Today marks a big day in Newstalk ZB's history.
It's been 35 years since we transitioned from 1ZB to Newstalk 1ZB. 

The year was 1987.

The Post Office was split up into NZ Post, Telecom (now Spark) and Postbank (which got bought by ANZ).

Lotto tickets went on sale for the first time - the first division prize was a whopping $36,000!).

Te Reo Māori became an official language of our country.

Black Tuesday wiped billons off the value of New Zealand shares.

We had a boat in the America’s Cup for the first time – KZ-7, the old “plastic fantastic”.

The All Blacks won the inaugural Rugby World Cup, only to not win it again for another 24 years.

And 1ZB, which had been broadcasting in Auckland since 1926, had a new format, a new line-up and a new name.

On March 16, 1987 Newstalk 1ZB was born, with Paul Holmes on Breakfast, Leighton Smith remaining on Mornings, Phil Warren on on Afternoons, and John Cordery on Drive.

Within a few years of such a dramatic change, Newstalk 1ZB was winning the ratings war in Auckland, prompting then-owners Radio New Zealand to adopt the format for 2ZB Wellington and 3ZB Christchurch in 1991.

In that 35 years, we’ve been there with you for some of our country’s darkest days, and have celebrated New Zealand’s biggest wins with you - and we’ll be with you for many more years to come.

WATCH HERE: THE RAT RACE - A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE START OF NEWSTALK ZB

Happy Birthday to us. Newstalk ZB is 35 today. 

It came out of the 1ZB, 2ZB etc network, a group of stations owned by the state, and a set of stations that was a sort of all things to all people sort of model. 

The realisation was that the radio market was changing, FM was here, licences were sold, and a myriad of different operators were entering the field. There was choice everywhere, and as a result of that choice, being everything to everyone was never going to be a recipe to survive, far less succeed. 

So Newstalk ZB it was, and what a stroke of genius it turned out to be... 

-Read Mike Hosking's full tribute to Newstalk ZB

PHOTOS: NEWSTALK ZB'S ADS AND FEATURES IN THE MEDIA

PHOTOS: THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MAGIC AT NEWSTALK ZB

MORE: READ LEIGHTON SMITH'S ACCOUNT OF NEWSTALK ZB FIRST YEARS