New Zealand : Polity Style: 1841-2024 |
| 30 Jan 1840 |
the boundaries of the Government of New South Wales are extended to the territories of New Zealand which have been or may be ceded to the British Crown in accordance with a proclamation issued by the Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand on 30 Jan 1840 in Russell (Kororāreka), Bay of Islands (Proclamation. Paihia: Printed at the Press of the Church Missionary Society, 1840, broadside; Despatches, 8) |
| 6 Feb 1840 |
"sovereignty" over the territories exercised by the chiefs of some tribes of North Island of New Zealand is ceded to the British Crown in accordance with a treaty concluded at Waitangi, North Island (Despatches, 10-11) [1] |
| 21 May 1840 |
the sovereignty over the North ("Northern") Island, South ("Middle") Island, and Stewart Island of New Zealand is vested in the British Crown in accordance with the proclamations of the Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand issued on 21 May 1840 in Russell (Kororāreka), Bay of Islands (New Zealand Advertiser, No. 1, 15 Jun 1840, p. 1) |
| 3 May 1841 |
New Zealand is constituted as a separate colony in accordance with a charter granted by the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 16 Nov 1840 (effective upon proclamation by the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand on 3 May 1841) (New Zealand Gazette, No. 13, 13 May 1841, p. 1; New Zealand Gazette, No. 1, 7 Jul 1841, Supplement B, p. 1; Accounts and Papers, 28:103-104) |
| 3 May 1841 - 25 Sep 1907 |
Colony of New Zealand |
| 26 Sep 1907 |
the designation of New Zealand is changed from the Colony of New Zealand to the Dominion of New Zealand in accordance with a royal proclamation of 9 Sep 1907, effective on publication (New Zealand Gazette, No. 84, Extra, 26 Sep 1907, p. 2901) |
| 26 Sep 1907 - 31 Dec 1986 |
Dominion of New Zealand / New Zealand [2] |
| 25 Nov 1947 |
the legislative independence of New Zealand from the United Kingdom is achieved upon the adoption of provisions of the Statute of Westminster, 1931, in accordance with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act, 1947 (passed by the House of Representatives and by the Legislative Council of New Zealand on 18 Nov 1947 and 21 Nov 1947 respectively; received Royal Assent on 25 Nov 1947) (Statutes of New Zealand, 1947, 347-351) [3] |
| 1 Nov 1983 |
New Zealand is defined as the Realm of New Zealand, comprising New Zealand, the self-governing state of the Cook Islands, the self-governing states of Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency, in a Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand (Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette of 27 Oct 1983, issued on 31 Oct 1983, pp. 1209-1215) |
| 1 Jan 1987 |
the Constitution Act 1986, referring to the polity as New Zealand, took effect on the date (1 Jan 1987) prescribed by Art. 1 (2) of the said act (passed by the House of Representatives of New Zealand on 3 Dec 1986, received Royal Assent on 13 Dec 1986) (Statutes of New Zealand, 1986, 2:984-1000) [4] |
| 1 Jan 1987 - |
New Zealand [5] |
| |
| [1] |
The term "sovereignty" is used in the English version of the treaty, while the term featuring in the Māori version was kāwanatanga (governorship), a loan word and not part of the Māori language at the time. The treaty was signed by a number of chiefs on 6 Feb 1840, more signatures were added to the treaty from February to September 1840, including those from some parts of the South Island. |
| [2] |
"Dominion" was never formally excluded from the polity style, but it was limited in use since 1946. The word "dominion" was not included in the Royal Style proclaimed on 29 May 1953, but remained in use in some judicial documents up to 1987. |
| [3] |
Full title: An Act to adopt certain Sections of the Statute of Westminster, 1931. Ceased to be a part of the law of New Zealand 1 Jan 1987. |
| [4] |
Full title: An Act to reform the constitutional law of New Zealand, to bring together into one enactment certain provisions of constitutional significance, and to provide that the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall cease to have effect as part of the law of New Zealand. |
| [5] |
Also in official use (Māori, from 1 Aug 1987): Aotearoa (not defined in statutory legislation). |
