Taranaki Gazettes (1853-1861)

Scroll down to access full digital copies of the Taranaki Gazettes 1853-1861.

History of the Gazettes

The New Zealand Government began printing regular gazettes, their official newspapers of record, in 1841 making The New Zealand Gazette (Te Kāhiti o Aotearoa) the longest-running publication in Aotearoa. 

The first volume of Government Gazettes for the New Plymouth Province were printed in September 1853, just over a year after a semi-federal system of government was established in the colony when the British Parliament passed The New Zealand Constitution Act.

Information in the Taranaki Gazettes included:

- legislation updates

- population statistics and census data

- school returns and literacy rates

- lists of jurors and visiting ships

- monthly mail service timetables

- registered cattle brands

- Taranaki Militia and Taranaki Rifle Volunteers appointments

- construction tenders for roads and bridges

- public works ordinances

- letters in te reo from local Māori like Wiremu Te Ahoaho

- Crown grants and land transfers

The Taranaki Gazettes were known variously as the New Zealand Government Gazette for the Province of New Plymouth, the Government Gazette of the Province of New Plymouth, the New Plymouth Provincial Gazette, the Government Gazette of the Province of Taranaki, the Taranaki Provincial Gazette and the Taranaki Government Gazette.

Provincial Government in Aotearoa

The 1852 Constitution Act divided Aotearoa into six provinces – Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and Otago – with New Plymouth being the smallest, at just 8100 km², and least populous. Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough and Southland provinces were established later.

Each province had its own legislature with a Superintendent and Provincial Council elected directly by men aged 21 and over who owned property of a certain value. The provinces earned revenue in their territory from the sale of Crown land and used the money to promote colonisation – this involved organising immigration, roads (and later railways) and land settlement. Provincial Councils were also responsible for matters like education, public works and policing within their own area. 

Above the provinces was the national government, known as the General Assembly, consisting of the Crown-nominated Legislative Council and a directly elected House of Representatives. The Assembly was based in Auckland until 1865 when it moved to the new capital, Wellington.

On 1 January 1859 the Province of New Plymouth was renamed the Taranaki Province. Publication of local Gazettes continued until 1876 when the provincial system was abolished.

Printing the Taranaki Gazettes

The 1853-1861 Gazettes were mostly printed by Garland William Woon (1831-1895), editor of the Taranaki Herald newspaper. Richard Pheney (1803-1881) printed the Gazettes in 1859, 1862 and 1863, working out of the office of the Taranaki News. Pheney edited this newspaper, forerunner of today’s Taranaki Daily News.

Later issues of the Gazette (1864-1867) were also printed by Woon then by William Henry John Seffern (1829-1900), who took over the Taranaki Herald in 1868. The final Taranaki Gazette was printed on 25 September 1876.

Local Government in Taranaki after 1876

New Plymouth was incorporated as a borough, along with most other towns, while rural areas were divided into counties. Special authorities were set up to administer e.g. health, education, harbour and water supply services and provincial police forces were absorbed by the colonial constabulary.

There ended up being around 4000 such territorial and local authorities around the country with no serious reform of such an unwieldy system attempted until the local government amalgamations of 1989, when many boroughs were merged with their surrounding rural areas to form district councils.

The Municipal Corporations Act 1876 specified that mayors of towns and cities were to be elected annually by ratepayers, that councillors be elected every three years, and that no distinction be made between male and female property owners. This meant Kiwi women were given the vote in local body elections 18 years before they achieved full suffrage in parliamentary elections.

The first elections for a New Plymouth Borough Council were held on 22 September 1876, and the council’s inaugural meeting took place the following month, with lawyer Arthur Standish elected first Mayor of New Plymouth.

Despite the abolition of the provinces, the sense of a distinct identity amongst people living in regions like Taranaki continued, with the celebration of Taranaki Anniversary Day taking place each year on the second Monday in March to celebrate the arrival of the first Plymouth Company settlers in 1841.

Interesting entries in the Taranaki Gazettes:

- Officers of Government Vol.II No.15 (10 June 1854)

- Return of Imports and Exports for the year ending 31 December 1853 Vol.II No.15 (10 June 1854)

- Return of Schools and Population for the year 1853 Vol.II No.15 (10 June 1854)

- Hand-drawn Survey Office map of Bell Block (then called Hua Village) Vol.IV No.8 (28 August 1856)

- Results of the Census for the year ending 30 June 1856 Vol.V No.1 (15 January 1857)

- Literacy in the Province of New Plymouth for the year ended 31 March 1857 Vol.V No.17 (29 August 1857)

- List of designs for a bridge over the Waiwakaiho [Waiwhakaiho] River Vol.VI No.6 (15 April 1858)

- Notes on the Weather at New Plymouth during the year 1857 Vol.VII No.IV (21 February 1859)

- Proclamation of Martial Law by Colonel Thomas Gore Browne Vol.VIII No.2 (5 March 1860)

Puke Ariki is grateful to Len and Heather Jury, members of the New Plymouth Genealogical Society, for the generous donation that enabled us to digitise these valuable records of Taranaki's history.

New Plymouth Provincial Gazette Volume I (1853)

NPPG 1853 Vol.I Index

NPPG 1853 Vol.I No.1-4 September 1-November 5 Pages 1-13

NPPG 1853 Vol.I No.5-7 November 12-26 Pages 14-22

Volume II (1854)

NPPG 1854 Vol.II Index

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.1-4 January 21-February 25 Pages 1-15

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.5-8 March 11-April 15 Pages 16-33

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.9 April 29 Pages 34-46

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.10-13 May 6-27 Pages 47-59

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.14 June 3 Pages 60-65

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.15-16 June 10-July 15 Pages 66-77

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.17-19 July 22-September 16 Pages 78-86

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.20-22 October 14-November 4 Pages 87-101

NPPG 1854 Vol.II No.23-25 November 17-December 21 Pages 102-110

Volume III (1855)

NPPG 1855 Vol.III Index

NPPG 1855 Vol.III No.1-2 January 6-February 3 Pages 111-124

NPPG 1855 Vol.III No.3-5 February 10-March 7 Pages 125-136

NPPG 1855 Vol.III No.6-10 March 15-June 9 Pages 137-151

NPPG 1855 Vol.III No.11-17 June 16-August 25 Pages 152-164

NPPG 1855 Vol.III No.18-20 October 6-November 10 Pages 165-173

NPPG 1855 Vol.III No.21-22 November 24-December 1 Pages 174-183

Volume IV (1856) 

NPPG 1856 Vol.IV Index

NPPG 1856 Vol.IV No.1-4 January 12-March 26 Pages 184-197

NPPG 1856 Vol.IV No.5-9 April 12-September 4 Pages 198-209

NPPG 1856 Vol.IV No.10-13 October 9-November 13 Pages 210-224

NPPG 1856 Vol.IV No.14-17 November 22-December 17 Pages 225-235

Volume V (1857)

NPPG 1857 Vol.V Index

NPPG 1857 Vol.V No.1-5 January 15-February 19 Pages 1-15

NPPG 1857 Vol.V No.6-8 February 26-April 13 Pages 16-28

NPPG 1857 Vol.V No.9-12 April 22-May 23 Pages 29-42

NPPG 1857 Vol.V No.13-16 June 20-August 11 Pages 43-51

NPPG 1857 Vol.V No.17-18 August 29-October 3 Pages 52-65

NPPG 1857 Vol.V No.19-21 October 28-November 26 Pages 66-79

NPPG 1857 Vol.V No.22-23 December 12-22 Pages 80-90

Volume VI (1858)

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI Index

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.1-2 January 20-February 11 Pages 1-11

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.3 February 23 Pages 12-22

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.4-5 March 18-27 Pages 23-27

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.6 April 15 Pages 28-36

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.7 April 22 Pages 37-42

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.8 May 8 Pages 43-53

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.9-11 June 3-July 12 Pages 54-67

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.12-14 July 31-September 16 Pages 68-79

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.15-17 October 7-November 24 Pages 80-92

NPPG 1858 Vol.VI No.18-20 December 10-31 Pages 93-102

Taranaki Provincial Gazette Volume VII (1859)

TPG 1859 Vol.VII Index

TPG 1859 Vol.VII No.1-3 January 22-February 8 Pages 1-14

TPG 1859 Vol.VII No.4-6 February 21-March 4 Pages 15-27

TPG 1859 Vol.VII No.7-10 March 28-May 25 Pages 28-42

TPG 1859 Vol.VII No.11-13 June 11-July 11 Pages 43-56

TPG 1859 Vol.VII No.14-17 July 23-September 22 Pages 57-70

TPG 1859 Vol.VII No.18-22 October 8-December 29 Pages 71-85

Volume VIII (1860)

TPG 1860 Vol.VIII Index

TPG 1860 Vol.VIII No.1-4 January 31-March 31 Pages 1-14

TPG 1860 Vol.VIII No.5-9 April 14-August 24 Pages 15-25

TPG 1860 Vol.VIII No.10-11 November 13-29 Pages 26-34

TPG 1860 Vol.VIII No.12-14 December 5-31 Pages 35-44

Volume IX (1861)

TPG 1861 Vol.IX Index

TPG 1861 Vol.IX No.1-2 February 14-April 15 Pages 1-4

TPG 1861 Vol.IX No.3 May 1 Pages 5-11

TPG 1861 Vol.IX No.3 May 1 Pages 12-24

TPG 1861 Vol.IX No.4-8 May 20-June 14 Pages 25-38

TPG 1861 Vol.IX No.9-15 June 28-August 5 Pages 39-52

TPG 1861 Vol.IX No.16-19 August 19-September 11 Pages 53-65

TPG 1861 Vol.IX No.20-24 September 26-November 7 Pages 66-80

TPG 1861 Vol.IX No.25-28 December 5-30 Pages 81-92

Please be aware there are some discrepancies in page numbering.

Taranaki Gazettes for the years 1862-1876 have not yet been digitised but may be viewed in the Taranaki Research Centre – please contact us: research@npdc.govt.nz