1859 in New Zealand

← 1858 1857 1856 1859 in New Zealand → 1860 1861 1862
Decades:	1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s
See also:	Other events of 1859 Timeline of New Zealand history

The following lists events that happened during 1859 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State — Queen Victoria
• Governor — Colonel Thomas Gore Browne

Government and law

The 2nd Parliament continues.

• Speaker of the House — Sir Charles Clifford
• Premier — Edward Stafford.
• Minister of Finance — William Richmond is briefly replaced by Henry Sewell between 25 February and 26 April.
• Chief Justice — Hon George Arney

Events

• 10 January: Pencarrow Head Lighthouse becomes the first permanent lighthouse in New Zealand. Its first keeper is Mary Jane Bennett, the only woman to hold the position. ^[1]
• 13 April: The New Zealand Advertiser starts publishing in Wellington. In 1867 it is incorporated into the New Zealand Times, but it is restored for six months in 1868. ^[2]
• 3 October: The Auckland Independent begins publishing. It barely survives into the following year. ^[3]

Undated

The first wharf is built at Onehunga. ^[4]

Births

• 1 January (in England): John Dumbell , rugby union player.
• 18 November (in Scotland): James Nairn , painter

Unknown date

• Thomas Field , politician.
• Charles E. Major , politician.

Deaths

• 7 April – John Gray, soldier, politician (born 1801)
• 20 April – James Kelly, Australian explorer who was involved in a feud on Otago Peninsula (born 1791)
• 30 April – Henry Despard, soldier (born c.1784)
• 20 July – Alexander Shepherd, public servant and second Colonial Treasurer (born c.1797)

See also

• List of years in New Zealand
• Timeline of New Zealand history
• History of New Zealand
• Military history of New Zealand
• Timeline of the New Zealand environment
• Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica

References

1. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. "Mary Bennett" . Retrieved 24 April 2011.
2. "Chapter 2: Early Statistical Sources – 19th Century" (PDF). Statistical publications 1840–2000. Statistics New Zealand. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2007.
3. "Chapter 2: Early Statistical Sources – 19th Century" (PDF). Statistical Publications 1840–2000. Statistics New Zealand. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2007.
4. "Onehunga Dateline". Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2008.

External links

Media related to 1859 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons