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Introducing Auckland

History of Auckland City

Introduction | If at first you don't succeed (1840-1871) | Building a solid city (1871-1918) | On the trail of the modernising city (1919-1945) | Thinking and being metropolitan (1945-1971) | The 1971 centenary (occasion and setting) | Progressing towards abolition (1971-1989) | Writ large: the 'new' City Council from 1990 | Selected Auckland City chronology (1840-1998) | Mayors | City and metropolitan population 1841-1998 | Graham Bush

Selected Auckland City chronology 1840-1998

1840 Possession taken of Auckland as site of capital
1842 First local government legislation
First major shiploads of British immigrants arrive
1850 First local body elections in Auckland
1851 Proclamation of Borough of Auckland (dissolved 1852)
1852 New Zealand given Constitution
1854 Establishment of Auckland City Council (dissolved 1856)
1862 Establishment of City Board of Works
1863 First rate ever struck in Auckland
Capital to be shifted to Wellington
1865 First gas street lights
1866 First piped water supply (from Domain ponds)
1871 After petition, Auckland proclaimed a borough (city)
First meeting of City Council
First City Council elections
Establishment of Auckland Harbour Board
City Council takes control of Albert Barracks (Park)
1872 First railway train runs in Auckland
1875 Western Springs acquired
1876 Original Auckland Institute and Museum opened
1877 City Abattoir commences operations
1880 Public Free Library opens
1881 First municipal public baths open
1882 City Council area expanded by first amalgamations
1883 Auckland University College opened
1884 Control of Domain transferred to City Council
Horse trams commence first service (City-Ponsonby)
1885 Auckland Hospital & Charitable Aid Board established
1886 Original Symonds St cemetery closed and Waikumete opened
1887 Queen St first lit by electricity
1888 City Art Gallery formally opened
1894 First traffic Inspector appointed
First reserves acquired in Waitakere Ranges
1901 Venerable Sir John Logan Campbell elected mayor
1902 Electric tramways commence running
First water piped from Waitakere reservoirs
1903 Cornwall Park, gifted by Campbell, formally opened
1904 First 'Greater Auckland' conference
1905 Rubbish destructor (incineration) starts working
1906 Auckland Fire Board established
Mandatory registration of motor vehicles introduced
1908 City Council power station starts generating electricity
1910 Grafton Bridge opened to traffic
1911 Town Hall completed and opened
1912 First major strike of City Council employees
1913 Parnell and Arch Hill amalgamated into City
1914 Parnell and Tepid Baths receive first patrons
First City Council houses approved
City Council owned Fish Market commences business
1915 Myers' Park opened
1917 Epsom amalgamated into City.
1918 Influenza epidemic strikes
1919 City Council purchases electric tramway system
Municipal Choir gives first concert
1921 Point Chevalier amalgamated into City
1922 First mechanical traffic signals in operation
Auckland Zoological Park opened
Auckland Electric Power Board established
1923 Waikumete Cemetery Crematorium in operation
1924 Tramways enter `war' with private buses
First large City Council housing estate completed
Municipal Band starts performing
1926 First municipal off-street parking constructed
1927 Royal Commission on Auckland's water supply
Expansive Civic Centre scheme rejected
1928 Royal Commission on Auckland's transport
1929 Waterfront (Tamaki) Drive opened for traffic
War memorial Institute & Museum officially opened
Great depression strikes Auckland
1930 Royal Commission on harbour crossing
1931 Citizens & Ratepayers' Assn first gain political control
1933 Conference on combatting unemployment
Municipal motor camp opens at Western Springs
1935 Labour Party wins both City Council and general election
1937 Municipal bus terminal at Britomart opened
1938 City Council town planning scheme first in New Zealand
1939 Waitakere scenic Centennial Drive opened
Municipal golf course opened at Chamberlain Park
1940 Wartime administrative arrangements introduced
1944 Transit housing scheme inaugurated
1947 Public relations office founded
First set of automatic traffic lights installed
195 Housing reclamation starts in Freeman's Bay
Auckland venue for Commonwealth Games
1952 First block of pensioner flats occupied
1953 Parking meters first in operation
1954 Construction of Brown's Island drainage scheme started
1955 Mangere chosen as site for international air terminal
Master Transportation Plan (motorways) adopted
Water flows from first water reservoir in Hunua Ranges
1956 Brown's Island gifted to City Council as park
Motor vehicle testing station opened at Grey Lynn
1958 `Barnes' Dance' pedestrian crossing at intersections
1959 Auckland Harbour Bridge opened
1960 Mangere Drainage scheme commissioned
1961 City Council's first planning scheme operative
1963 Compost plant officially opened
First meeting of Auckland Regional Authority
1964 Auckland Region reaches half million population
1966 Auckland International Airport commences operations
Civic Administration Building opened
1967 Introduction of towaway zones
1968 First pedestrian mall (Vulcan Lane) developed
1970 First Citizens' Advice Bureau established at Ponsonby
1971 City Council centennial celebrations
Official City Council centennial history published
New Central Library opened
1972 Los Angeles adopted as first sister city
1973 Kleensaks introduced for domestic refuse collection
1974 Central area traffic control system introduced
1975 Civic Underground Car Park opened
1977 Coast-to-coast walkway developed
1979 Aotea Square officially opened
1980 Queen Elizabeth II Square opened
MOTAT-Zoo tramway inaugurated
Busking in Queen St permitted
1981 Special animal control centre opened
1982 First-ever Council meeting outside Civic Chambers
1983 Auckland City declared a nuclear-free zone.
1984 Queen St riot
Tolls on Harbour Bridge abolished
1985 Mayoral Drive formally opened
First area office (Blockhouse Bay) opened
1986 Fukuoka adopted as second sister city
First elections conducted by postal vote
First modern elections based on wards
1988 Sister-city link established with Brisbane
1989 Traffic control taken over by Ministry of transport
Amalgamation with nine suburban municipalities
Reconstitution of `new' Auckland City Council
1990 Aotea Centre opened
Auckland 150th anniversary celebrations
Auckland venue for Commonwealth Games
1991 Auckland Star newspaper ceases publication
1992 Auckland Regional Services Trust established
1993 Municipal abattoir sold
1994 Great Auckland water shortage
1995 Commonwealth Heads of Government conference
1996 Population of Auckland region exceeds one million
1997 Town Hall refurbishment completed
Civic Theatre reverts to City Council
America's Cup village construction started
1998 South-Eastern Arterial Highway opened
Britomart development appeal heard

G.W.A. Bush 5.8.98

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