Christchurch: A Chronology to 1989

A timeline of some Christchurch events in chronological order from 1700s to 1989.

Go to a year between 1700 & 1989

May 8, 1885: Strike in boot factories.
May 8, 1945: V.E. (Victory in Europe) day celebrations.
May 8, 1975: New Zealand’s first mini roundabout in operation at the corner of Riccarton Road and Deans Avenue.
May 8, 1981: Go-ahead given for National Sports Training Centre at Q.E.II Park.
May 8, 1987: Sir Neil Isaac, founder of Peacock Springs Conservation Park dies.
May 9, 1915: Christchurch tennis star (4 times Wimbledon champion) Captain A. F. Wilding killed in action in Belgium.
May 10, 1975: Ms Vicki Buck becomes the city’s (and New Zealand’s) youngest ever City Councillor at 19.
May 11, 1891: Sumner Borough formed.
May 11, 1908: Colosseum becomes the city’s first picture theatre. The building was claimed to have the largest wooden span in New Zealand. It had previously been a skating rink, a boot factory and a cab stand. See also 1932.
May 12, 1980: Visit by Mr Li Xiannian, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China.
May 13-15, 1920: Visit of Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII).
May 14-15, 1886: Flooding in city centre.
May 14, 1868: "Lyttelton Times" publishes evening paper, the "Star".
May 14, 1907: Fire seriously damages the Antigua Street boatsheds.
May 14, 1908: Municipal tepid baths in Manchester Street open. It was described as "the finest indoor swimming pool in Australasia".
May 14, 1947: Mabel Howard (Sydenham) becomes Minister of Health, the country’s first woman Cabinet Minister.