c.1830 → today

Timeline

Jewish New Zealand, one recorded event at a time.

26 events recorded

1830s1840s1850s1860s1870s1880s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s

  1. 1829

    Trans-Tasman trade reaches New Zealand

    A Sydney firm associated with Cooper and Levy has commercial activity connected with New Zealand.

    Business · Immigration

    Verified — secondary source

  2. 1830

    Jewish traders active in northern New Zealand

    Jewish traders from England are among the earliest documented Jewish settlers, working around the Bay of Islands.

    Business · Immigration

    Approximate

  3. 1841

    Two Jews recorded in Auckland

    The Auckland census records David Nathan as one of only two Jews in the town.

    Auckland · Immigration

    Verified — secondary source

  4. 1842

    The Keesing family arrives in Auckland

    Prayer begins in the loft above David Nathan's Shortland Street premises.

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  5. 1842

    Land granted at Symonds Street Cemetery

    Auckland's Jewish community receives consecrated burial ground.

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  6. 1843

    7 January 1843

    Wellington's first organised Jewish prayer service

    Abraham Hort convenes a service days after arriving aboard the Prince of Wales.

    Wellington · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  7. 1844

    The first recorded Jewish burial in Auckland

    Catherine Nathan, infant daughter of David and Rosetta Nathan, is buried at Symonds Street.

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  8. 1848

    About 61 Jews recorded in New Zealand

    Roughly half of them are in Wellington.

    Immigration · Wellington

    Approximate

  9. 1855

    Auckland leases a building at Emily Place

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  10. 1856

    First recorded circumcision in Auckland

    Associated with Henry Albert Keesing.

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  11. 1862

    Jews arrive on the goldfields

    Several hundred English, German and Polish Jews are among those drawn to the New Zealand goldfields during the 1860s.

    South Island · Immigration · Business

    Approximate

  12. 1862

    Auckland's congregation buys the Emily Place building

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  13. 1864

    Synagogues established in the south

    Congregations form in Hokitika, Dunedin and Christchurch during the 1860s, with activity also recorded in Nelson and Timaru.

    South Island · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  14. 1864

    Reverend Moses Elkin arrives in Auckland

    Kosher slaughter becomes possible in Auckland.

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  15. 1865

    Auckland Hebrew School opens at Emily Place

    Records describe 53 children.

    Auckland · Education

    Verified — secondary source

  16. 1870

    Beth El synagogue opens on The Terrace, Wellington

    Wellington · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  17. 1871

    309 Jews recorded in Auckland

    Auckland · Immigration

    Verified — secondary source

  18. 1873

    R. Hellaby approved as a seller of kosher meat

    Kashrut in Auckland becomes a supply arrangement rather than a private discipline.

    Auckland · Religious life · Business

    Verified — secondary source

  19. 1873

    Julius Vogel becomes Premier of New Zealand

    Vogel served two periods as premier during the 1870s.

    Public life

    Verified — secondary source

  20. 1884

    18 December 1884

    Foundation stone laid for the Princes Street Synagogue

    The stone is laid by David Nathan.

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  21. 1885

    9 November 1885

    Princes Street Synagogue consecrated

    Consecrated by Rabbi Samuel Goldstein, with a documented capacity of 225 men and 150 women.

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  22. 1906

    Chevra Kadisha established in Auckland

    Auckland · Religious life

    Verified — secondary source

  23. 1929

    The Council of Jewish Women tradition begins in New Zealand

    Welfare, refugee assistance, education and communal leadership by Jewish women's organisations.

    Public life · Education

    Verified — secondary source

  24. 1936

    Refugees from Nazism admitted

    Most of the approximately 1,000 fugitives from Nazism admitted before 1939 were Jewish; relatively few Jewish refugees were admitted during the war and immediately after.

    Holocaust / Refugees · Immigration

    Verified — secondary source

  25. 1971

    Kadimah day school established in Auckland

    Auckland · Education

    Verified — secondary source

  26. 1986

    Moriah day school established in Wellington

    Wellington · Education

    Verified — secondary source