1902: First registered nurse world-wide

Ellen Dougherty was the first name on the state registered roll. She completed training at Wellington Hospital in 1887.

1921: Dental nurses a world first

First 34 women had been appointed to train as dental nurses for the state-funded School Dental Service (SDS)

1929: League of Nations

Phoebe Myers was first woman to represent her country at the League of Nations

1934-36: Epic solo flights

Jean Batten flew from England to Australia in 1934, to South America in 1935 and to NZ in 1936

1976: National Librarian

Mary Ronnie made history when she became the first woman national librarian in the world

1976-78: Solo sailor

Naomi James was 1st woman to have sailed single-handed around the world via Cape Horn

1979-2000: Test cricket runs

First woman to score over 1000 test runs & holds record for ICC Women's Cricket World Cup runs

1990: Anglican Bishop

Penny Jamieson’s appointment as Bishop of Dunedin made her the first woman in the world to head an Angiican diocese.

1993: Palme d'Or award at Cannes Film Festival (Film: The piano)

Jane Campion was 1st female filmmaker to receive Palme d'Or award. Also won best original screenplay at Academy Awards.

1995: Transgender Mayor & Member of Parliament (1999)

Georgina Beyer (1957-2023) was first transgender woman elected Mayor (Mayor of Carterton) in 1995 & MP in 1999

2009: United Nations Development Programme Administrator

Helen Clark was the first woman Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017

2013: World hip Hop Dance Championship

Choreographer Parris Goebbel & The Royal Family won third time in a row, becoming first group in world to achieve it

2015: Youngest No. 1 professional golfer

Lydia Ko became the No. 1-ranked woman professional golfer. Was the youngest player of any gender to be ranked No. 1.

2022: 94th Academy Award for Best Director (Film: Power of the dog)

Dame Jane Campion: 1st woman nominated twice & won 2d time & 1st woman to win as director & as screenwriter (The Piano)

2022: Portia Woodman (Black Ferns Sevens) first woman to score 200 World Series tries

1871: First public secondary school for girls

Learmonth White Dalrymple campaigned for first public secondary school for girls in southern hemisphere - Otago Girls'

1877: University degree

Kate Edger was the first woman in NZ to gain a degree & first woman in the British Empire to earn a BA (Latin & Maths)

1881: Honours degree

Helen Connon became the first woman in the Empire to graduate with an honours degree (MA 1st-class in English & Maths)

1892: Ladies' Cycling Club

The Atalanta Ladies' Cycling Club was formed in Christchurch - the 1st in Australasia

1893: Mayor

Mrs Elizabeth Yates was elected mayor of Onehunga, the first woman in the British Empire to hold this office

1898: Lawyer

Ethel Benjamin first woman Law graduate at Otago, which was first university in Australasia to allow women to study law

1932: Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

Pérrine Millais was first female President of RAOU & had published "New Zealand birds and how to Identify them"

1947: Cabinet Minister

Mabel Howard was appointed minister of health and minister in charge of child welfare - a first in the Commonwealth

1974: New Years Honours

Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu was first Māori to be appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire

1975: Prime time TV newsreader

Jennie Goodwin became first woman in the Commonwealth to read a prime time news bulletin (Two at Seven), 1975-1982

1978: Jockey

Linda Jones was the first licensed female rider In Aust & NZ and first woman to win a derby in NZ in 1979

1991: Professional firefighter

Anne Barry and and Liz England became the first women professional firefighters in the Commonwealth

2014: Youngest Man Booker Prize winner

Eleanor Catton at aged 28 was the youngest author ever to win the Man Booker Prize

2016: V8 Pit Mechanic

Frances Buckley was first woman to head-up a pit lane crew in the Australasian V8 Supercar competition

1884: First Royal Honour

The Royal Red Cross was awarded to Alice Crisp, matron of Auckland Hospital, for nursing services with British troops

1883: Kotahitanga Parliament

Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia: 1st woman to speak, requesting the right for women to vote & be members. (Women could vote 1897)

1919: Women can stand for Parliament

The Women’s Parliamentary Rights Act passed into law. In 1996, there were 6 woman MPs in the Labour Party

1947: First woman Cabinet Minister

Mabel Howard became Minister of Health and Minister in charge of Child Welfare. Campaigned for standard clothing sizes

1949: 1st female Māori MP & Māori electorate MP

Iriaka Rātana became NZ's first female Māori MP & represented Western Māori electorate

1951: Order of the British Empire

Edith Gilmer was first NZ woman to be made a Dame

1972: First Māori woman Cabinet minister

Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan was appointed Minister of Tourism

1984: First woman as Minister of Police

Ann Hercus was appointed as Minister of Police, in addition to Minister of Social Welfare & newly formed Women's Affairs

1990: Governor-General

The Hon. Dame Catherine Tizard became the 16th (and first woman) Governor-General of New Zealand

1993: Māori MP in General seat

Sandra Lee won the Auckland Central seat making her the first Māori woman to hold a general seat in the NZ Parliament

1997: Prime Minister

Jenny Shipley (National party) became the 36th (and first woman) PM after staging a coup against Jim Bolger

1999: Elected Prime Minister

Helen Clark became 37th PM from 1999 to 2008 - the second woman to serve as PM and the 1st to win office at an election

1999: NZ's first Pacific Island woman MP

Hon Dame Luamanuvao Winnie Laban became a list MP in 1999

2005: Speaker of the House

Margaret Wilson first woman appointed Speaker (2005–8) & President of NZ Labour Party (1984-87)

2009: Controller and Auditor-General

Lyn Provost was the first woman to be appointed Controller and Auditor-General

2018: Prime Minister on parental leave

Jacinda Adern is 1st NZ PM & 2nd elected head of govt to give birth while in office (after Benazir Bhutto in 1990)

2021: Governor-General of NZ

Dame Cindy Kiro became 1st Māori woman (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu & British descent.) & 22nd title holder

1926: Justice of the Peace (18 women appointed for first time)

Blanche Eleanor Carnachan was one of a group of 18 women who were the first women appointed as JPs

1940-45: WWII spy

Nancy Wake was the Allies’ most decorated servicewoman of WWII

24 Dec 1940: Women's National Service Corps formed

It was the forerunner of New Zealand Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), formed in July 1942

1941: Police

In June 1941 the first women were officially recruited for police training

1941: Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) formed

Kitty Kain appointed as Superintendent

July 1942: New Zealand Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), formed

Vida Jowett was appointed Chief Commander

1942: Women's Royal New Zealand Naval Service (WRNZNS)

Ruth Herrick was appointed Director

1943: Juror

Elaine Kingsford was first woman on a jury and sat on a case at the Auckland Supreme Court

1945: Magistrate

Mary Anderson became reputedly the first woman in NZ to sit on a Magistrate's Court bench

1946: Legislative Council

Mary Dreaver & Mary Anderson were appointed as the Council's first women members

1958: Detective

Nora Crawford became the first woman in NZ to reach the rank of detective

1958: Traffic Officer

Heather Thorne appointed first woman traffic officer in Wellington

1967: Honorary Doctor of Laws

Elizabeth Gregory (PhD in Biochemistry) was first NZ woman graduate to receive the LLD award

1972: Police Pipe Band

Meryl Diffey, of Lower Hutt police, was the first woman piper in the New Zealand Police Pipe Band

1975: District Court Judge

Dame Augusta Wallace was the first woman in NZ to be appointed as a judge to the Auckland District Court

1985: Prison officer

First woman in NZ to take up the position of prison officer in a male prison

1993: High Court Judge

The Hon. Dame Silvia Cartwright was the first woman appointed to the High Court (1993-2001)

1999: Chief Justice

Dame Sian Seerpoohi Elias was first woman to be appointed to the position in NZ

2010: Naval Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Alexandra Hansen took command of HMNZS Pukaki

2014: Wellington Police Maritime Unit

Constable Paula Tanuvasa makes history as the first woman to join the Wellington Police Maritime Unit

2016: Commander of NZ Army

Karyn Thompson was first female appointed as Colonel / Commander at Waiouru, or any NZ army camp

1881: Dentist

Margaret Caro was the first woman to be listed on the Dentists' Register of New Zealand

1881: Pharmacist

Elizabeth Robinson of Christchurch was the first woman to register as a pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act 1880

1896: Medicine graduate

Emily Siedeberg graduated in Medicine at Univ of Otago

1897: Doctor

Margaret Cruickshank, New Zealand's first registered woman doctor, pictured at her graduation from University of Otago

1907: Wellington Dominion Museum

Amy Castle was first entomologist & first woman appointed in a professional role in a NZ museum

1936: Royal Society of New Zealand

Kathleen Curtis (Lady Rigg) first woman fellow of the Society & specialised in mycology and botany

1940: Dpt of Health nutritionist

Muriel Bell was the first nutrition officer in the Dept of Health (1940-64)

1944: Royal Institute of Chemistry

Elsa Kidson was the first woman fellow & also the first at the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry (1943)

1954: Hector Medal for science

Botanist Lucy Cranwell Smith was first woman awarded the Hector Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand

1965: Hutton Medal for botany

Dr. Lucy Beatrice Moore was first woman to win for outstanding services to systemic and applied botany in NZ

1968-70: Antarctica

First NZ woman to visit was zoologist Marie Darby (Jan 1968). Pamela Young was first to live & work there (1969-70)

1970: Antarctica research programme

Geologist Rosemary Askin was the first NZ woman to undertake an Antarctic research programme

1975: NZ MetService in Antarctica - ozone layer

Edith Farkas was first female staff & 1st to receive NZ MetService Henry Hill Award in 1986

1978: Professor of Astronomy

Beatrice Tinsley became the first woman to be appointed as Professor of Astronomy at Yale University

1993: Royal Society of New Zealand President

Geologist Philippa Black was first woman appointed as President (1993-1997)

2011: Rutherford medal

Christine Winterbourn awarded top science and technology honour

2013: Rutherford Medal awarded to Social Scientist

Dame Anne Salmond became the first social scientist awarded the Rutherford Medal

2018: Royal Society of London

Chemistry researcher Prof Margaret Brimble first NZ woman to be elected a fellow of the Society

1925: Pilot

Gladys Sandford was first woman in NZ to gain her pilot's licence

1942: Tram conductors

NZ National Tramways Union won equal pay - a first for a NZ Union

1974: Bus driver

Wellington's first woman bus driver, Carole Slater

1881: Women telephonists

Although women were paid less than men, in 1893 there were 484 applications for 79 jobs

1896: National Council of Women of New Zealand

Kate Sheppard was elected as the first President

1911: University Professor

Winifred Lily Boys-Smith was first women professor in NZ (University of Otago: Home science and domestic arts)

1921: First Women's Institute

Bessie Spencer founded the first NZ branch of the Women’s Institute at Rissington

1923: State Forest Service

Mary Sutherland was first, and for many years, the only woman in a professional grade, when started as forestry asst.

1927: Real Estate

Christine Barfoot was one of the first women to become a qualified real estate agent

1951: Māori Women's Welfare League

Dame Whina Cooper was appointed as president & Dame Mira Szászy as secretary

1959: Church Minister

Rev Phyllis Guthandt was first woman Methodist Minister in NZ

1965: Presbyterian Minister

Margaret Martin was first woman ordained as Minister in NZ

1978: Federation of Labour Executive

Sonja Davies first woman to elected to the Executive (1978) & as Vice President (1983)

1978: NZ Ambassador

Barbara Angus became first female ambassador when headed NZ's embassy in Philippines (1978-81)

1979 - 1986: President International Council of Women

Miriam Dell was first New Zealander to be elected president

1982: NZ Metropolitan Stock Exchange

Elspeth Kennedy was the first woman elected to the NZ Stock Exchange

1982: NZ Teachers' College

Margaret Malcolm made history for women by being appointed as principal of Wellington Teachers' College

2013: Director of NZ SIS

Rebecca Kitteridge (seen standing) was first female Director of Security of the NZSIS

1889: Full-colour art book

Sarah Featon's "The Art Album of New Zealand Flora" with watercolour paintings was first full-colour art book in NZ

1904: Opera singer

Frances Alder (Fanny Jane Davis) was first NZder to establish an international operatic career with her debut in Paris

1926: First Māori woman to receive university degree

Bessie Te Wenerau Grace obtained BA from Canterbury University College (& an MA 1st Class Hon from London Univ, 1927)

1961: TV presenter

Alma Johnson (Alma Evans-Freke) was first female TV presenter in NZ on Auckland channel AKTV2

1965: Female TV chef

Dame Alison was NZ's first female television chef

1966: Golden Disc Award

Maria Dallas was the first NZ woman singer to win the Golden Disc award. Song: 'Tumblin' down'

1983: Grammy Award

Kiri Te Kanawa: was first NZ woman to win a Grammy award - Best Opera Recording for 'The Marriage of Figaro'

1983: Miss Universe

Lorraine Downes was the first Miss New Zealand to be crowned the 'most beautiful woman in the universe'

1985: Booker Prize

Keri Hulme first New Zealander winning the prestigious prize with her first novel, 'The Bone People'

1999: London Fashion Week

Karen Walker, Nom*D, Zambesi and World were the first to show NZ style as the ‘New Zealand Four’ group

2004: Academy Awards

Fran Walsh won 3 Awards for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song

2004: Grand Prize, International Songwriting

Gin Wigmore's 'Hallelujah' beat 11,000 songwriters from 77 countries to become youngest & only unsigned winner

2012: #1 on America's Billboard Hot 100 singles chart - 1st New Zealander to reach top spot

Kimbra featured in Australian Gotye's song 'Somebody That I Used to Know', & was first New Zealander to reach #1

2013: Lorde's song 'Royals' reaching #1 in US

First solo NZ woman artist to reach #1 on America's Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Song also won Grammy awards

2018: Edinburgh Fringe Festival Best Comedy Show

Rose Matafeo won for her show Horndog, becoming 1st NZ women & 5th solo woman

1890s - 1900s: Tennis

Kathleen Nunneley won the national singles title every year from 1895 to 1907 and gained a total of 32 national titles

1920: First NZ female Olympian

Violet Waldron (Lane 3) competed in the ‘freestyle’ event at Antwerp and placed 5th in the final

1928: Olympic Games - athletic events

Norma Wilson was one of the women competing in athletics for the first time at the Olympic Games & entered 100m sprints

1954: Long jump world record holder

Yvette Williams broke the women's long jump world record at Gisborne with a leap of 6.28 metres

1956: Backstroke world record holder

Philippa Gould set world records for 220 yards & 200m backstroke in 1956 Olympics, & 110 yards & 100m records in 1957

1957: First NZ woman to play at Wimbledon

Ruia Morrison reached the last 16 players (quarter-finals)

1958: World class sprinter

Marise Chamberlain equalled world 400 metres and 440 yards records in 1957 and set a new world 440 yards mark in 1958

1958 - 1974: Commonwealth Games gold medals

Val Young has won the most gold medals (5) of any NZ competitor and national titles (37 in shotput, discus, pentathlon)

1966: Paralympics: javelin, shot put, discus, swimming, archery

Eve Rimmer was the 1st woman selected to represent NZ at the Paralympics & won 14 medals including 8 gold at 4 events

1967: Netball World Cup winners

The Silver Ferns have won the World Cup 5 times (in 1967, 1979, 1987, 2003 & 2019) & Commonwealth Games in 2006 & 2010

1973: World singles bowls

Elsie Wilkie won her first world singles bowls title in 1973 at the age of 50

1980s: Road races

Anne Audain won more races than any other woman or man to finish with a record of 75 wins from 122 starts (90% in top 3)

1982: New Zealand Cup

Maree Lyndon first woman winner of NZ Cup (& first woman rider in Melbourne Cup, 1987)

1984: Squash World Champion

Susan Devoy was world champion four times, British Open champion eight times, NZ Open champion eight times

1984: Olympic paraplegic athlete (archery)

Neroli Fairhall made history as the first paraplegic athlete to compete at an Olympic Games, which was held at L.A.

1984: Long distance swimmer

Meda McKenzie - 1st double crossing of Cook Strait by a woman (1984). Also 1st NZ woman to swim English Channel (1978)

1985: Ironman completed in under 10 hours

Erin Baker was the first woman to complete Ironman in under 10 hours, which was held at at Foster Tuncurry, NSW

1987-2002: Windsurfing

Barbara Kendall has won 4 world titles (1987, 1998, 1999, 2002) and 3 Olympic medals, including gold (1992)

1990: Boxing judge

Trish Howie was first NZ woman to be appointed to the role

1991: World Rowing gold medallist

Philippa Baker became 1st female to win gold for NZ at the World Rowing Championships, which were held Vienna, Austria

1991: Sri Chinmoy ultra-distance race

Sandy Barwick was first woman to finish 1,300 mile (2,092 kms) race held in US - world's longest certified foot race

1992: Winter Olympics silver medallist

Annelise Coberger was 1st person from Southern Hemisphere to win a medal at the Winter Olympics

1992: Board member of New Zealand Cricket

Trish McKelvey was first woman board member & first women's test centurion with 155 not out against England (1969)

1997: World Athletics Champion - Discus

Beatrice Faumuina became the first New Zealander to win an event at a World Athletics Championships

1998: New Zealand Cricketer of the Year

First time a woman player has won the national award (1998) & been elected as President of NZ Cricket (2016)

1998: Rugby World Cup

New Zealand women's rugby team winning the women's world cup in rugby

2001 onwards: Shotput

Dame Valerie Adams' awards include: 4x World champion, 4x World Indoor, 2x Olympic & 3x Commonwealth Games champion

2005: Olympic cyclist

Sarah Ulmer became the first New Zealander to win an Olympic cycling title and the second to win a world title

2008: Paralympian

Sophie Pascoe was NZ's youngest Paralympian & youngest ever New Zealander to win a medal at age 15

2008: Olympic Double Sculls

Twins Caroline & Georgina Evers-Swindell the first to win double sculls title twice (first time was in Athens, 2004)

2009: Gold at Archery World Cup

The New Zealand women's archery team won gold

2012: Olympic boxers

First women to represent NZ at boxing which is being held for first time at the Olympic Games

2013: World Rugby Sevens

NZ win the inaugural World Rugby Women's Sevens Series

2013: Canterbury Bulldogs Chief Executive

Raelene Castle became the NRL's first woman chief executive at the Bulldogs

2016: NZ Rugby Board

Farah Palmer became first female NZ Rugby Board member in its 124 year history

2016: NZ's most successful Paralympian

Sophie Pascoe had won 9 gold medals & 15 medals total, overtaking Eve Rimmer's 8 gold medals & 14 total medals

2018: Rugby commentator

Rikki Swannell was Sky TV's first female Super Rugby play-by-play commentator

2018: NZ Rugby Player of the Year Award

Black Ferns halfback Kendra Cocksedge the first woman to win the award

2019: Referee Ranfurly Shield rugby match

Rebecca Mahoney the first woman to referee a Ranfurly Shield challenge

2019: President of NZ Football

Dr Johanna Wood is the first woman to hold that role

2019: Women’s Motocross World Championship

Courtney Duncan became the first Kiwi woman to win a FIM World MX Championship title, which was held in Turkey

2021: NZ's most successful Olympian

Lisa Carrington most successful with 6 medals including 5 gold & first NZ woman to win 3 gold at single Olympics

1893

1991

2013