B3.1.1 Why 'New Zealand'
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This article is from the New Zealand FAQ, by Phil Stuart-Jones and Lin Nah with numerous contributions by others.
B3.1.1 Why 'New Zealand'
It is simply "New Zealand" - not the "People's Republic of" or
"Commonwealth of" or "Kingdom of" or anything like that. It used to be
"The Dominion of New Zealand" pursuant to a long-forgotten dream of a kind
of federal British empire that one of our early prime ministers (Bill
Massey) was keen on, but the "Dominion of" bit was dropped several years
ago.
Robin Klitscher gives us:
"The Royal Charter effecting the separation of NZ from the Colony of NSW in
1840 said "the principal Islands, heretofore known as, or commonly called,
the 'Northern Island', the 'Middle Island' and Stewart's (sic) Island'
shall henceforward be designated and known respectively as 'New Ulster',
'New Munster' and 'New Leinster'".
"In 1846 a further Royal Charter changed this into two Provinces only, New
Ulster and New Munster, with New Munster incorporating New Leinster and the
North Island up to the latitude at the mouth of the Patea River. Each of
the two was to have a Governor and Legislative and Executive Council under
the Governor-in-Chief and Executive Council for the whole colony. Limited
elections were held in 1851 but before they were completed the New Zealand
Constitution Act 1852 unravelled all that and substituted the six Provinces
Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and Otago, each with
limited elective Councils.
"In 1858 the province of New Plymouth was renamed Taranaki; and between
1858 and 1873 Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Southland and Westland were
created.
"The whole provincial arrangement was undone (in the sense of political
mapmaking) by the Abolition of the Provinces Act of 1975.
"(Source - McLintock's Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Vol 2 pp 880, 881)"
[I have a long debate about the origins of the names for NZ which I'm still
editing into shape. It will probably go in here.]
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