1854 in New Zealand
The following lists events that happened during 1854 in New Zealand.
Population
The estimated population of New Zealand at the end of 1854 is 60,650 Māori and 32,554 non-Māori.Incumbents
Regal and viceregal
- Head of State – Queen Victoria
- Governor – Sir George Grey resigns on 6 January. Colonel Thomas Gore Browne is appointed later in the year, but does not arrive to take up his position until 6 September 1855.
Government and law
After New Zealand's first general election, held on 1 October 1853 the 1st Parliament opens on 24 May.There is neither an official Prime Minister/Premier/Colonial Secretary or Finance Minister/Colonial Secretary in the government at this point in time.
- Speaker of the House – When the 1st Parliament opens on 24 May Sir Charles Clifford is unanimously elected as New Zealand's first Speaker of the House.
- Chief Justice – William Martin
Events
- 4 May: The Māori language magazine, The Maori Messenger or Ko te Karere Maori, which started in 1849, stops publishing. In 1855 it will be revived with a different Māori title.
- June: The Canterbury Standard begins publication. The Christchurch newspaper continues until 1866.
Sport
Horse racing
- 2 December – The Canterbury Jockey Club is formed, the first club of its kind in New Zealand. It holds its first meeting, at Riccarton Racecourse, in 1855.
Births
- 15 February: Peter Webb, rugby union player
- 8 April: George Carter, rugby union player
- 11 May: Westby Perceval, politician
- 11 December: James Edward Fulton, civil engineer
- 12 December: Alfred Brandon, Mayor of Wellington.
- : William Thomas Wood, politician
Deaths
- April: Robert Fyffe, whaler and runholder
- 5 May: Te Ruki Kawiti, tribal leader
- 23 June: John Deans, Christchurch pioneer
- 19 October: Joseph Zillwood, policeman, farmer and innkeeper
Unknown date
- Te Aitu-o-te-rangi Jury, tribal founding mother, landowner and farmer
- Ngātata-i-te-rangi, tribal leader