The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election (held the previous year). It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's election. 37 Members of the House of Representatives (MHRs) represented 24 electorates.

Parliamentary sessions

The Parliament sat for three sessions: New Zealand had not yet obtained responsible government (that is, the power to manage its own affairs), and so the 1st Parliament did not hold any significant power. The 1st Parliament was held before the creation of either political parties or the office of Premier. There were, however, appointments made to the Executive Council (the formal institution upon which Cabinet is based). From 14 June 1854 to 2 August 1854, there was a four-person cabinet, New Zealand's first ministry, led by James FitzGerald, with

Henry Sewell Henry Sewell (7 September 1807 – 14 May 1879) was a prominent 19th-century New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first premier (an office ...

Frederick Weld Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (9 May 1823 – 20 July 1891), was a New Zealand politician and a governor of various British colonies. He was the List of Prime Ministers of New Zealand, sixth Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier of New Zealand, ...

, and Thomas Bartley (a fifth member,

Dillon Bell Sir Francis Dillon Bell (8 October 1822 – 15 July 1898) was a New Zealand politician of the late 19th century. He served as New Zealand's third Minister of Finance (the first parliamentary finance minister), and later as its third Speaker of ...

, also joined for a short time). Then, from 31 August 1854 to 2 September 1854, there was another four-person cabinet led by

Thomas Forsaith Thomas Spencer Forsaith, JP (18 July 1814 – 29 November 1898), was a New Zealand politician and an Auckland draper. According to some historians, he was the country's second premier, although a more conventional view states that neither he nor ...

, with

James Macandrew James Macandrew (1819(?) – 25 February 1887) was a New Zealand ship-owner and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1853 to 1887 and as the last Superintendent of Otago Province. Early life Macandrew was born in Scotland, prob ...

, William Travers, and

Jerningham Wakefield Edward Jerningham Wakefield (25 June 1820 – 3 March 1879), known as Jerningham Wakefield, was the only son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. As such, he was closely associated with his father's interest in colonisation. He worked for the New Zealand ...

. Some historians consider FitzGerald and Forsaith to be New Zealand's first Prime Ministers, but neither held any formal leadership role and since "responsible government" had not yet been obtained, they had little real power.

, appointed shortly after the 2nd New Zealand Parliament opened, is more often considered to have been the first Prime Minister. 1854 Sewell Mackay incident

On 17 August 1854 when the newly convened House of Representatives met,

Administrator of the Government An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general ...

(acting

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 ...

)

Robert Wynyard Robert Henry Wynyard (24 December 1802 – 6 January 1864) was a New Zealand colonial administrator, serving at various times as Lieutenant Governor of New Ulster Province, Administrator of the Government, and was the first Superintendent ...

was proposing to

prorogue Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a parliament, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a dissolution of parliament. The term is also used for the period ...

the General Assembly as he had not received authority from London. Sewell wanted to continue the debate and the suspension of standing orders was moved. The minority "Wakefieldites" (followers of

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Brit ...

) opposed the move and tried to leave so that there would not be two-thirds of members present. This led to a violent turn when Sewell was reported to have pounced on the member for Nelson James Mackay and seized him by the throat. Suspension was moved an hour later when some members of the absent majority returned. Mackay was later found guilty of gross and premeditated contempt. There were moves to find the member from Dunedin

guilty of contempt for entering the house with his hat on, but this was withdrawn. The 1st Parliament consisted of thirty-seven representatives representing twenty-four electorates. Two regions of the colony (the inland regions of the lower North Island and the northwest corner of the South Island) were not part of any electorate, and so were not represented.

Electoral boundaries for the 1st Parliament

Initial composition of the 1st Parliament

Changes during term

There were few changes during the term of the 1st Parliament, with only three by-elections being held. There were six resignations and one death during 1855, and those seats remained vacant for the remainder of the term. ;Christchurch Country Stuart-Wortley resigned on 18 July 1855. His seat remained vacant. ;City of Auckland Bartley resigned on 11 July 1854. He was replaced by William Brown, who was elected on 4 August 1854. ;City of Wellington Kelham resigned on 3 August 1855. His seat remained vacant. ;Dunedin Country Cutten resigned on 23 July 1855. His seat remained vacant. ;Hutt Ludlam resigned on 9 July 1855. His seat remained vacant. ;Town of Nelson & Waimea Cautley, MP for Waimea, and Travers, MP for Town of Nelson, both resigned on 26 May 1854. Travers subsequently contested the Waimea seat that Cautley had vacated, being elected on 21 June. Travers' own Nelson seat was won by Samuel Stephens on 19 June. Stephens died on 26 June 1855. His seat remained vacant. ;Wairau Weld resigned on 13 June 1855. His seat remained vacant. ;Wanganui and Rangitikei Featherston resigned on 9 August 1855. His seat remained vacant.

Notes

References

* * * {{cite book , last = Wilson , first = David , last2 = Rankin , first2 = Carol , title = Tales of Two Contempts , publisher = Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives , year = 1998 , isbn = 0-477-01812-2 01