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1907
- New Zealand became a dominion in 1907. The Latin word 'dominium' means property, ownership, authority, or territory subject to a king or ruler. Britain’s first North American colonies were ‘His Majesty’s Dominions beyond the Seas’ (though most people called them colonies).
nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/dominion-day/becoming-dominion
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In 1840, when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, New Zealand became a colony of Britain. At first it was a Crown colony, which meant it was ruled by a governor appointed by Britain – but European settlers wanted their own government.
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Crown colony; New Zealand Constitution Act 1852; Responsible...
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Self-government and independence › Page ; Story:...
- Māori
In 1840, when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, New Zealand...
- Triumphal Poster
This poster celebrates the Allied victory in the First World...
- Waitara Camp
A dispute with Māori over the sale of land at Waitara in...
- Queen Opens Parliament
During the Queen Elizabeth's visit to New Zealand in 1953/54...
- Appeal Courts: Supreme Court
Prince William opens the new Supreme Court building in...
- Crown Colony
In 1846 he instructed New Zealand’s governor, George Grey...
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- Governor Grey’s Scheme
- Provincial and Central Government
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Following the postponement of the 1846 self-government charter, Governor Grey bombarded the British Colonial Office with proposals for a new scheme he thought was appropriate to New Zealand’s situation. He sought to establish three principles: 1. that the scattered nature of settlement required a provincially based scheme 2. that the vote should be...
Under the constitution, the country was divided into six provinces: Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and Otago – with provision for adding more. Each was to be governed by an elected provincial council of not less than nine members and led by a superintendent chosen by council members. For the colony as a whole there was to be...
The franchise (voting rights) for both provincial councils and the national government was property-based. However, with the qualifications set comparatively low, it was very democratic for the time. Males aged 21 or over, who had freehold land valued at £50 or more, or leasehold land worth £10 more, or who paid at least £10 a year rent in a town, ...
The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 provided for the election of a representative parliament, but did not change the Crown colony executive – Parliament was still subordinate to the governor. This did not satisfy the leaders of the colonists. What they wanted was responsible government, as at Westminster in Britain, where the leaders of the parli...
In 1846 he instructed New Zealand’s governor, George Grey (not a relative), to gradually implement a three-tiered – municipal, provincial and national – system of self-government in New Zealand. At the lowest tier, the colony would be divided into boroughs with elected municipal (town) councils.
The colony was granted self-government with the passage of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852. The first parliament was elected in 1853, and responsible government was established in 1856. The governor was required to act on the advice of his ministers, who were responsible to the parliament.
Apart from convicts escaping from Australia and shipwrecked or deserting sailors seeking asylum with Māori tribes, the first Europeans in New Zealand were in search of profits—from sealskins, timber, New Zealand flax (genus Phormium), and whaling.
The Dominion of New Zealand was the historical successor to the Colony of New Zealand. It was a constitutional monarchy with a high level of self-government within the British Empire. New Zealand became a separate British Crown colony in 1841 and received responsible government with the Constitution Act in 1852.
The company viewed itself as a prospective quasi-government of New Zealand and in 1845 and 1846 proposed splitting the colony in two, along a line from Mokau in the west to Cape Kidnappers in the east—with the north reserved for Māori and missionaries, while the south would become a self-governing province, known as "New Victoria" and managed by the company for that purpose.
