History of Auckland Timeline

As the Musket Wars drew to a close, pressure for British intervention to quell lawlessness, in large part driven by missionary pressure to protect Māori, led to the annexation of New Zealand and the despatch of Lt Governor Hobson to create the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

Image source: Treaty of Waitangi

On 20 March 1840 in the Manukau Harbour area where Ngāti Whātua farmed, paramount chief Apihai Te Kawau signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the te reo Māori translation of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Image source: Apihai Te Kawau

The first immigrant ships sailing directly from Britain started to arrive as early as 1842, bringing waves of settlers to the young capital.

Between 1847 and 1852 large numbers of retired British soldiers, called fencibles, and their families came to Auckland to create a ring of outlying villages to protect the capital.

In 1849 Governor Grey sold land in Māngere to the leading Māori chief Te Wherowhero and 149 members of the Ngāti Mahuta tribe from Tamahere in the Waikato.

Image source: Pōtatau Te Wherowhero

In April 1851 a large group of 350–450 Ngāti Pāoa from Thames arrived to attack Auckland in some 20 waka (canoes).

Amongst the first settlers were some Catholics, and in 1841 they established a school for boys, which was Auckland's first school of any sort.

The city's first church, St Paul's, and the Fort Britomart army barracks were built on Point Britomart in 1841.

When St Paul's was founded by Governor Hobson on 28 July 1841, hundreds attended the ceremony including Ngāti Whātua chiefs Āpihai Te Kawau, Te Keene and a young Pāora Tūhaere, accompanied by over one hundred Māori warriors.

Auckland's first Catholic church opened in 1843, later to become St Patrick's Cathedral.

The Bishop of New Zealand, George Selwyn, opened St Paul's in 1843, serving both Māori and European congregations, with two services conducted in te reo Māori and two in English every Sunday.

From the late 1840s, settlers attending Anglican chapels in the rural communities of Tāmaki, Epsom and Remuera were ministered to by staff and students of St John's Theological College, which was established in 1843.

St Stephen's Anglican School, initially educating Māori girls and later boys, opened in Kohimarama in 1847 and then moved to Parnell in 1850.

St Barnabas' chapel was built for Anglican Māori traders, sited in Augustus Terrace, Parnell in 1849.

The original Emily Place St Paul's was demolished in 1885 when Point Britomart was quarried away for waterfront reclamations; the third and current St Paul's building on Symonds Street replaced it.

By 1900, Auckland had become the largest New Zealand city, having grown rapidly around the port since its population of just 1,500 in 1841.

A Russian scare at the end of the 19th century caused coastal guns to be bought and fortifications built, notably at North Head and on Waiheke Island, where they can still be seen.

The 1908 visit by the American Fleet underscored Auckland's continuing importance as a major port and the location of the Devonport Naval Base in the country's cultural landscape.

Image source: Great White Fleet

The opening of the canal in 1914 altered shipping patterns and Auckland's port became one of the most important features of the New Zealand economy.

Image source: Port of Auckland

In 1959 the new Auckland Harbour Bridge linked North Shore with the city, further extending Auckland's reach and spurring growth across the Waitematā Harbour.

Image source: Auckland Harbour Bridge

The third Government House remained in use until 1962, when the fourth Government House was established in Mount Eden.

Just before midnight NZST on 10 July 1985, two explosive devices attached to the hull of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior, docked in Auckland awaiting departure to protest French nuclear testing, were detonated by French intelligence operatives, sinking the vessel.

Image source: Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior

In 1993, the Police Eagle helicopter and a traffic-spotting plane collided in mid-air, falling to the packed motorway below during Friday night rush hour.

All four electrical power cables supplying the Central Business District failed on 20 February 1998, causing the 1998 Auckland power crisis that disrupted the city for weeks.

Image source: 1998 Auckland power crisis

The 2006 Auckland Blackout showcased the fact that Auckland's power-supply infrastructure is still very vulnerable to disruption.