Westland (Province)

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Westland Province 1859-1876

The province of Westland was a province in the former British colony of New Zealand , which on December 1, 1873 by Order in Council (SI) of the province of Canterbury was separated as a province. Westland had already received administrative independence as County of Westland in 1868.

geography

The Westland Province was in the western center of the South Island of New Zealand. The north and south borders of the province were taken over unchanged by the province of Canterbury , the western part of which was previously Westland . The northern border ran along the Gray River and the Arnold River to Lake Brunner and in a line with the source of the Hurunui River . The southern border, however, was the Awarua River and the west coast was the western border. The eastern border that separated the province from the province of Canterbury was drawn over the peaks of the New Zealand Alps , which ran in a south-westerly direction .

history

On June 30, 1952, the British Parliament the law " Act to grant a Representative Constitution to the Colony of New Zealand " passed that in New Zealand under New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 is known. The law regulates the administrative redistribution of the New Zealand colony into six provinces. The boundaries of the districts should be determined by proclamation by the governor of New Zealand. The law also stipulated that each province should have a provincial council with at least nine members and a superintendent (head, head). The General Assembly made use of this in December 1873. But even before that, there were strong efforts on the west coast for independence from the province of Canterbury .

The gold rush from 1864 to 1867 brought around 30,000 people to the west coast region who quickly developed their own identity. When the gold rush reached its peak in early 1865, Christchurch realized that the west coast needed a certain administrative autonomy. In 1867 this step was partially completed. With effect from January 1, 1868, the County of Westland became independent with its own administrative administration, but remained in the province of Canterbury . Only with the resolution of the General Assembly in November 1873 was Westland completely independent and officially run as a province. From then on, Hokitika became the administrative seat of the province. But the independence as a province only lasted until 1876, because on October 12, 1875, the British Parliament passed the Abolition of Provinces Act (Act for the abolition of the provinces), the end of the administration of New Zealand over the provinces. On November 1, 1876, the law became law. The provincial system was replaced by an administrative system based on boroughs and counties .

See also

literature

  • Westland Province and Provincial District . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed August 20, 2016]).
  • New Zealand's Nine Provinces (1853-76) . In: Friends of the Hocken Collection (Ed.): Welcome to the Hocken (Bulletin) . Bulletin number 31 . Dunedin March 2000 ( online PDF 22 kB [accessed August 20, 2016]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alison Dench : Essential Dates . A Timeline of New Zealand History . Random House , Auckland 2005, ISBN 1-86941-689-9 , pp.  105 (English).
  2. ^ A b The County of Westland, NZ . In: Victoria University of Wellington (Ed.): The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout . Wellington , S.  2 (English, online [accessed August 20, 2016]).
  3. ^ Westland Provincial District . In: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provicial Districts) . Cyclopedia Company Limited , Christchurch 1906, p.  466 (English, online [accessed August 20, 2016]).
  4. ^ McLintock (Ed.): Westland Province and Provincial District . 1966 (English).
  5. ^ Robert Stokes : The New Zealand Constitution Act (1852): Together with Correspondence between the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Governor-in-chief of New Zealand in Explanation thereof . Ed .: New Zealand Government . Wellington 1853, An Act to grant a Representative Constitution to the Colony of New Zealand. , S.  179 (English, online [accessed August 20, 2016]).
  6. ^ Nelson, Marlborough and Westland Provincial District . In: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand . Volume V . Cyclopedia Company Ltd , Christchurch 1906, p.  473 (English).
  7. ↑ Hokitika . Westland District Council , accessed August 20, 2016 .