At Airlink Auto Hire we supply our customers with New Zealand travel information for their New Zealand car hire.
New Zealand is located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia. With its clean green natural image, scenery, adventure activities, culture and value for money, New Zealand is one of the top holiday destinations in the world.
New Zealand's scenic beauty has recently graced movie theatres around the world as Middle Earth in the award winning Lord of the Rings trilogy.
New Zealand offers a vast range of attractions from pleasant short walks through beautiful native bush to the extreme 134 metre drop attached to a bungee cord above the Nevis River (near Queenstown). It is a haven for those seeking peace, rejuvenation and relaxation as well as a playground for thrill seekers and adventurers.
The main tourism centres in New Zealand are:
AD 800
- 1300 | The first settlers to New Zealand were from East Polynesia. These settlers, and subsequent arrivals, were the ancestors of present-day Maori. |
| 1642 | New Zealand's first known european visitors were Abel Tasman and his crew. |
| 1769 | British explorer James Cook mapped most of New Zealand's coastline |
| 1806 | The first European women arrived in New Zealand. |
| 1815 | First British missionaries arrive. |
| 1835 | 34 chiefs from the New Zealand united tribes sign Declaration of Independence. |
| 1839 | Captain William Hobson sent to New Zealand by the British Government. His mission was to organise a treaty and persuade Maori chiefs to accept British sovereignty over all, or at least parts of New Zealand. |
| 1840 | The treaty of Waitangi was signed giving the Maori rights to and protection of land, water, fishing, etc. |
| 1840 | French settlers arrive at Akaroa (Christchurch/Canterbury region) |
1845
- 1872 | The New Zealand domestic Wars, also known as the Land Wars. Maori resisted British colonial rule. |
| 1842 | Settlers arrive at Nelson/Marlborough area |
| 1854 | 1st New Zealand Parliament established |
| 1862 | The first telegraph line opens from Christchurch to Lyttelton. |
| 1874 | New Zealand's first steam engine is built at Invercargill. |
| 1869 | University of Otago established (New Zealand's first). |
| 1887 | Reefton becomes the first New Zealand town to have electricity. |
| 1889 | New Zealand's first cars were imported. |
| 1893 | New Zealand becomes the 1st country in the world to give women the right to vote. |
| 1894 | Elizabeth Yates as Mayor of Onehunga becomes the first female mayor in the British Empire. |
| 1907 | New Zealand becomes an independent Dominion. |
| 1914 | New Zealand commits thousands of troops to support Britan in World War I. Heavy NZ casualties occur in the 1915 Gallipoli campaign (Turkey). |
1939
- 1945 | New Zealand troops see action in Europe, North Africa & the Pacific during World War II. |
| 1947 | New Zealand becomes a fully independent Nation. |
| 1950 | New Zealand troops join UN forces in the 1950-53 Korean War. |
| 1951 | New Zealand signs Anzus Pacific security treaty with Australia and USA. |
| 1953 | Edmund Hillary (New Zealander) and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reach the summit of the world's highest mountain (Mount Everest). |
| 1960s | New Zealand supports US troops in Vietnam with a small combat force. This move sparks public debate. |
| 1984 | Prime Minister David Lange of the newly elected Labour government begins some radical economic reforms. |
| 1985 | New Zealand refuses to allow US nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships to enter New Zealand ports. |
| 1985 | One person killed when French secret service agents blow up Greenpeace ship (Rainbow Warrior) in Auckland Harbour. |
| 1990 | National party elected. James Bolger becomes prime minister |
| 1990 | Gisborne landing site of Captain James Cook is made a National historic reserve. |
| 1993 | National Party re-elected by narrow margin. Referendum introduces proportional representation (MMP). |
| 1997 | After leadership challenge, Jenny Shipley becomes New Zealand's first woman prime minister. |
| 1998 | Waitangi Tribunal orders government to return Turangi Township confiscated land to its Maori owners. |
| 1999 | New Zealand troops join a UN peacekeeping force in East Timor. |
| 1999 | Helen Clark of the Labour Party elected as prime minister. |
| 2004 | Civil unions between gay couples recognised legally with new bill passed in parliament. |
| 2006 | East Timor in a state of unrest, New Zealand troops join an intervention force in an attempt to bring peace. |
| 2006 | Maori Queen dies after a 40 year reign. |
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