2009 First confirmed case in the 2009 swine flu outbreak

The 2009 flu pandemic or swine flu was an influenza pandemic, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus (the first of them being the 1918 flu pandemic), albeit in a new version. First described in April 2009, the virus appeared to be a new strain of H1N1 which resulted when a previous triple reassortment of bird, swine and human flu viruses further combined with a Eurasian pig flu virus, leading to the term "swine flu".

2002 The population of Canterbury reaches half a million

Canterbury is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of 44,508 square kilometres (17,185 sq mi), and is home to a population of 586,500 (June 2015 estimate). Christchurch, the South Island's largest city and the country's third-largest urban area, is the seat of the region and home to 65 percent of the region's population. Canterbury is served by 292 primary and secondary schools educating around 94,000 students from ages 5 to 18. Canterbury has two universities: the University of Canterbury located in western Christchurch, and Lincoln University located in Lincoln.

1997 Auckland's Sky Tower is opened

The Sky Tower is an observation and telecommunications tower located at the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets in Auckland City, New Zealand. It is 328 metres (1,076 ft) tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere and the 25th tallest tower in the world. The tower is designed to withstand wind in excess of 200 km/h (120 mph) and designed to sway up to 1 metre (39 in) in excessively high winds. The Sky Tower is built to withstand an 8.0 magnitude earthquake located within a 20-kilometre (12 mi) radius.

1995 Team New Zealand wins America's Cup

The America's Cup, affectionately known as the "Auld Mug", is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two sailing yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. In 1995, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron syndicate Team New Zealand, skippered by Russell Coutts, first won the challenger series in NZL 32, dubbed "Black Magic" because of her black hull and uncanny speed. The America's Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy.

1987 New Zealand wins Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament was first held in 1987, when the tournament was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand are the current champions, having defeated Australia in the final of the 2015 tournament in England. New Zealand have won it three times (1987, 2011, 2015), two teams have won twice, Australia (1991, 1999) and South Africa (1995, 2007), while England (2003) have won it once. The winners are awarded the William Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis, the Rugby School pupil who - according to a popular legend - invented rugby by picking up the ball during a football game.

1979 Air New Zealand Flight 901

Air New Zealand Flight 901 was a scheduled Air New Zealand Antarctic sightseeing flight that operated between 1977 and 1979. The flight would leave Auckland Airport in the morning and spend a few hours flying over the Antarctic continent, before returning to Auckland in the evening via Christchurch. On 28 November 1979, the fourteenth flight of TE-901, a McDonnell Douglas flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. The accident became known as the Mount Erebus disaster. The commission concluded that the accident was caused by a correction made to the coordinates of the flight path the night before the disaster, coupled with a failure to inform the flight crew of the change.

1967 New Zealand's first Formula 1 World Champion

Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, (1936 - 1992) was a New Zealand racing driver who won the 1967 Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his final race in the 1974 US Grand Prix, he started 112 Grand Prix, resulting eight victories and 33 trips to the podium. Following his Formula One tenure with Brabham, Hulme raced for McLaren in multiple formats - Formula One, Can-Am, and at the Indianapolis 500. Hulme was nicknamed 'The Bear', because of his "gruff nature" and "rugged features".