Provinces of New Zealand

The Provinces of the Colony of New Zealand, existed from 1841 until 1876 as a form of sub-national government. Each province had its own legislature and was built around the six original planned settlements or "colonies". They were replaced by counties, which were later replaced by districts.

Following abolition, the provinces became known as provincial districts. Their principal visible function today is their use to determine, with the exception of the Chatham Islands, Northland, and South Canterbury, the geographical boundaries for anniversary day public holidays.

When New Zealand became a separate Colony from New South Wales in 1841, the Royal Charter established three provinces:

In 1846 the British Parliament passed the first New Zealand Constitution Act, which was almost totally suspended on the advice of Governor George Grey. The only operative provisions related to the reform of the provinces. The reformed provinces were:

In addition, the provinces were separated from the central government for the first time.

New Ulster and New Munster had their own seals.

New provinces were formed by the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (UK). This Act established the first six provinces of Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago. Each province elected its own legislature known as a Provincial Council, and elected a Superintendent who was not a member of the council. The councils elected their speaker at their first meeting after elections.

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