The predecessor to the
New Zealand Gazette was the
New Zealand Advertiser and Bay of Islands Gazette, published in
Kororāreka (now Russell) during 1840. Though the
Advertiser was a private newspaper, it was used by the colonial government for publishing official notices. When the editor of the
Advertiser started to criticise the government for its land policy, the government responded in a way that effectively closed down the
Advertiser. In the first issue of the
New Zealand Gazette, it was claimed that the
Advertiser was no longer being used for government notices because the newspaper had declined to publish them. This was greeted with disbelief by settlers, who found it hard to accept that the newspaper would turn down the very business that sustained it. The government copped much criticism for its actions from the
New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, New Zealand's other newspaper at the time. The first issue was published as
Gazette Extraordinary on 30 December 1840. It was then the
New Zealand Government Gazette from 1841 to 1847. Between 1847 and 1853 it was split into the
New Zealand Government Gazette, Province of New Ulster for
New Ulster (the
North Island), published in
Auckland, and the
New Zealand Government Gazette, Province of New Munster for
New Munster (the
South Island), published in
Wellington. In 1853 the two were reunited as the
New Zealand Government Gazette. It changed to its present title on 11 August 1857. ==See also==