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 | 8-10 | May-June, not at Wellington | 35-52 |
| 1871 | 9 | late March, not at Wellington | 37-40 |
| 1871 | 21 | August, not at Wellington | (unclear) |
| 1869 | 11 | August-September, not at Wellington | 53-54 |
| 1865 | 31 | not at Wellington | (unclear) |
| 1864 | 28 | Nov-Dec | 95-96 |
Skipped Issue Numbers
It appears some issue numbers were skipped or omitted due to printing errors
| Year | Issue No | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1872 | 25 | misprinted as No. 24 |
| 1864 | 30 | no missing page numbers |
| 1863 | 24, 27 | no missing page numbers |
Sources
In additional to issues sourced from the VUW Gazette Archive, all issues for 1853-1858 (and missing issues from 1859-1861) were kindly provided by Puke Ariki Museum, which were able to digitise a number of years of the New Plymouth Gazette with a donation from Len and Heather Jury.
A small number of additional missing issues (mostly in 1875) were digitised at Te Matapihi (Wellington Central Library) by volunteers Luke and Alex Howison in June 2026.
Map of provincial boundaries, 1873
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
Taranaki Provincial Gazette Statistics
24
Years Covered
499
Issues Processed
2,117
Pages Transcribed
16,072
Names Identified
7,063
Unique Names
4,045
Named Officials
802
Unique Officials
