Colonial Secretary (New Zealand)

The Colonial Secretary of New Zealand was an office established in 1840 and abolished in 1907.^[1] The position should not be confused with the Colonial Secretary of the former Colonial Office of the United Kingdom.

Along with the Chief Justice, the office was one of the first four created by Governor William Hobson when he arrived in New Zealand in January 1840. The Colonial Secretary's Office handled the creation of New Zealand's public service, and became the modern Department of Internal Affairs in 1907.^[1] The Colonial Secretary became known as the Minister of Internal Affairs from then on.

The Colonial Secretary was considered the deputy of the Governor, until the granting of responsible government. For example, Willoughby Shortland acted as administrator of government following the death of William Hobson in 1841. Henry Sewell, who is considered by some as the first Premier of New Zealand, held the position for his short tenure as head of the government in 1856.^[2]

List of Colonial Secretaries

	Name	Governor served	Premier or Prime Minister served	Took Office	Left Office	Party
1	Willoughby Shortland[3]	William Hobson		3 May 1841	31 December 1843	none
2	Andrew Sinclair[4]	Robert FitzRoy George Grey Thomas Gore Browne		6 January 1844	7 May 1856	none
3	Henry Sewell[4]	Thomas Gore Browne	(himself)	7 May 1856	20 May 1856	none
4	John Hall[5]		William Fox	20 May 1856	2 June 1856	none
5	William Richmond[6]		Edward Stafford	2 June 1856	4 November 1856	none
6	Edward Stafford[6]		(himself)	4 November 1856	12 July 1861	none
7	Isaac Featherston[6]		William Fox	12 July 1861	2 August 1861	none
8	William Fox[6]		(himself)	2 August 1861	6 August 1862	none
9	Alfred Domett[6]		(himself)	6 August 1862	30 October 1863	none
	William Fox (2nd time)[7]		Frederick Whitaker	30 October 1863	24 November 1864	none
10	Frederick Weld[7]		(himself)	24 November 1864	26 June 1865	none
11	James Richmond[7][8]		Frederick Weld	26 June 1865	16 October 1865	none
	Edward Stafford (2nd time)[7][9]		(himself)	31 October 1865	28 June 1869	none
12	William Gisborne[10][11]		William Fox	28 June 1869	10 September 1872	none
	Henry Sewell (2nd time)[10]		Edward Stafford	10 September 1872	11 October 1872	none
	John Hall (2nd time)[10]		George Waterhouse	11 October 1872	3 March 1873	none
	William Fox (3rd time)[7]		(himself)	3 March 1873	8 April 1873	none
13	William Reynolds[12]		William Fox	? April 1873	?	none
14	Daniel Pollen[13]		William Fox, (himself), Julius Vogel, Harry Atkinson	?	13 October 1877	none
15	George Grey[14]		(himself)	15 October 1877	18 October 1877	none
16	George Whitmore[14][15]		George Grey	18 October 1877	8 October 1879	none
	John Hall (3rd time)[14]		(himself)	8 October 1879	5 March 1880	none
17	Thomas Dick[16]		John Hall, Whitaker Atkinson	5 March 1880	16 August 1884	none
18	William Montgomery[17]		Robert Stout	16 August 1884	28 August 1884	none
19	Edward Wakefield[18]		Atkinson	28 August 1884	3 September 1884	none
20	Patrick Buckley[18]		Robert Stout	4 September 1884	8 October 1887	none
21	Thomas Hislop[18]		Atkinson	8 October 1887	10 September 1889	none
22	William Russell[19]		Atkinson	17 October 1889	24 January 1891	none
	Patrick Buckley (2nd time)[20][21]		John Ballance Richard Seddon	24 January 1891	20 December 1895	Liberal
23	James Carroll		Richard Seddon	20 December 1895[21]		Liberal

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "History of the Department". The Department of Internal Affairs. http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/About-us-History-of-The-Department-Index?OpenDocument. Retrieved 3 July 2010. 
2. ^ Former PM's – Official website of the Prime Minister of New Zealand^{[dead link]}
3. ^ A. H. McLintock, ed (updated 22-Apr-09). "SHORTLAND, Commander Willoughby, RN". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/shortland-commander-willoughby-rn/1. Retrieved 28 November 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b} SINCLAIR, Andrew – 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
5. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 31.
6. ^ ^{a b c d e} Scholefield 1950, p. 32.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} Scholefield 1950, p. 33.
8. ^ Cyclopedia of New Zealand – The Hon. James Crowe Richmond, NZETC, http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc01Cycl-t1-body-d3-d9-d19.html 
9. ^ History of the Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs, http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/About-us-History-of-The-Department-Index?OpenDocument 
10. ^ ^{a b c} Scholefield 1950, p. 34.
11. ^ GISBORNE, William – 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
12. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 35.
13. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 35–36.
14. ^ ^{a b c} Scholefield 1950, p. 37.
15. ^ Belich, James (updated 1 September 2010). "Whitmore, George Stoddart – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1w21/1. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
16. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 37–38.
17. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 38.
18. ^ ^{a b c} Scholefield 1950, p. 39.
19. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 40.
20. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 40–41.
21. ^ ^{a b} "Cyclopedia of New Zealand – Colonial Secretary's department". NZETC. http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc01Cycl-t1-body-d6-d8-d2.html#name-207604-mention. 

References

• Scholefield, Guy Hardy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1949. Wellington: Govt. Printer.