| Date
| Event
|
| 1949
| NZSS formed in Auckland
|
| 1949
| HTG formed in Hamilton
|
| 1952
| First NZS Bulletin produced
|
| 1952
| First cave accident - broken leg in Karamu Cave, Waikato
|
| 1954
| Ernies Waterfall - discovered
|
| 1954
| Burr Cave - discovered
|
| 1955
| Gardners Gut - surveyed
|
| 1956
| Waipuna Cave - discovered
|
| 1957
| First NZSS trip to Nelson
|
| 1957
| First use of fluorescein - Blasted Hole to Luckie Strike stream (HTG)
|
| 1957
| Hollow Hill - discovered
|
| 1957
| Harwoods Hole - first visit by cavers
|
| 1958
| Gorge Creek Cave - discovered
|
| 1958
| Yoyo Hole - discovered
|
| 1959
| Free climb out of Lost World
|
| 1959
| Luckie Strike - discovered
|
| 1959
| First cave diving in NZ - Cold Creek
|
| 1960
| NSG formed in Nelson
|
| 1960
| Fred - discovered
|
| 1960
| Paturau caves - first cavers visit
|
| 1960
| First NZSS member killed while caving (Peter Lambert - Harwoods Hole, winch trip).
|
| 1961
| Ringlefall - re-discovered by cavers
|
| 1961
| Aurora Cave, Te Anau - surveyed
|
| 1962
| St Bens - discovered
|
| 1962
| Giants Staircase - discovered
|
| 1962
| Giants Staircase bottomed at -850ft
|
| 1962
| Curtis Ghyll - discovered
|
| 1962
| Profanity - discovered
|
| 1962/3
| First NSG Expedition to Mt Owen
|
| 1962/3
| First caving 'airdrop' - Mt Owen
|
| 1963
| Two Tone - discovered
|
| 1963
| The Metro - discovered
|
| 1963
| Blue Creek Cave - discovered
|
| 1963/4
| First helicopter assisted caving expedition - Mt Owen
|
| 1963
| First alpine and helicopter cave rescue, Mt Owen (Lee Marchant - Giants Staircase)
|
| 1964
| Piripiri/Pohangina Caves - discovered
|
| 1965
| Yanks Cave - discovered
|
| 1965
| Owen Ice Caverns - discovered
|
| 1965
| Matawhero area - first visit
|
| 1965
| First Gardners Gut 'staydown' - 172hrs
|
| 1966
| First NZSS Expedition to the West Coast
|
| 1967
| Deepest cave in NZ - Harwoods Hole (-357m)
|
| 1969
| Nettlebed - discovered
|
| 1969
| Xanadu - discovered
|
| 1969
| Second Gardners Gut 'staydown' - 336hrs
|
| 1969/70
| First Australasian Ellis Basin expedition (Blackbird, Tomo Thyme - EK327)
|
| 1970/1
| Second Australasian Ellis Basin expedition - first SRT usage in NZ caves
|
| 1971/2
| Third Australasian Ellis Basin expedition (Gorgoroth)
|
| 1972
| First NZSS Bulletin cave conservation article
|
| 1973
| First Australasian expedition to the Muller Range, Papua New Guinea
|
| 1974
| Turks Torrent - discovered
|
| 1974
| Greenlink - discovered
|
| 1975
| Pearse Resurgence first dived
|
| 1975
| Middle Earth - discovered
|
| 1975
| Harwoods Hole still deepest cave in NZ
|
| 1976
| Honeycomb Hill Cave - discovered
|
| 1976/7
| East Owen Karstfield - first Australasian expedition
|
| 1977
| Dye traces Owen Chasm to Blue Creek (Mt Owen) and Grange Slocker to Pearse Resurgence (Mt Arthur) - Paul Williams
|
| 1977/8
| East Owen Karstfield - second Australasian expedition
|
| 1978
| NZSS has 238 full members
|
| 1978
| First National Venturer Caving School, Waitomo
|
| 1978
| Second Australasian expedition to the Muller Range, Papua New Guinea (Atea '78)
|
| 1978
| Greenlink/Riwaka sumps dived
|
| 1979
| Nettlebed - squeezes passed
|
| 1979/80
| Nettlebed - first expedition (Jacob's Well climbed, Salvation Hall reached)
|
| 1979/80
| Laghu/HH Cave - discovered
|
| 1980
| NZSS has 300 full members
|
| 1980
| First NZ Cave Atlas published
|
| 1980
| Profanity cave rescue - start of official recognition of cave SAR in NZ
|
| 1980
| Deepest cave in NZ - Greenlink (-358m - 1m deeper than Harwoods Hole!)
|
| 1980/1
| Nettlebed - second expedition (Knee Trembler, Diamond Alley, Antlion)
|
| 1980/1
| HTG/Sydney University Ellis Basin expedition, Mt Arthur
|
| 1981
| Waitomo Museum of Caves opened
|
| 1981
| Puketiti Flower Cave - cave gate installed in Flower Passage
|
| 1981/2
| Nettlebed - third expedition (Hammer Heights)
|
| 1982
| Third Australasian expedition to the Muller Range, Papua New Guinea
|
| 1982/3
| Nettlebed - fourth expedition (TVNZ "Soft Rock Cafe", Overlander breakthrough)
|
| 1983
| Al Warild (Sydney) solos Gorgoroth, HH and Laghu, Mt Arthur
|
| 1983
| Michie phones constructed in NZ for cave SAR
|
| 1984
| Honeycomb Hill Cave System - surveyed
|
| 1983/4
| HTG expedition to Tawarau State Forest, Waitomo
|
| 1983/4
| Fourth Nettlebed expedition ('far end' of cave)
|
| 1985
| Windrift - discovered
|
| 1985
| Babylon Cave - discovered
|
| 1985
| Bulmer Cavern - discovered
|
| 1985
| Cave SAR Seminar, Police Training College, Wellington
|
| 1985/6
| First Bulmer expedition (upper levels)
|
| 1986
| Elver Canyon connects with Waipu Cave
|
| 1986
| Castle Keep connects to Bulmer Cavern
|
| 1986
| Castle Keep/Bulmer (-728m)
|
| 1986
| Deepest cave in NZ - Blizzard Pot connects with Nettlebed (-884, 16th Oct)
|
| 1986
| Windrift '86 Expedition - longest time, remotest underground camp in NZ caving
|
| 1986
| Blue Creek, Mt Owen - 'Hydraulic Algebra' sump syphoned
|
| 1986/7
| Bullock Creek expedition, West Coast
|
| 1986/7
| Second Bulmer expedition (Gormenghast, Eye in the Sky)
|
| 1987
| Falcon Cave - discovered
|
| 1987
| First NSG Ellis Basin expedition (Falcon, Blackbird)
|
| 1987
| NZ/China exchange expedition (NZ cavers to China)
|
| 1987
| NSG Hut built on Takaka Hill
|
| 1987
| Paparoa National Park opened to protect lowland podocarp forest on a karst landscape
|
| 1987/8
| Third Bulmer expedition (lower levels)
|
| 1988
| Te Reinga Cave System, Whakapunake, Gisborne - discovered
|
| 1988
| Tomo Thyme re-discovered
|
| 1988
| Black Water Rafting established, Waitomo
|
| 1988
| First national cave SAREX, Waitomo
|
| 1988
| Second NSG Ellis Basin expedition (Tomo Thyme to Kortakay, Falcon)
|
| 1988/9
| Fourth Bulmer expedition (Wildcat Series, Gormenghast connected)
|
| 1989
| NZ/China exchange expedition (Chinese to NZ)
|
| 1989
| Third NSG Ellis Basin expedition (Tomo Thyme to final sump)
|
| 1989
| Tomo Thyme rescue (main streamway floods)
|
| 1989
| NZSS/DOC Draft Cave and Karst Management Plan submitted for approval
|
| 1989
| Fox River survey finally completed (CCG)
|
| 1990
| Exhaleair - discovered
|
| 1990
| Bohemia - discovered (Czech Expedition)
|
| 1990
| Blindman's connected to Ringlefall, Waitomo
|
| 1990
| Deepest cave in NZ - still Nettlebed (-889m)
|
| 1990
| Renewed interest in NZ cave diving
|
| 1990
| Renewed interest in Paturau, first NSG Easter trip
|
| 1990
| NZSS 'Navel Gazing' weekend, Wellington
|
| 1990
| NZSS Constitution rewritten, NZSS Council restructured
|
| 1990
| Second national SAREX, Blizzard Pot & Farriers Cave - discovered
|
| 1990/1
| First HTG Exhaleair expedition (Exhaleair connected to Tomo Thyme, Thunderchild)
|
| 1991
| Ringlefall commercialised - effectively closed to recreational cavers
|
| 1991
| Haggas Hole/St. Benedict's commercialised - effectively closed to recreational cavers
|
| 1991
| 'Bandleader' column repaired - Waipuna Cave, Waitomo
|
| 1991
| First NSG Mid-winter Dinner (Takaka Hill)
|
| 1991
| Sump 3B, passed to dry passage - Riwaka Resurgence
|
| 1991
| First NZSS organised training course (cave leadership)
|
| 1991
| TVNZ 'Castles of the Underworld' documentary made
|
| 1991
| Lost World commercialised - effectively closed to recreational cavers
|
| 1991/2
| Second HTG Exhaleair expedition (upstream Thunderchild)
|
| 1991/2
| Incognito found and connected to Falcon Cave, Ellis Basin (Australian team)
|
| 1992
| 'Rescue Wrap' stretcher specifically developed for cave rescue (Aspiring Enterprises, Chch.)
|
| 1992
| Waitomo rescue trailer and garage built (HTG Hut)
|
| 1992
| NSG Cullifords Hill expedition (Mt Owen)
|
| 1992
| NZOIA caving 'grand parenting' course
|
| 1993
| Gorge Creek (Takaka Hill) sump passed to dry passage
|
| 1993
| Greenlink connected to Middle Earth, Takaka Hill
|
| 1994
| Second Czech caving expedition to Bohemia, Mt Owen
|
| 1994
| Third national cave SAREX (Tomo Thyme, Ellis Basin, Mt Arthur)
|
| 1996
| Kahurangi National Park opened - includes marble caves of Mt Owen and Mt Arthur
|
| 1996
| NZSS forms its first Web Page in the Internet
|
| 1998
| Fourth national cave SAREX (Bulmer Cavern, Mt Owen)
|
| 1998/9
| Largest NZ cave rescue to date spanning 3 days in Bulmer Cavern's Lower Levels
|
| 2000
| Abyssinia Cave discovered, Bullock Creek
|
| 2001
| Rotapot, Mt Bell, Odyssey, Mt Owen, Twin Traverse Tomo, Mt Arthur
|
| 2002
| Mudball dived and connected to The Gravel Pit. Blunderback discovered
|
| 2003
| Delving Deeper published. Death of non-caver in Cave Stream, Canterbury
|
| 2004
| New South Island Cave Atlas published
|
| 2005
| Deep Thought - Mt Owen
|
| 2006
| Masterwrecker - Mt Owen. Beautiful Bulmer passage discovered
|
| 2007
| Deep Thought bottomed at 420m. Pearse Resurgence still going at 177m. Middle Earth rescue. Thirteen people rescued from flooded Two Tone cave. Deep Cave SAREX held at Tomo Thyme, Ellis Basin
|
| 2008
| Pearse Resurgence 183m deep and still going
|
| 2009
| NZSS Fiordland expedition. Bulmer reaches 60km
|
| 2010
| Ellis Basin system 1026m deep – deepest in NZ. Middle Earth system now 11km. Deep Cave Sarex held at Summit Tomo, Takaka Hill.
|
| 2011
| Stormy Pot discovered - 6.5km long and 576m deep. 2nd NZSS Fiordland expedition
|
| 2013
| Bulmer now 67km. Middle Earth/Greenlink now 26.6km. Stormy Pot now 14km long, 700m deep. NSG 50 years old. Deep Cave SAREX held at Greenlink/Middle Earth, Takaka Hill
|