Provinces of New Zealand
The provinces of New Zealand were one in the former British colony of New Zealand from 1841 to 1876 existing administrative structure. They were replaced by " Counties", this later assigned by regions districts.
After gaining independence New Zealand as a state, the provinces Provincial Districts were called. Their only official function today is the demarcation of the date of the Provincial Anniversary Day ( except for the Chatham Islands, Northland and South Canterbury ).
1841-1853
As New Zealand in 1841 its own, separate colony of New South Wales was, three provinces were created:
- New Ulster ( North Island, north of the Patea River)
- New Munster ( North Island south of the Patea River, to the entire South Island )
- New Leinster ( Iceland Stewart / Rakiura )
1846 passed the British Parliament the first New Zealand Constitution Act, however, was canceled on the advice of Governor George Grey later almost completely again. Only implemented action was a reduction to now two provinces:
- New Ulster ( entire North Island )
- New Munster ( entire South Island and Stewart Iceland / Rakiura )
In addition, the provinces, distinct from the central government administrative unit were first.
1853-1876
Through the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, the first six provinces were formed. These were Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and Otago. Each province was given its own legislature, the Provincial Council and elected a superintendent, who did not belong to the Council. The Council elected at its first meeting after the election of a speaker.
The law also created the " General Assembly" of two chambers, the members appointed by the Governor-General of New Zealand Legislative Council and the directly elected House of Representatives. The breakdown in the new provinces joined on 17 January 1853 in force, the boundaries of the provinces were published on 28 February. The selection mode for the new provincial councils were published on March 5.
The every four years, conducted elections to the Provincial Council were made by men aged 21 years with a fortune, which corresponded to an annual income of at least £ 50 a year. The New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1857 provided for the appointment of a Deputy Superintendent.
The Constitution Act made it possible to create more provinces. After the European Bediedelung extended beyond the borders of the original provinces addition, adopted the General Assemblyden New Provinces Act 1858.
This act allowed each district with an area of 2,000 to 12,000 km ² with a population of at least 1,000 European settlers establishing a separate province. This requires the consent of 60 % of voters was required. As a result, the province of Hawke 's Bay separated on November 1, 1858 by Wellington, Marlborough on November 1, 1859 by Nelson and Southland (Province) on 1 April 1861 by Otago. The New Plymouth Province changed its name due to the same law in " Taranaki ".
Iceland Stewart / Rakiura, which had belonged to none of the provinces since 1853, was born on November 10, 1863 struck the province of Southland.
The provincial councils elected the Superintendent by majority vote from a selection list. If the selected person was a member of the provincial council, the vacancy was filled by a by-election.
Soon after its formation, the provinces were subject to continuous political disputes. In the house there were two factions: the " Central ists " in favor of a strong central government, the " Provincial ISTS " strong regional governments. The centralists assumed the provinces handler in the self-interest and to kurzzsichtigen a tendency populist Einscheidungen. So three of the provinces railroads had built in different tracks: the Canterbury Provincial Railways in broad gauge, Southland in standard gauge. The Public Works Act 1870 standardized the gauge and Otago's first railway line, the Port Chalmers Branch was built in a third "standard" narrow gauge. The Colonial Treasurer and later Prime Minister Julius Vogel laid in the 1870s on a large scale project on immigration and public buildings. Loans of 10 million pounds allowed a significant improvement of the infrastructure in terms of roads, railway lines and communication links, all of which were managed by the central government. This diminished the influence of the provinces considerably. They were abolished in the tenure of Prime Minister Harry Atkinson by the Abolition of Provinces Act 1876 with effect from January 1, 1877.
After the abolition of the provinces the local administration the selected Brough and County Councils has been transferred. The Counties The Bill of 1876 created the provinces of 63 new counties. The former provincial boundaries served under the Education Act of 1877, and other government agencies such as the Department of Lands and Survey further than administrative boundaries. In 1989, the counties were replaced by larger districts.
Modern use
In New Zealand Provincial Anniversary Days are held in most of the former provinces continue. The historical provinces have a different extension than the same regions today, so today's Manawatu-Wanganui Region is largely in the former province of Wellington. Some of the province names are also reflected in the regional breakdown of health care.