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Superintendent was the elected head of each Provincial Council in
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 ...
from 1853 to 1876.


History

Provinces existed in New Zealand from 1841 until 1876 as a form of sub-national government. After the initial provinces pre-1853, new provinces were formed by the
New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such Act, the previous 1846 Act not having been fully i ...
. This Act established the first six provinces of
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 ...
,
New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
, and
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 ...
. Other provinces were established later. Each province elected its own legislature known as a Provincial Council, and elected a Superintendent who was not a member of the council. The elections for council and superintendent were not necessarily held at the same time. Following abolition, the provinces became known as provincial districts. Their only visible function today is their use to determine, with the exception of the
Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...
, Northland, and
South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Souther ...
, the geographical boundaries for anniversary day public holidays.


Role of superintendents

The provincial councils and the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
were "locked into a battle of supremacy that would last for 20 years." The 1852 constitution defined thirteen areas where law making was reserved for the House of Representatives: customs, post-office, shipping dues, lighthouses, weights and measures, currency, bankruptcy, judiciary, marriage, Crown lands and native land (i.e. lands held by
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
), criminal law, and inheritance law. For a variety of reasons, the provincial councils were more effective than the national Parliament. Initially, this was partially because Parliament was made up of strong personalities with strong and differing regional interests, who had no prior experience of acting for the greater good of the country as a whole. Consequently, the role of a provincial Superintendent was more highly regarded than those of Members of Parliament. The constitution had given the
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 ...
substantial powers over the provincial councils, but many anomalies resulted in an increase in the power of the Superintendents. The Governor could dissolve the provincial council at any time, veto its enactments, or remove the Superintendent from office if voted by the majority of provincial councillors or disallow the Superintendent's elections (the latter two both within three month of the Superintendent's election). However, only Superintendents had the power to convene a provincial council, and by simply delaying the first meeting beyond the three months threshold, much of the power of the Governor was negated. So in practice, Superintendents were more powerful than had been anticipated by the constitution. Another practicality was that Parliament had long breaks between sessions due to the difficulty of travel at the time. In one instance, the Wellington Provincial Council passed an act that empowered itself to raise a £25,000 loan. By the time Parliament next convened and repealed the act, the loan had already been effected and could not be undone. Hence, the role of the Superintendents went much beyond the act of presiding over a provincial council. The post came with a lot of honour and responsibility.


Elections of superintendents

To be eligible to vote in the provincial (or national) elections, voters had to be male owners of property valued at £50, or leasehold valued at £10. The election for Superintendent, to be held every four years, was a major event in the provinces for weeks and months leading up to it. It was such an exciting event that even the children of that time could remember it later in their adult lives. It was not uncommon that newspapers would be founded with the purpose of supporting a candidate and attacking the opponent. ''
The Press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...
'', for example, these days the largest newspaper in the
South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
, was founded by James FitzGerald (1st Superintendent of Canterbury) to oppose the
Lyttelton Rail Tunnel The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel, initially called the Moorhouse Tunnel, links the city of Christchurch with the port of Lyttelton in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is the country's oldest operational rail tunnel, and is on t ...
proposal by his opponent
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 ...
(2nd Superintendent of Canterbury). Moorhouse had tried to use the ''Lyttelton Times'' for this purpose, a newspaper that he was the first editor of in 1851 but no longer had control over, but that newspaper backed the Moorhouse tunnel. The electors' excitement stemmed from the fact that the outcome of an election might significantly impact on their district; where one candidate might have promised a school, roads and bridges, another candidate might not deliver the same for their locality. Amongst other things, taxation, education, charitable aid and
temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
were important issues back then. Initially, an open voting system was used, where those enrolled would tell the electoral officer their choice of candidate, who would note this on the electoral role. All of this was reasonably public, and unofficial tallies of the count would circulate. These tallies may well have been adjusted to suit a particular outcome. For example, where more than two candidates stood for election, a preferred candidate might be shown as so far behind that the remaining voters may be encouraged to vote for another candidate, in order to prevent the unwanted rival from gaining office. These unofficial tallies were still circulated after voting at the ballot box had been introduced. Drunkenness, fighting and the throwing of flour bags and rotten eggs on election day were common.


List of superintendents

From 1853 to 1876, New Zealand had 41 superintendents across its ten provinces.


Auckland Province

The
Auckland Province The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, both ...
had nine superintendents: * 1853
Robert Henry 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 ...
* 1855 William Brown * 1855 Logan Campbell * 1856 John Williamson (1st time) * 1862 Robert Graham * 1865
Frederick Whitaker Sir Frederick Whitaker (23 April 1812 – 4 December 1891) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served twice as the premier of New Zealand and six times as Attorney-General. Early life Whitaker was born at the Deanery Manor House, ...
* 1867 John Williamson (2nd time) * 1869 Thomas Bannatyne Gillies * 1873 John Williamson (3rd time) * 1875 George O'Rorke * 1875
Sir George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...


Canterbury Province

The
Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...
had four superintendents: * 20 Jul 1853 - Oct 1857 James FitzGerald * 24 Oct 1857 - Feb 1863
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 ...
(1st time) * Mar 1863 - May 1866
Samuel Bealey Samuel Bealey (1821 – 8 May 1909) was a 19th-century politician in Canterbury, New Zealand. Bealey came out to Canterbury in 1851, a pastoralist with capital to invest in farming. He married Rose Ann, daughter of Archdeacon Paul in 1852. Havi ...
* 30 May 1866 - May 1868 William Sefton Moorhouse (2nd time) * 22 May 1868 – 1 Jan 1877
William Rolleston William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent. Early life Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby, Yorkshire as th ...


Hawke's Bay Province

The
Hawke's Bay Province The Hawke's Bay Province was a province of New Zealand. The province separated from the Wellington Province following a meeting in Napier in February 1858, and existed until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. At the time of its es ...
had four superintendents: * 23 Apr 1859 - Mar 1861 Thomas Henry Fitzgerald * 8 Apr 1861 – 5 Dec 1862 John Chilton Lambton Carter * 26 Feb 1863 – 23 Sep 1869 Donald McLean * 24 Sep 1869 – 1 Jan 1877
John Davies Ormond John Davies Ormond (31 May 1831 – 6 October 1917) was a New Zealand politician whose positions included Superintendent of Hawke's Bay Province, Minister of Public Works and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council. He represe ...


Marlborough Province

The
Marlborough Province :''(For the current top-level subdivision of Nelson in New Zealand, see Marlborough region)'' The Marlborough Province operated as a province of New Zealand from 1 November 1859, when it split away from Nelson Province, until the abolition of pr ...
had five superintendents: * 1860 William Adams * 1861 Captain Baillie * 1863 Thomas Carter * 1864 Arthur Seymour (1st time) * 1865
William Henry Eyes William Henry Eyes (1819 – 12 April 1907) was a British-born, New Zealand politician who was the fifth Superintendent of the Marlborough Province, and who represented the electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives for many years. ...
* 1870 Arthur Seymour (2nd time)


Nelson Province

The
Nelson Province Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and originally covered the entire upper South Island, including all of present-day Buller, Kaikoura, Marlborough, and Tasman districts, along with Nelson Ci ...
had four superintendents: * 1853 Edward Stafford * 1856
John Perry Robinson John Perry Robinson (1810/1811? – 28 January 1865) was the second Superintendent of the Nelson Province in New Zealand. His election came as a surprise, but he proved so popular that he won two subsequent elections with comfortable majorities ...
* 1865
Alfred Saunders Alfred Saunders (12 June 1820 – 28 October 1905) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Early life Saunders was born in 1820 in Market Lavington, the youngest son of Mary and Amram Saunders. He was educated in Market Lavington and at a B ...
* 1867
Oswald Curtis Oswald Curtis (1821 – 1 March 1902) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician born in London, England, on 20 January 1821. He was the son of Stephen Curtis and Eleanora Llewellyn. He migrated to Nelson in 1853, arriving on 18 June. ''Mahomed ...


Otago Province

The
Otago Province The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870. Area an ...
had five superintendents: * 1853 William Cargill * 1860
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 ...
(1st time) * 1861 John Richardson * 1863
John Hyde Harris John Hyde Harris (24 November 1826 – 24 July 1886) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Born in England, he came to Dunedin as a young man and practised as a lawyer, and was then a judge. He entered provincial politics and was elected as ...
* 1865 Thomas Dick * 1867 James Macandrew (2nd time)


Southland Province

The
Southland Province The Southland Province was a province of New Zealand from March 1861, when it split from Otago Province, until 1870, when it rejoined Otago. History Following the passage of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 by the British Parliament, New ...
had three superintendents: * 1861
James Alexander Robertson Menzies James Alexander Robertson Menzies (21 February 1821 – 18 August 1888) was the first superintendent of the Southland Province in New Zealand from 3 August 1861 to November 1864, during its breakaway from Otago Province (1861 to 1870). He contin ...
* 1865
John Parkin Taylor John Parkin Taylor (1812 – 12 August 1875) was a 19th-century New Zealand wiktionary:runholder, runholder, and a politician in Otago and Southland, New Zealand, Southland. In his early life, Taylor lived in various countries and studied langua ...
* 1869
William Wood William Wood may refer to: Politicians * William Wood (MP for Berkshire), Member of Parliament (MP) for Berkshire, 1395 * William Wood (15th century MP), MP for Winchester, 1413 * William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley (1801–1881), British state ...


Taranaki Province

The
Taranaki Province ''For the current top-level subdivision of Taranaki in New Zealand, see Taranaki region'' The Taranaki Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Initially known as New Plymouth Province, ...
(initially called the New Plymouth Province) had four superintendents: * 1853-1857 Charles Brown (1st time) * 1857-1861
George Cutfield George Cutfield (1799 – 22 January 1879) was an early settler in New Zealand. He was active as a politician in Taranaki and was the second Superintendent of Taranaki Province. Cutfield was born in Deal, Kent, in 1799. At Devonport, Plymouth, h ...
* 1861-1865 Charles Brown (2nd time) * 1865-1869 Henry Richmond * 1869-1876
Frederic Carrington Frederic Alonzo Carrington (Oct 1807 – 15 July 1901) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician and surveyor. He is regarded as the Father of New Plymouth. Carrington was born in Chelmsford, Essex, England, in 1807, the son of Captain Willi ...


Wellington Province

The
Wellington Province Wellington Province, governed by the Wellington Provincial Council, was one of the provinces of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. It covered much of the southern half of the North Island until November 18 ...
had two superintendents: * 2 July 1853 – 14 March 1870
Isaac Featherston Isaac Earl Featherston (21 March 1813 – 19 June 1876) was a New Zealand politician, and was known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial governments. Early life and family ...
* 28 April 1871 – 1 January 1877
William Fitzherbert William Fitzherbert may refer to: *Saint William of York, Archbishop of York *William Fitzherbert (New Zealand politician) (1810–1891), New Zealand politician * Sir William FitzHerbert, 1st Baronet (1748–1791), of Derbyshire *William Fitzherb ...


Westland Province

The
Westland Province The Westland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1873 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital was Hokitika. Area and history The area was part of Canterbury Province when the provinces were created in 1853. By 1 ...
had one superintendent: * 1874 James Bonar


References

{{Authority control Provinces of New Zealand