The following lists events that happened during 1881 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

–

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

– The Hon. Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon

Government and law

The

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

is held on 9 December. Afterwards the

8th New Zealand Parliament The 8th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. Elections for this term were held in 4 Māori electorates and 91 general electorates on 8 and 9 December 1881, respectively. A total of 95 MPs were elected, i.e. multi-mem ...

begins. *

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

–

Maurice O'Rorke Sir George Maurice O’Rorke (2 May 1830 – 25 August 1916) was a New Zealand politician, representing (as George O’Rorke) the Auckland seat of Onehunga, and later Manukau, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a committed ...

. *

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

–

John Hall (New Zealand) Sir John Hall (18 December 1824 – 25 June 1907) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 12th premier of New Zealand from 1879 to 1882. He was born in Kingston upon Hull, England, the third son of George Hall, a captain in the navy. At ...

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

–

Harry Atkinson Sir Harry Albert Atkinson (1 November 1831 – 28 June 1892) served as the tenth premier of New Zealand on four separate occasions in the late 19th century, and was Colonial Treasurer for a total of ten years. He was responsible for guiding t ...

* Chief Justice –

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

James Prendergast

Main centre leaders

Mayor of Auckland The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland Region in New Zealand, which it controls as a unitary authority. The position exists since October 2010 after the amalga ...

– James Clark *

Mayor of Christchurch The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Phil ...

–

Charles Thomas Ick Charles Thomas Ick (9 January 1827 – 27 April 1885) was Mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand, from December 1878 to December 1880. Born in Shropshire, he learned the trade of a mercer and draper. The Icks had five children when they emigrated to ...

followed by

James Gapes James Gapes (1822 – 22 October 1899) was a local politician in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was Mayor of Christchurch on two occasions, and the father of a later mayor, Thomas Gapes. He was the first mayor who was elected by the voting publi ...

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

–

Archibald Hilson Ross Archibald Hilson Ross (1821–1900) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the Otago region of New Zealand, and Mayor of Dunedin. He was Mayor of Dunedin from 1880 to 1881. Ross came second in the 1878 Roslyn by-election, beaten by ...

followed by

James Gore James Gore (1834 – 23 July 1917) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the Otago region of New Zealand, and Mayor of Dunedin. He represented the Dunedin South electorate from to 1887, when he was defeated. He was Mayor of Dunedin ...

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representati ...

– William Hutchison

Events

* The government passes the Chinese Immigration Act 1881. This imposes a £10 tax per Chinese person entering New Zealand, and permits only one Chinese immigrant for every 10 tons of cargo. * 1 October – The first

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It interconnects telephone subscriber lines or virtual circuits of digital syst ...

in New Zealand is opened in Christchurch.A. C. Wilson. 'Telecommunications - Telephones, 1877–1914', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 4-Jul-12
/ref> * 24 October – A telephone exchange is opened in Auckland.

Sport

Cricket

*The

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Association is formed.Todd, S. (1976) ''Sporting Records of New Zealand.'' Auckland: Moa Publications. * An Australian team tours the country playing twelve matches against provincial teams. None of the games have first-class status, with the home teams fielding between 12 and 22 players. Australia suffered one loss, but 10 wickets to the Wanganui XXII
Itinerary

Horse racing

*New Zealand Cup winner: Grip *New Zealand Derby winner: The Dauphin *Auckland Cup winner: King Quail *Wellington Cup winner: Natator

Rugby union

The

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

union is formed. Provincial club rugby champions include: :''see also :Rugby union in New Zealand''

Shooting

Ballinger Belt:

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Paynter (Nelson)

Births

* 16 January:

Hercules Wright Hercules Richard "Bumper" Wright (16 January 1881 – 4 April 1963) was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional (rugby league) 1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain. Background Born in Arahura, which is no ...

, rugby union player. * 14 February (in Australia):

George Skellerup George Waldemar Skellerup (14 February 1881 – 5 June 1955) was a New Zealand businessman, company director and industrialist. Early life Skjellerup was born in 1881 in Cobden, a small town in Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne. He ...

, industrialist * 6 April:

Walter Broadfoot Sir Walter James Broadfoot (6 April 1881 – 10 September 1965) was a New Zealand politician of the United Party, and from 1936, the National Party. He was a cabinet minister from 1949 to 1954 in the First National Government. Biography Ea ...

, politician.

Deaths

* 15 September

William Sefton Moorhouse William Sefton Moorhouse ( 1825 – 15 September 1881) was a British-born New Zealand politician. He was the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province. Early life Moorhouse was born in Yorkshire, England, and baptised on 18 December 1825; th ...

, politician.

Unknown date

* Paora Te Potangaroa, Māori prophet.

References

;General * Romanos, J. (2001) ''New Zealand Sporting Records and Lists.'' Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett. ;Specific

External links

{{Oceania topic, 1881 in, countries_only=yes