The following lists events that happened during 1896 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 ...

–

David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow, (31 May 1833 – 13 December 1915), was a British naval commander and colonial governor. He served as Governor of New Zealand between 1892 and 1897. Background Boyle was the son of Patrick Boyle (eldest son of D ...

Government and law

The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

is re-elected and begins the

13th New Zealand Parliament The 13th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1896 general election in December of that year. 1896 general election The 1896 general election was held on Wednesday, 4 December in the general e ...

. *

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 ...

– Sir

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 ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

–

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...

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", " ...

–

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...

resigns on 16 June and is replaced by

* 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 *The ''Female Law Practitioners Act'' was passed in 1896, and

Ethel Benjamin Ethel Rebecca Benjamin (19 January 1875 – 14 October 1943) was New Zealand's first female lawyer. On 17 September 1897, she became the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in court, representing a client for the recovery of a ...

who had graduated in law from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in 1896 was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 1897.

Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

– William Russell.

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 Holland followed by

Abraham Boardman Abraham Boardman (1824 – 21 May 1897) was elected Mayor of Auckland in 1896, and took office on 16 December in that year. He, however, resigned shortly afterwards on account of ill-health, and died on 21 May 1897, aged seventy-three. Boardman w ...

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 ...

– Walter Cooper followed by Harry Joseph Beswick *

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 ...

– Nathaniel Wales followed by

Hugh Gourley Hugh Gourley (1825 – 16 December 1906) was a New Zealand politician born in Ireland. He was Mayor of Dunedin on two occasions and then appointed to the New Zealand Legislative Council for one seven-year term. Early life Gourley was born in B ...

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 ...

– George Fisher

Events

* 26 March:

Brunner Mine disaster The Brunner Mine disaster happened at 9:30 am on Thursday 26 March 1896 ( NZMT; UTC+11:30), when an explosion deep in the Brunner Mine, in the West Coast region of New Zealand, killed all 65 miners below ground. The Brunner Mine disaster is ...

; 65 miners killed in explosion * 13 April:

National Council of Women of New Zealand , logo = National Council of Women of New Zealand logo.png , logo_size = 100px , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , image = , image_size = , alt = , capt ...

is founded, with

Kate Sheppard Katherine Wilson Sheppard ( Catherine Wilson Malcolm; 10 March 1848 – 13 July 1934) was the most prominent member of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand and the country's most famous suffragist. Born in Liverpool, England, she emig ...

as its first president. * 30 September: The government increases the New Zealand head tax to £100 per head from £10, and tightens the other restriction to only one Chinese immigrant for every 200 tons of cargo from 100 tons. * 13 October: First public screening of a

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

in New Zealand, in Auckland. * 4 December:

1896 New Zealand general election The 1896 New Zealand general election was held on Wednesday, 4 December in the general electorates, and on Thursday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 13th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total numbe ...

. ;Undated * Census measures national population as 743,214.

Arts and literature

Music

Media

* The ''Waikato Argus'' starts publication. The newspaper runs until 1915. *The ''Gisborne Times'' is founded. It became a daily in 1901, and continued to publish until being bought out by ''The Poverty Bay Herald'' in 1938. * July: The ''

Waikato Times The ''Waikato Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Hamilton, New Zealand and owned by media business Stuff Ltd. It has a circulation to the greater Waikato region and became a tabloid paper in 2018. The newspaper has won the title of Ne ...

'' and ''Waikato Advocate'' merge, and the former moves to daily publication.

Sport

Athletics

National Champions, Men *100 yards – E. Robinson (Canterbury) *250 yards – W. Kingston (Otago) *440 yards – W. Low (Otago) *880 yards – W. Low (Otago) *1 mile – W. Bennett (Otago) *3 miles – W. Bennett (Otago) *120 yards hurdles – W. Martin (Auckland) *440 yards hurdles – J. Thomas Roberts (Auckland) *Long jump –

Leonard Cuff Leonard Albert Cuff (28 March 1866 – 9 October 1954) was a sportsman and sports administrator from New Zealand. Born in Christchurch, Cuff was an all-round sportsman who excelled at both athletics and cricket, his most significant sporting ass ...

(Canterbury) *High jump – P. Brown (Canterbury) *Pole vault – tie R. Hunter (Hawkes Bay) and H. Kingsley (Wanganui) *Shot put – W. Rhodes (Wellington) *Hammer throw – P. Brown (Canterbury)

Chess

National Champion: W. Meldrum of Rangitikei.

Cricket

Golf

*Men's national amateur champion – M.S. Todd (Otago) *Women's national amateur champion – L. Wilford (Hutt)

Horse racing

Harness racing

Auckland Trotting Cup The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with ...

(over 3 miles) is won by Fibre

Thoroughbred racing

New Zealand Cup The New Zealand Cup is a thoroughbred horse race run at the Riccarton Park Racecourse in Christchurch. New Zealand Cup week The New Zealand Cup is raced on the final Saturday of Christchurch "Cup week" held each year in the second week of Novem ...

– Lady Zetland *

New Zealand Derby The New Zealand Derby is a set-weights Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run over a distance of 2,400 metres (12 furlongs) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is held on the first Saturday in March, as the opening day o ...

– Uniform *

Auckland Cup The Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club (ARC). It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres (two miles) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. The race was ...

– Nestor *

Wellington Cup The Wellington Cup is a Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand held annually in late January at Trentham Racecourse in Trentham by the Wellington Racing Club. History Inaugurated in 1874, the Wellington Cup has been raced over various ...

– Brooklet

Season leaders (1895/96)

*Top New Zealand stakes earner – Euroclydon *Leading flat jockey – C. Jenkins

Lawn Bowls

National Champions There are no national championships this year.

Polo

*Savile Cup winners – Manawatu

Rowing

National Champions (Men) *Single sculls – C. Chapman (Wairewa) *Double sculls – Wairewa, Little River *Coxless pairs – Canterbury *Coxed fours – Queen's Dr, Port Chalmers

Rugby union

Shooting

Ballinger Belt –

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

Wakelyn (Honorary Reserve Corps, Christchurch)

Soccer

Provincial league champions: * Auckland: Auckland United * Otago: Roslyn Dunedin * Wellington: Wellington Swifts

Swimming

''Not held''

Tennis

National Championships *Men's singles – H. Parker *Women's singles – Kathleen Nunneley *Men's doubles – Richard Harman and D. Collins *Women's doubles – Kathleen Nunneley and T. Trimmell

Births

* 15 June (in England):

Archie Fisher Archie Macdonald Fisher (born 23 October 1939) is a Scottish folk singer and songwriter. He has released several solo albums since his first, eponymous album, in 1968. Fisher composed the song "The Final Trawl", recorded on the album ''Windwa ...

, painter.

Deaths

* 18 May:

Daniel Pollen Daniel Pollen (2 June 181318 May 1896) was a New Zealand politician who became the ninth premier of New Zealand, serving from 6 July 1875 to 15 February 1876. Early life The son of Hugh Pollen, a dock master, Pollen was born in Ringsend, Dublin ...

, politician (born 1813) * 2 August: James FitzGerald, politician (born 1818). * 28 August: James Hume, medical doctor (born 1823).

References

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

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1896 in New Zealand