Throwback: One year since New Zealand enacted gay marriage

EARLIER this week New Zealand marked one year since same-sex marriage came into effect in the country, with new figures revealing that a quarter of those marriages consisted of Australian couples.

According to New Zealand’s Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, 926 same-sex marriages have taken place since marriage equality was put into effect on August 19, 2013, and 237 of those were Australian.

In fact, over 400 foreign couples had travelled to New Zealand in the past year to wed, providing a boost to the country’s tourism industry.

The Star Observer was there last year, reporting on the developments in our closest neighbour every step of the way. To celebrate, we digged up two of our favourite front pages from the historic moment.

Our front page when the laws first passed New Zealand parliament in April 2013:

Our front page this time last year, when the Star Observer documented the marriage of Trent and Paul, one of the first Australian couples to wed under New Zealand’s new marriage laws: