Boroughs of New Zealand

Last updated

Borough
LocationNew Zealand
Abolished
  • 1 November 1989 (1989-11-01)
Government
  • Borough or city council

The boroughs of New Zealand were territorial local authorities that governed the county's urban areas, existing from the colonial period until the major local government reforms of 1989. They existed alongside the country's counties, town districts, and other territorial local authorities during that period. Boroughs with over 20,000 population could be granted city status.

Contents

History

Early colonial period

When New Zealand became a British colony in 1840, the Colonial Office tasked Governor William Hobson with promoting the establishment of local municipal and district government within the colony through the issuing of proclamations. [1] The Municipal Corporations Ordinance 1842 was the first legislative attempt at this, with the Ordinance stating that any district with a minimum of 2,000 residents could become a borough, meaning a council could be elected with powers to set rates for the provision of roads, water infrastructure, and jails. [1] Suffrage was open to all adult men not just landowners. [1] Issues arose when the colonial government found that the ordinance limited their ability to build lighthouses; for this and other reasons the ordinance was disallowed in 1843. [1]

Provincial period

Six provinces were established in New Zealand in 1852; these provinces would pass various ordinances establishing their own system of boroughs, though almost all were established in the prosperous Otago Province. [1] The provinces were abolished in 1876. [1]

Municipal Corporations Act 1876

An act titled the Municipal Corporations Act 1876 established a colony-wide system of municipal government, to exist alongside a system of counties established in separate legislation. [1]

Local Government Act 1974

The Local Government Act 1974 sought to rationalise local government, attempting to tackle the problem whilst dealing with staunchly independent local authorities. [2] The Act abolished the distinction between boroughs and counties, and allowed for the creation of regional units of government. [2] The Act also increased the powers of the Local Government Commission. [2]

1989 reforms

In 1989, the Fourth Labour Government enacted major reforms to local government, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1974. Around 850 local authorities were amalgamated together into 86, with many boroughs amalgamating with their surrounding rural areas to form district councils. [1]

City status

Under the Municipal Corporations Act 1954, boroughs with at least 20,000 people could be granted city status. [3] [4]

List of boroughs

BoroughEstablishedAbolishedExisted forGranted city statusSuccessor
Kaitaia 1 September 1945 [5] 1 November 1989 [6] 44 yearsNoMerged into Far North District [6]
Kaikohe 1 July 1947 [7] 1 November 1989 [6] 42 yearsNoMerged into Far North District [6]
Whangarei 1 October 1896 [8] 1 November 1989 [6] 93 years21 May 1964 [9] Merged into Whangarei District [6]
Dargaville 1 July 1908 [10] 1 November 1989 [6] 81 yearsNoMerged into Kaipara District [6]
East Coast Bays 1 April 1954 [11] 1 November 1989 [6] 35 years1 April 1975 [12] Merged into North Shore City [6]
Birkenhead
Devonport
Glen Eden
Avondale 1 April 1922 [13] 1 September 1927 [14] 5 yearsNoMerged into Auckland City [14]
Grey Lynn
Auckland 15 May 1863 [15] 1 November 1989 [6] 126 years15 May 1863 [15] Merged into new Auckland City [6]
Helensville
Henderson
Howick
Manurewa
Mount Albert
Mount Eden
Mount Roskill
Mount Wellington
New Lynn
Newmarket
Newton
Northcote
Onehunga
One Tree Hill
Otahuhu
Papakura
Papatoetoe
Parnell
Takapuna
Tuakau
Waiuku
Manukau
Tamaki
Waitemata
Cambridge
Huntly
Matamata
Morrinsville
Ngaruawahia
Paeroa
Pukekohe
Putaruru
Taupo
Te Aroha
Te Awamutu
Te Kuiti
Thames
Tokoroa
Waihi
Kawerau
Mount Maunganui
Murupara
Opotiki
Tauranga
Te Puke
Whakatane
Rotorua
Gisborne
Hastings
Havelock North
Napier
Taradale
Waipawa
Waipukurau
Wairoa
Eltham
Hawera
Inglewood
Patea
Stratford
Waitara
New Plymouth
Dannevirke
Eketahuna
Feilding
Foxton
Levin
Marton
Ohakune
Pahiatua
Raetihi
Taihape
Taumarunui
Wanganui
Woodville
Carterton
Featherston
Greytown
Kapiti
Karori
Lower Hutt
Martinborough
Masterton
Melrose
Miramar
Onslow
Otaki
Petone
Porirua
Tawa
Upper Hutt
Eastbourne
Motueka
Richmond
Blenheim
Picton
Brunner
Greymouth
Hokitika
Kumara
Ross
Runanga
Westport
Akaroa
Ashburton
Ellerslie
Geraldine
Hampden
Kaiapoi
Linwood
Lyttelton
New Brighton
Rangiora
Riccarton
St Albans
Spreydon
Sumner
Sydenham
Temuka
Timaru
Waimate
Woolston
Alexandra
Arrowtown
Balclutha
Caversham
Cromwell
Dunedin South
Green Island
Kaitangata
Lawrence
Maori Hill
Milton
Mornington
Mosgiel
Naseby
North East Valley
Oamaru
Palmerston
Port Chalmers
Queenstown
Roslyn
Roxburgh
Saint Kilda
South Dunedin
Tapanui
Waikouaiti
West Harbour
Avenal
Bluff [a]
Gladstone
Gore
Invercargill
Mataura
North Invercargill
South Invercargill
Winton
East Invercargill
Riverton

Notes

  1. ↑ Formerly Campbelltown Borough

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Derby, Mark (1 February 2015). "Local and regional government". Te Ara .
  2. 1 2 3 McLintock, Alexander Hare (1966). "Abolition of the Provinces". Te Ara .
  3. ↑ Knight, Cyril Roy (1966). "Borough and City Status". Te Ara .
  4. ↑ Municipal Corporations Act 1954 s 6
  5. ↑ Parry, W E (21 August 1945). "Constituting the Borough of Kaitaia" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (54): 1049.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Reeves, Paul (8 June 1989). "Orders in Council for Local Government Reorganisation" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (99).
  7. ↑ Parry, W E (24 June 1947). "Constituting the Borough of Kaikohe" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (35): 781.
  8. ↑ Carroll, J (24 September 1896). "Proclaiming Borough of Whangarei, County of Whangarei, under "The Municipal Corporations Act, 1886."" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (75): 1628.
  9. ↑ Shand, T P (12 May 1964). "Proclaiming the Borough of Whangarei to be a City" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (29): 803.
  10. ↑ Findlay, John G (2 May 1908). "Constituting the Borough of Dargaville, County of Hobson" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (38): 1360.
  11. ↑ Sherrard, T J (23 February 1954). "Constituting the Borough of East Coast Bays" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (13): 291–292.
  12. ↑ May, Henry (1 April 1975). "Proclaiming the Borough of East Coast Bays to be a City" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (29): 765.
  13. ↑ Rhodes, R H (30 March 1922). "Constituting the Borough of Avondale, County of Eden" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (22): 782.
  14. 1 2 Pomare, M (1 September 1927). "Union of Boroughs of City of Auckland and Avondale" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (62): 2811.
  15. 1 2 Graham, Robert (29 April 1863). "Proclamation" (PDF). Auckland Provincial Government Gazette . XI (10): 67.
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