[1]
  • Population: 64,951.^[1]
• 1917 – Mount Eden Prison completed
• 1918 – End of World War I
• 1920 – Auckland City Mission established.
• 1920 – Royal Tour – the Prince Edward, Prince of Wales.
• 1921 – Population: 83,467.^[1]
• 1922 – Auckland Zoo opens.
• 1923 – Underground railway proposed.
• 1925 – North Auckland Line opened
• 1925 – Royal Tour – The Duke & Duchess of York.
• 1927 – Dilworth Building constructed.
• 1927 – Underground Railway project announced.
• 1928 – St. James Theatre opens.
• 1929 – Auckland Civic Theatre and Auckland War Memorial Museum inaugurated.
• 1930
  • Auckland Railway Station opens. One Tree Hill becomes a borough
  • Eastern Line railway begins operating.
• 1932 – Unemployed riot on Queen Street.
• 1938 – Royal Tour, the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester.
• 1939 – St Peter's College established in Grafton. World War II started.
• 1944 – New Central Fire Station opened.
• 1945 – World War II ended
• 1947 – Mount Roskill becomes a borough
• 1949 – First trolley bus services ran
• 1950 – February: 1950 British Empire Games held.
• 1951 – 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute
• 1952 – Mount Wellington becomes a borough. First section of Northwestern Motorway opened
• 1953 – First royal visit by a monarch – Queen Elizabeth II – Xmas broadcast from Government House Auckland.
• 1953 – First section of Auckland Southern Motorway opened from Ellerslie-Panmure highway to Mount Wellington Highway. Hunua dams completed
• 1954 – East Coast Bays becomes a borough
• 1955 – Auckland Southern Motorway opened to Wiri
• 1956 – Last tram ran in Auckland
• 1959 – Auckland Harbour Bridge built.^[6] First section of Auckland Northern Motorway opened
• 1960 – Mangere sewage treatment plant opened
• 1961 – Alcan Industries aluminum plant and Vibrapac concrete block plant both established at Wiri
• 1962 – Victoria Park Viaduct opens. Nestleinstant coffee factory opened in South Auckland
• 1963 – Auckland Southern Motorway opened to Takanini
• 1964 – Auckland Regional Authority founded. The Beatles played a concert at Auckland
• 1965 – Manurewa Borough amalgamated with Manukau County to form Manukau City. Fibremakers nylon yarn factory opened in South Auckland
• 1966 – Auckland Airport and Newmarket Viaduct open.
• 1967
  • Auckland Observatory founded.
  • Mount Smart Stadium opens in Penrose.
• 1968 – Auckland InterContinental hotel opened. Paremoremo Prison opened.
• 1969 – Auckland Rapid Rail Transit proposed
• 1970 – Auckland Opera founded.
• 1971 – Sister city relationship established with Los Angeles, USA.^[7]
• 1972 – Air New Zealand House (now HSBC Building) opened. Dalgety's wool store (the largest in the Southern Hemisphere) opened in South Auckland
• 1973 – Ford car assembly plant opened in Wiri
• 1974 – National Mutual (now Axa) West Plaza opened. First Manukau City Centre building, the Wiri Trust Hotel opened
• 1976 – Auckland Rapid Rail Transit proposal abandoned. Manukau City Centre Mall's first stage opened. NZ Labour Department office opened in Manukau City Centre
• 1977 – Manukau City Council administration building opened
• 1979 – Housing New Zealand building opened at Manukau City Centre
• 1980 – Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra formed. Last trolley bus ran
• 1982 – Rainbows End theme park opened
• 1983
  • New Mangere Bridge built. First section of Southwestern Motorway opened.
  • Catherine Tizard becomes first woman mayor of Auckland.
• 1986 – Manukau Court building opened
• 1987 – Newstalk ZB radio begins.
• 1989 – Auckland local bodies amalgamated to form Auckland City, North Shore City, Waitakere City, Manukau City Cities and Papakura District, Rodney District and Franklin District. Auckland Regional Authority renamed Auckland Regional Council
• 1990
  • January–February: 1990 Commonwealth Games held.
  • Aotea Centre opens.
• 1991
  • Starship Children's Health opens.
  • Renaissance Centre built in Manukau.
  • ANZ Centre completed.
• 1993 – 26 November: Two aircraft being operated for the police collided over central Auckland.
• 1996 – Skycity Auckland casino opens.
• 1997 – Sky Tower built.
• 1998
  • February–March: Electrical power crisis.
  • Cycle Action Auckland founded.
• 1999 – Metropolis apartment building completed.
• 2000
  • Auckland Institute of Technology becomes Auckland University of Technology.
  • Vero Centre office tower completed.
  • Yachting's America's Cup contested.

21st century

• 2003
  • Britomart Transport Centre opens.
  • New main Auckland City Hospital building completed.
  • Yachting's America's Cup contested in Auckland for the second time.
• 2004
  • Northwestern Cycleway laid out.
  • Auckland Regional Transport Authority established.
• 2006 – 12 June: Electrical blackout for half of Auckland.
• 2010
  • Auckland Council established for Auckland Region.
  • New stands completed at Eden Park, expanding permanent capacity to 50,000.
  • Population: 1,486,000.^[8]
• 2011: Several matches of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, including the final, held at Eden Park.
• 2012
  • Jacobs Ladder Bridge for pedestrians at Saint Marys Bay opens.^[9]
  • Victoria Park Tunnel built.
• 2014 – Electric train services commence.
• 2019 - The Skycity Convention Centre catches fire on 22 October while still under construction, causing significant disruption in the CBD.^[10]
• 2023 - Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods: Torrential rain causes widespread flooding, evacuations and damage across Auckland and four deaths.^[11]

See also

• History of Auckland
• Mayor of Auckland City (1871–2010)
• Timeline of New Zealand history

References

1. Barr 1922.
2. "History of St Barnabas". St Barnabas. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
3. "Auckland (N.Z.) Newspapers". WorldCat. USA: Online Computer Library Center. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
4. New Zealand Official Year-Book, Wellington, 1904{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
5. Benjamin Vincent (1906), Haydn's Dictionary of Dates and Universal Information Relating to All Ages and Nations (24th ed.), G. P. Putnam's Sons
6. Alexander Hare McLintock, ed. (1966). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Wellington: R.E. Owen.
7. "Sister Cities of Los Angeles". USA: City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
8. "Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants". Demographic Yearbook 2011. United Nations Statistics Division. 2012.
9. "Auckland's 'Jacob's Ladder' footbridge finally opened". Newstalk ZB. 15 December 2012.
10. "Auckland's SkyCity Convention Centre fire: Firefighter in serious condition as building goes up in flames". Stuff. 22 October 2019.
11. Hewett, William (January 2023). . Newshub. Auckland. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• "Auckland City", Brett's New Zealand and South Pacific Pilot, Auckland, N.Z: Printed by H. Brett, 1880
• "Auckland", New Zealand Handbook (14th ed.), London: E. Stanford, 1879
• Maturin Murray Ballou (1888), "(Auckland)", Under the Southern Cross, or Travels in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Samoa, and other Pacific islands, Boston: Ticknor and Co.
• John Murray Moore (1890), "Auckland, the Naples of New Zealand", New Zealand, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington
• William Gisborne (1891), "(Auckland)", The Colony of New Zealand, London: E.A. Petherick & Co., OCLC 8597509
• "Auckland", Pictorial New Zealand, London: Cassell and Co., 1895, OCLC 8587586, OL 7088023M

Published in the 20th century

• "Auckland", New Zealand as a Tourist and Health Resort, Auckland: T. Cook & Son, 1902, OCLC 18158487
• "Auckland" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 894.
• C. N. Baeyertz (1912), "Auckland", Guide to New Zealand, Wellington: New Zealand Times Co., OCLC 5747830
• John Barr (1922), City of Auckland, New Zealand, 1840–1920, Auckland: Whitcombe & Tombs, OL 24364862M

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to History of Auckland.

• Auckland Libraries. "Local History". Auckland Council.
• "Auckland region". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Wellington: Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.