AD 1951

Anzus Pacific security treaty signed between New Zealand, Australia and USA

AD 1952

Governor of Fiji takes over responsibility for Pitcairn islands

AD 1953

Queen Saltote Tupou III of Tonga visits Britain for the coronation of Elizabeth II

AD 1957

Islands of Tahiti reconstituted as the overseas French territory of French Polynesia

AD 1962

Western Samoa gains independence

AD 1965

Cook Islands gain autonomy

AD 1965

Taufa'ahau Tupou becomes king of Tonga

AD 1965

Cook Islands become a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand

AD 1970

Tonga gains full independence from Britain

AD 1970

Fiji gains independence from Britain

AD 1976

Samoa joins the UN

AD 1984

Auckland harbour headland restored to Maoris

AD 1984

Tahiti becomes self-governing

AD 1985

New Zealand prohibits nuclear vessels from ports and waters; French agents sink Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour

AD 1985

Rarotonga Treaty is open for signing in the Cook Islands creating a nuclear free zone in the South Pacific

AD 1986

US suspends military obligations under ANZUS Treaty

AD 1986

Treaty of Rarotonga sets up South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone

AD 1987

Sitiveni Rabuka seizes power in Fiji

AD 1987

Rabuka stages a second coup, proclaims Fiji a republic; Fiji expelled from British Commonwealth

AD 1988

Tonga signs agreement allowing US nuclear warships to pass through its waters

AD 1990

Captain Cook's landing site at Gisborne declared a National Historic Reserve

AD 1991

Cook Islands sign treaty of friendship and co-operation with France

AD 1992

Maoris win South Island fishing rights

AD 1992

Marquesan Nature Reserves created

AD 1993

Proportional representation introduced by referendum in New Zealand

AD 1994

Maoris reject government 10-year land claims settlement of US$660 million

AD 1994

Tonga's first political party, the Tonga Democratic Party founded

AD 1995

Waitangi Day celebrations abandoned after Maori protests

AD 1995

French Government resumes nuclear weapons testing at Mururoa Atoll, Cook Islands

AD 1996

Under new electoral system, number of Maori MPs rises from 6 to 15

AD 1997

Jenny Shipley becomes New Zealand's first woman prime minister

AD 1997

Fiji re-admitted to the Commonwealth after introducing non-discriminatory constitution

AD 1997

Samoa changes its formal name from the Independent State of Western Samoa to the Independent State of Samoa

AD 1998

Waitangi Tribunal orders government to return US$3.3 million of confiscated land to its Maori owners

AD 1999

New Zealand troops join a UN peacekeeping force in East Timor.

AD 1999

Helen Clark becomes prime minister of New Zealand