Everything about Time In New Zealand totally explained
New Zealand has two
time zones. The main islands use
New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), 12 hours in advance of
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), while the outlying
Chatham Islands use
Chatham Standard Time (CHAST), 12 hours 45 minutes in advance of UTC.
During summer (see below for exact dates)
daylight saving time is observed and clocks are advanced one hour.
New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT) is thus 13 hours ahead of UTC, and
Chatham Daylight Time (CHADT) 13 hours 45 minutes ahead.
The
Ross Dependency in
Antarctica maintains NZST/NZDT, along with
McMurdo Station and the
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Furthermore, there are dependencies of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean, with other time zones:
- the Cook Islands and Tokelau have 10 hours less than UTC, no daylight saving time. This means 22-23 hours less than New Zealand, and is the same as one day less and 1 or 2 hours more . They are located on the other side of the International Date Line and have one day less date.
- Niue has 11 hours less than UTC, also on the other side of the International Date Line
History
On 2 November 1868, New Zealand officially adopted a standard time to be observed nationally, and was perhaps the first country to do so. It was based on longitude 172°30′ East of Greenwich, 11 1/2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This standard was known as New Zealand Mean Time (NZMT).
In
1941, during the
Second World War, clocks were advanced half an hour, making New Zealand 12 hours ahead of GMT. This change was made permanent from 1946 by the
Standard Time Act 1945, at which the time at the 180°E meridian was made the basis for New Zealand Time. NZST remained half an hour ahead of NZMT, and the Chatham Islands 45 minutes ahead of NZST.
In the late 1940s the
atomic clock was developed and several laboratories began atomic time scales. A new time scale known as
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) was adopted internationally in 1972. This was based on the readings of atomic clocks, updated periodically in accordance with time variations in the earth's rotation by the addition or deletion of seconds (called
leap seconds).
The
Time Act 1974 defines
New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) as 12 hours in advance of UTC.
Daylight saving time
The Summer Time Act 1929, repealed by the Time Act 1974, empowered the Governor-General to declare by Order in Council a period when Daylight Time is to be observed. Under the Act, NZDT is one hour in advance of NZST.
The Act provided for Daylight Time to be observed from the second Sunday in October to the third Sunday in March. In 1933, the period was extended from the first Sunday in September to the last Sunday in April. This continued until the Second World War, when emergency regulations in 1941 extended daylight saving to cover the whole year.
The New Zealand Time Order 1975 fixed the period of observance from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in March.
In 1985 a comprehensive survey was undertaken by the Department of Internal Affairs. Public attitudes towards NZDT and its effects on work, recreation and particular groups of people in society were surveyed. The survey indicated that 76.2% of the population wanted NZDT either continued or extended.
The survey also concluded that opinion on the topic differed little between sexes, and that support for NZDT was generally higher in urban centres. Support for shortening or abolishing NZDT was always in the minority in the areas surveyed.
As a consequence of the survey and further feedback from the public, in 1988 the Minister of Internal Affairs arranged for a trial period of extended NZDT to be held from the second Sunday in October 1989 to the third Sunday in March 1990. The Minister invited the public to write to him with their views on the five-week extension.
The Daylight Time Order 1990 declared that NZDT would run from 2am NZST on the first Sunday in October to 3am NZDT on the third Sunday in March.
On
30 April 2007 the government announced that it had
extended the daylight saving period from 24 to 27 weeks
:. From September 2007, daylight saving is now observed from the last Sunday in September until the first Sunday in April.
Standards
The standard for time in New Zealand is maintained by the Measurement Standards Laboratory, part of
Industrial Research Limited. It is disseminated by various means, including time pips broadcast on
Radio New Zealand, a
speaking clock service, and
Network Time Protocol.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Time In New Zealand'.
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