Taranaki Provincial Gazette

Also known as

  • Government Gazette, Province of Taranaki
  • New Zealand Government Gazette, Province of Taranaki

Historical Background

Taranaki Province was one of the six original provinces established under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, proclaimed into force on 17 January 1853. Initially named New Plymouth Province, it was renamed Taranaki on 1 January 1859, adopting the Māori name for the volcanic peak that dominates the region. The province had previously been administered from Auckland as part of New Ulster under the 1846 constitutional arrangement.

With an area of around two million acres, it was the smallest of the original six provinces both in area and population. Settlement had been organised by the Plymouth Company, a subsidiary of the New Zealand Company, and New Plymouth — founded in 1841 — was the only planned colonial settlement in New Zealand without a natural harbour. For the first thirty years of European settlement, the town remained largely isolated, with the population growing more slowly than in any other province.

The provincial period was significantly shaped by conflict over land. Pressure from European settlers to open up Māori-held land led to the outbreak of the Taranaki Wars in 1860, a series of conflicts that continued intermittently for over two decades and left a lasting mark on the region.

Along with Auckland, Taranaki was one of only two provinces that retained its original boundaries unchanged throughout the provincial era.

Provincial government was abolished under the Abolition of Provinces Act, which took full effect on 1 November 1876.

Missing Issues

Year Issue No Notes Page numbers
1876 7-8 July-September 39-54
1875 8-? May-December 35-??
1874 2 Feb-Mar 3-4
1872 25 early December 109-110
1871 9 late March 37-40
1871 21 August (unclear)
1871 23-? October-December ??
1869 11 August-September 53-54
1869 14 mid October 67-68
1865 31 overlapping page numbers in surrounding issues (unclear)
1864 28 Nov-Dec 95-96
1861 2 March-April 3-4
1861 8 mid June 36-39
1861 22-23 late August 72-77
1860 3 9-10
1860 12-13 December 35-40
1859 6 mid March 27-28

Skipped Issue Numbers

It appears some issue numbers were skipped or omitted

Year Issue No Notes
1864 30 no missing page numbers
1863 24, 27 no missing page numbers

Map of provincial boundaries, 1873

1873 Province boundaries (from Wikipedia)

Further reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taranaki_Province

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_New_Zealand

https://teara.govt.nz/en/colonial-and-provincial-government/page-2

Browse by Year

1859
1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869
1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876

The Taranaki Provincial Council building (depicted) was on lower Brougham Street in New Plymouth.

Source



Taranaki Provincial Gazette Statistics

18

Years Covered

363

Issues Processed

1,651

Pages Transcribed

12,398

Names Identified

6,327

Unique Names

3,086

Named Officials

709

Unique Officials