''The Cyclopedia of New Zealand: industrial, descriptive, historical, biographical facts, figures, illustrations'' was an encyclopaedia published in New Zealand between 1897 and 1908 by the Cyclopedia Company Ltd. Arthur McKee was one of the original directors of the company that published ''The Cyclopedia'', and his business partner H. Gamble worked with him on the first volume. Six volumes were published on the people, places and organisations of

provinces of New Zealand The provinces of the Colony of New Zealand existed as a form of sub-national government. Initially established in 1846 when New Zealand was a Crown colony without responsible government, two provinces (New Ulster and New Munster) were establi ...

. The ''Cyclopedia'' is an important historical resource. The volumes are arranged geographically, with each volume concerned with a specific region of New Zealand. Its breadth of coverage of many small towns and social institutions were poorly covered by contemporary newspapers and other sources. The first volume, which covered

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, also included the colonial government, politicians,

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 ...

s, and public servants. The first volume was produced in Wellington, and the remaining volumes were produced in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. Much of its content was subsidised with contributor backing. Victoria University Electronic Text site reminds us that portraits are therefore generally glowing, and entries paid for by businesses are "unashamedly promotional". Similarly, they note that "individuals who would not or could not pay the fee required to feature in The Cyclopedia are not included—there are few entries for women, Māori or non-European settlers for example." * Volume 1. Wellington Provincial District. Published 1897 * Volume 2. Auckland Provincial District. Published 1902 * Volume 3. Canterbury Provincial District. Published 1903 * Volume 4.

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 ...

and

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

Provincial Districts. Published 1905 * Volume 5.

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

and

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

Provincial Districts. Published 1906 * Volume 6.

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

and Wellington Provincial Districts. Published 1908 ''The Cyclopedia of New Zealand'' was a predecessor of the more scholarly three-volume ''

An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'' is an official encyclopaedia about New Zealand, published in three volumes by the New Zealand Government in 1966. Edited by Alexander Hare McLintock, the parliamentary historian, assisted by two others, the e ...

'' published by the

Government of New Zealand , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

in 1966 and, later, of '' Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'', a government-run, online encyclopaedia, established in 2002. The ''Cyclopedia'' was digitised by the

New Zealand Electronic Text Centre The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC; mi, Te Pūhikotuhi o Aotearoa) is a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials that are held by the Victoria University of Wellington Library ...

in 2008–2009.

References

External links

Full text of ''The Cyclopedia of New Zealand'' at New Zealand Electronic Text Centre

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyclopedia of New Zealand Books about New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

1897 in New Zealand 1897 books European-New Zealand culture New Zealand encyclopedias 19th-century encyclopedias 20th-century encyclopedias