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| 1899–1900 |
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| New Zealand troops were sent to the war in South Africa. | 1 |
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| 1901 |
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| New Zealand imperialism in the Pacific began with the annexation of the Cook Islands (See 1901). | 2 |
| New Zealand rejected the proposal of federation with Australia. | 3 |
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| 1905 |
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| The rugby team the Invincibles won all but one of their games in a tour of Britain, becoming a focus for nascent national sentiment. | 4 |
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| 1907 |
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| Foundation of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (the Plunket Society) by Dr. Truby King and his wife, an attempt to improve the nation's health by training mothers in “scientific” baby care and child-rearing methods. By 1947, 85 percent of all non-Maori children were cared for by Plunket. | 5 |
| New Zealand became a dominion. The Chinese Immigrant Bill imposed reading tests on prospective Chinese immigrants, reflecting notions of racial purity and fear of job competition on the part of both trade unions and government. | 6 |
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| 1909 |
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| Formation of the Federation of Labour, an alliance of radical trade unions. | 7 |
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| 1912 |
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| The conservative government of the Reform Party under William F. Massey came to power as a result of disenchantment with the Liberal Party and fear of socialist radicals. Its key support came from urban and rural property owners. | 8 |
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| 1913 |
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| A maritime strike, like the miners' strike in the previous year, led to civil disturbances and government action to curb union power. The desire of radical unions to escape the system of compulsory arbitration was a major factor in the dispute. (See New Zealand) | 9 |
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