Buller Anniversary Day in New Zealand
Buller Anniversary Day in New Zealand is held on February 1. Celebrated on the first Monday of February. This event in the first decade of the month February is annual. 
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The first European discovery of the West Coast in 1642 sparked an era of exploration, sealing and the search for land and minerals. The first recorded ship to ever enter the Buller river was a sealing schooner the Three Brothers, which sounded the bar and sailed up the river in 1844. According to tradition, the Maori canoe Tahiriangi, brought the legendary chief Ngahue to the West Coast of the South Island around 950 AD.
It is thought that the Buller Kawatiri River was named (by either Heaphy or Fox) after Charles Buller, a director of the New Zealand Company. Gold was discovered in the Buller River in the late 1850's and the confirmation of the existence of gold signaled the start of the gold rush and the establishment of Westport.
Though the economic focus of the district remains on extractive industry, the focus has shifted to include agriculture, horticulture and tourism.
Similar holidays and events, festivals and interesting facts
Northland Anniversary Day in New Zealand on January 25 (It is a public holiday in Northland, where it is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed);
Wellington Anniversary Day in New Zealand on January 25 (Holiday is actually the 22nd of January but it is observed on the Monday closest to that date. Wellington Anniversary applies to the Wellington Province which includes Wellington, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Kapiti, Feilding, Levin and Masterton);
Auckland Anniversary Day in New Zealand on February 1 (Date for 2026. Holiday is actually the 29th of January but it is observed on the Monday closest to that date. Auckland Anniversary applies to the Auckland Province which includes Northland, Auckland, Waikato, King Country, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne, East Coast Regions);
Nelson Anniversary Day in New Zealand on February 1 (Holiday is actually the 1st of February but it is observed on the Monday closest to that date);
Waitangi Day in New Zealand on February 6 (Niue, New Zealand, Tokelau; celebrates the founding of New Zealand in 1840);
World Singles Day on February 13
World Day of Prayer on March 5
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