Establishment Following the extension of the boundaries of New South Wales in January 1840 by Governor Gipps to include New Zealand,
William Hobson left Sydney for New Zealand. The
Treaty of Waitangi—between Māori chiefs and British representatives of
Queen Victoria—was subsequently signed on
6 February 1840. Hobson declared British sovereignty over the islands of New Zealand on 21 May 1840 in two separate declarations. In the first declaration, Hobson declared sovereignty over the
North Island on the basis of cession following the Treaty of Waitangi. In the English version of the treaty, Māori ceded sovereignty and received the rights, privileges and protections of being
British subjects. The Māori version of the treaty refers to which is often translated today as governance or government. This point of difference has been a subject of much controversy and political debate. In the second declaration, Hobson declared British sovereignty over the
South Island and
Stewart Island on the basis of discovery in 1769 by
James Cook. The relationship between New Zealand and the
Colony of New South Wales was formalised after a new definition of NSW's boundaries, that included New Zealand, arrived from London on 15 June 1839. It stated that the NSW colony would include "any territory which is or may be acquired in sovereignty by Her Majesty ... within that group of Islands in the Pacific Ocean, commonly called New Zealand." This made Lieutenant-Governor Hobson answerable to his superior, the
governor of New South Wales. By
letters patent, the British government issued the
Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand on 16 November 1840. The Charter stated that the Colony of New Zealand would be established as a
de jure Crown colony separate from New South Wales on 3 May 1841.
Issue of effective control and sovereignty In its early years, British effective control over the whole colony was limited. Connecting control with sovereignty, the historian
James Belich, says sovereignty fell into two categories: nominal (meaning the de jure status of sovereignty, but without the power to govern in practice) and substantive (in which sovereignty can be both legally recognised and widely enforced without competition). He wrote: "Certainly, for many years after 1840, 'nominal sovereignty' was much closer to the reality. This ambiguity was a source of friction. The British imagined that they were entitled to govern the Maoris in fact as well as name, although [William Hobson and
Robert FitzRoy] were sufficiently realistic to grasp that substantive sovereignty could not be applied comprehensively overnight."
Crown colony With the establishment of the Crown colony, Hobson became governor of New Zealand. The first organs of the
New Zealand Government were also established to assist the governor: an
Executive Council and a
(General) Legislative Council. The Legislative Council had the power to issue laws called
Ordinances. The colony was initially divided into three
provinces:
New Ulster Province (the North Island),
New Munster Province (the South Island), and
New Leinster Province (Stewart Island).
Self-governance As new European settlements were founded in the colony, demands for self-government became louder. The
New Zealand Company settlement of Port Nicholson (
Wellington) had its own elected council, which was forcibly dissolved by Lieutenant-Governor
William Hobson in 1840. Later, Wellington became the centre of agitation by settlers for a representative government led by
Samuel Revans, who founded the
Wellington Settlers' Constitutional Association in 1848. The first constitution act was the
New Zealand Constitution Act 1846, though Governor
George Grey was opposed to provisions that would divide the country into European and
Māori districts. As a result, almost all of the act was suspended for six years pending a new
New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, with the only operative part of the 1846 act being the creation of New Zealand's first provinces. In the meantime, Grey drafted his own act which established both provincial and central representative assemblies, and allowed for Māori districts and an elected governor. The latter proposal was rejected by the Parliament of the United Kingdom when it adopted Grey's constitution. The
New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 became the central constitutional document of the colony. It created the
General Assembly, which consisted of the Legislative Council and an elected
House of Representatives. The
first general election for the House of Representatives was held from 14 July 1853 until early October. The
1st New Zealand Parliament was opened on 24 May 1854. The Administrator of Government,
Robert Wynyard, was quickly confronted by the demands of the new parliament that
responsible government be granted to the colony immediately; on 2 June the
House of Representatives passed a resolution, sponsored by
Edward Gibbon Wakefield, to that effect. Wynyard refused, stating that the Colonial Office made no mention of responsible government in its dispatches. The Executive Council advised Wynyard against implementing responsible government, and in the meantime, he sent a dispatch to London requesting clarification. Wynyard then offered to add some elected members of parliament to the Executive Council, and appointed
James FitzGerald,
Henry Sewell and
Frederick Weld to the council. The compromise worked for a few weeks but on 1 August parliament demanded complete power to appoint ministers. Wynyard refused, and all three MPs resigned from the council. In response, Wynyard
prorogued parliament for two weeks. On 31 August, he appointed
Thomas Forsaith,
Jerningham Wakefield and
James Macandrew to the Executive Council, but when parliament met again, it moved a motion of no confidence in the members. Parliament met on 8 August 1855, by which time Wynyard had received instructions from the Colonial Office to introduce responsible government. The new governor, Sir
Thomas Gore Browne, arrived on 6 September 1855 and relieved Wynyard of his duties. On 28 January 1858, Wynyard was appointed to the Legislative Council. Governor Thomas Gore Browne subsequently announced that self-government would begin with the
2nd New Zealand Parliament, elected in 1855. Henry Sewell was asked by the governor to form a government, now known as the
Sewell Ministry. He became colonial secretary—effectively the first Premier of New Zealand—on 7 May. Sewell's government was short-lived, however. The leader of the provincialist (pro-provinces) faction,
William Fox, defeated Sewell's government on 20 May 1856. Fox himself, however, did not retain office for long, being defeated by
Edward Stafford, a moderate.
Change of status to Dominion declared New Zealand to be a Dominion. The Colony of New Zealand continued until 26 September 1907, when, as a result of a decision by the
1907 Imperial Conference and by request of the New Zealand Government, King
Edward VII declared New Zealand to be a
Dominion. On the same day, the King issued another Royal Proclamation granting the
Colony of Newfoundland the status of
Dominion of Newfoundland. The 1907 change from Colony to Dominion was largely symbolic, and New Zealand did not become independent until the
General Assembly of New Zealand enacted the
Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947, which applied the
Statute of Westminster 1931 to the Dominion of New Zealand (although the United Kingdom retained the right to legislate for New Zealand at its request); certain colonial enactments survived for sometime after—the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 was finally replaced by the
Constitution Act 1986. A
Royal Proclamation granting New Zealand Dominion status was issued on 26 September 1907. :It read – ". Whereas We have on the Petition of the Members of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of Our Colony of New Zealand determined that the title of Dominion of New Zealand shall be substituted for that of the Colony of New Zealand as the designation of the said Colony, We have therefore by and with the advice of Our Privy Council thought fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation and We do ordain, declare and command that on and after the twenty-sixth day of September, one thousand nine hundred and seven, the said Colony of New Zealand and the territory belonging thereto shall be called and known by the title of the Dominion of New Zealand. And We hereby give Our Commands to all Public Departments accordingly. Given at Our Court at Buckingham Palace, this ninth day of September, in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven, and in the seventh year of Our Reign. save the ." == Demography ==