The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, becoming an independent air force on 1 April 1937.
The New Zealand Police is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintaining public order. With over 15,000 personnel, it is the largest law enforcement agency in New Zealand and, with few exceptions, has primary jurisdiction over the majority of New Zealand criminal law. The New Zealand Police also has responsibility for traffic and commercial vehicle enforcement as well as other key responsibilities including protection of dignitaries, firearms licensing, and matters of national security.
111 is the emergency telephone number in New Zealand. It was first implemented in Masterton and Carterton on 29 September 1958, and was progressively rolled out nationwide with the last exchanges converting in 1988.
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of 415,100, and a metropolitan population of over half a million. It is located in the Canterbury Region, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by the ancient volcanic complex of the Banks Peninsula. The Avon River (Ōtākaro) winds through the centre of the city, with a large urban park along its banks. With the exception of the Port Hills, it is a relatively flat city, on an average around 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. Christchurch has a reputation for being an English city, with its architectural identity and nickname the 'Garden City' due to similarities with garden cities in England, but also has a historic Māori heritage. Christchurch has a temperate oceanic climate with regular moderate rainfall.
1News is the news division of New Zealand television network TVNZ. The programme is broadcast live from TVNZ Centre in Auckland. The flagship news bulletin is the nightly 6 pm news hour, but 1News also has late night news bulletins, as well as current affairs shows such as Breakfast and Seven Sharp.
Epsom is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the centre of the Auckland isthmus between Mount Eden and Greenlane, south of Newmarket, and 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the Auckland City Centre.
On Tuesday, 18 November 1947, a fire engulfed the Ballantynes department store in central Christchurch, New Zealand, resulting in the death of 41 people. It remains the deadliest fire in New Zealand's history.
Kristopher John Faafoi is a former New Zealand television journalist and Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the Mana electorate from 2010 until 2020, when he became a list MP. Faafoi held a number of ministerial portfolios in the Sixth Labour Government from 2017, including Minister of Justice, Minister of Broadcasting and Media, and Minister of Immigration. He retired from politics in June 2022.
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time. The 6.2 earthquake struck the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi) south-east of the central business district. It caused widespread damage across Christchurch, killing 185 people in New Zealand's fifth-deadliest disaster. Scientists classified it as an intraplate earthquake and a potential aftershock of the September 2010 Canterbury earthquake.
The June 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake that occurred on 13 June 2011 at 14:20 NZST. It was centred at a depth of 7 km (4.3 mi), about 5 km (3 mi) south-east of Christchurch, which had previously been devastated by a magnitude 6.2 MW earthquake in February 2011. The June quake was preceded by a magnitude 5.9 ML tremor that struck the region at a slightly deeper 8.9 km (5.5 mi). The United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude of 6.0 Mw and a depth of 9 km (5.6 mi).
J Ballantyne and Company Ltd, trading as Ballantynes is a Christchurch, New Zealand–based department store operator. Established in 1854, it is New Zealand's oldest department store. Ballantynes is also a member of the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores. Alongside their flagship store in Christchurch Central City, stores also operate in Timaru and Invercargill.
An earthquake occurred in Christchurch on 14 February 2016 at 1:13 p.m. local time and initially recorded as 5.9 on the Richter scale, but subsequently reviewed as 5.7. Often referred to as the Valentine's Day earthquake, it was centred in the sea off New Brighton at a depth of 15 kilometres (9.3 mi). It was the first large earthquake that the Christchurch area had experienced since May 2012, and it was part of the earthquake sequence that started with the 4 September 2010 Canterbury earthquake.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand is New Zealand's main firefighting and emergency services body.
Christchurch Adventure Park is an adventure park in the Port Hills of Christchurch, New Zealand. Built by the Canadian company Select Evolution, it had its opening function on 16 December 2016. The 1500 holders of special passes could ride from 17 December, while the park opened to the public on 21 December. According to the developer, the 358 hectares park with a 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) chairlift and initially 50 kilometres (31 mi) of downhill tracks is the largest facility of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The park closed on 13 February 2017 as a precaution due to a nearby fire and two days later, most of the park's tree cover had been destroyed in a large wildfire. The lift and ziplines have suffered significant damage, and the park's condition was much worse than the operator initially thought. The park reopened on 6 December 2017, ten months after it shut.
The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake was a 7.8 earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT. Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the earthquake has been described as the "most complex earthquake ever studied". It has been subsequently modelled as having a megathrust component set off by an adjacent rupture on the Humps Fault. It was the second largest earthquake in New Zealand since European settlement.
The 2017 Port Hills fires were wildfires in the Port Hills of Christchurch, New Zealand. Two separate fires, several kilometres apart, started on Monday afternoon on 13 February 2017. By Wednesday night, the fires had combined to one large area. A helicopter crashed helping to fight the fires, causing the death of the pilot. Nine houses were destroyed and a further two were significantly damaged by the fires, and hundreds of residents were evacuated. The cause is officially undetermined, but it is believed the fires were deliberately lit.
The Sixth Labour Government governed New Zealand from 26 October 2017 to 27 November 2023. It was headed first by Jacinda Ardern and later by Chris Hipkins, as Labour Party leader and prime minister.
The Pigeon Valley Fire was a wildfire in the Tasman District and briefly the largest wildfire in New Zealand history before being surpassed by the Lake Ōhau Fire a year later.
Marleys Hill is a hill in the Port Hills above Christchurch, New Zealand. It is a short distance south-west of Sugarloaf, and is taller than it by a few metres. The hilltop is the location of several radio repeater stations, including the primary amateur radio repeater for Christchurch. On the north side of the hill is the Christchurch Adventure Park.
