New Munster was an early original European name for 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 ...

of New Zealand, given by the

Governor of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and l ...

, Captain

William Hobson Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson was dispatched from London in July 1 ...

, in honour of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

, the Irish province in which he was born.

Province

Government Blue Book New Zealand Table of Contents 1851

When

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 coun ...

was separated from the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of ...

in 1841 and established as a colony in its own right, the

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

of 1840 effecting this provided that "the principal Islands, heretofore known as, or commonly called, the 'Northern Island', the 'Middle Island', and 'Stewart's Island', shall henceforward be designated and known respectively as ' New Ulster', 'New Munster', and '

New Leinster New Leinster was a name given to the Stewart Island in the Royal Charter of November 1840, which stated the division of New Zealand into three parts. The division only hold a geographic significance. In 1846 New Zealand Constitution Act, the ar ...

'". These divisions were at first of geographical significance only, not used as a basis for the government of the colony, which was centralised in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. New Munster referred solely to the

. The situation was altered in 1846 when the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 divided the colony into two

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

: New Ulster and New Munster. New Munster included the

and Stewart Island, plus the southern portion of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

up to the mouth of the Patea River. New Ulster consisted of the remainder of the North Island. These boundaries incorporated the Cook Strait settlements of

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 ...

and Nelson into one province, despite being on different islands. Each province had a Governor and Legislative and Executive Council, in addition to the Governor-in-Chief and Legislative and Executive Council for the whole colony. Early in 1848

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved t ...

was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster. The Provincial Council of New Munster had only one legislative session, in 1849, before it succumbed to the virulent attacks of the Wellington settlers. Governor

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, ...

, sensible to the pressures, inspired an ordinance of the General Legislative Council under which new Legislative Councils would be established in each province with two-thirds of their members elected on a generous franchise in 1851. Grey implemented the ordinance with such deliberation that neither Council met before advice was received that the United Kingdom Parliament had passed 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 ...

. This act dissolved these provinces in 1853, after only seven years' existence, and New Munster was divided into the provinces of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a 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. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

, Nelson, 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 ...

Government appointments

* Sir Francis Dillon Bell: Appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of New Munster. * Alfred Domett: Colonial Secretary of New Munster. *

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-co ...

of New Munster. * Sir William Fox:

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of New Munster, although his acceptance was later withdrawn. * William Gisborne: Private secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster. * Sir David Munro: Appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of New Munster. * John Davies Ormond: Private secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster and

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

of the

New Munster Executive Council New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz Albums and EPs * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...

. *

Mathew Richmond Major Mathew Richmond (1801 – 5 March 1887) was a New Zealand colonial administrator and a politician. He was the first Chairman of Committees of the Legislative Council. Born in England to Scottish parents, he had a military career sp ...

: Appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of New Munster.Richmond, Mathew, C.B.
/ref>

References

External links

New Munster Armed Police Force1844 New Munster Inwards Correspondence Register1848 New Munster Inwards Correspondence Register
* ttp://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Mac02Comp.html A compendium of official documents relative to native affairs in the South Island, Volume Twobr>The Seal of New Munster
{{Coord, 43, 59, S, 170, 27, E , display=title 1853 disestablishments Provinces of New Zealand South Island States and territories established in 1846