1875 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1875 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State — Queen Victoria
Governor — The Marquess of Normanby

Government and law

The 1875 general election begins on 29 December but does not finish until 4 January the following year. The election marks the end of the 5th New Zealand Parliament.

Speaker of the House — The sitting Speaker, Sir Francis Dillon Bell, does not stand in the 1875 election at the end of the year. He will be replaced by Sir William Fitzherbet in 1876.
Premier — Daniel Pollen becomes Premier on 6 July replacing Julius Vogel.
Minister of Finance — Harry Atkinson takes over from Julius Vogel on 6 July.
Chief Justice — Hon Sir George Arney retires and is replaced on 1 April by Hon Sir James Prendergast

Main centre leaders

Mayor of Auckland — Frederick Prime followed by Benjamin Tonks
Mayor of Christchurch — Fred Hobbs
Mayor of Dunedin — Andrew Mercer followed by Keith Ramsay
Mayor of Wellington — William Sefton Moorhouse

Events

Contract let for construction of the Rimutaka Incline railway using the Fell system.

Sport

Athletics

The first club in the country, the Wellington Amateur Athletic Club, holds its first meeting.

Cricket

The Wellington Cricket Association is formed.

Horse racing

New Zealand Cup winner: Nectar
New Zealand Derby winner: Daniel O’Rourke
Auckland Cup winner: Kingfisher
Wellington Cup winner: Tambourini

Rugby union

Rugby union begins in Timaru, Temuka, Blenheim, Picton, Greymouth and Napier where the club formed in 1874 adopted rugby rules.
A combined Auckland clubs team toured Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson and New Plymouth. They lost all matches, despite some of their opposition having only learned rugby rules for a few weeks in preparation for the tour – the Christchurch and Dunedin clubs had primarily been playing football.

Shooting

Ballinger Belt: Lieutenant Skinner

Births

19 January: Ethel Benjamin, first female lawyer in NZ.
23 March: Alexander Young, politician.
6 June: William Polson, politician.
16 June: Richard Lawson, teacher, university professor and educationalist.
25 July: Elsie Dohrmann, scholar, teacher and temperance campaigner
7 November: Frank Milner, headmaster and educationalist.

Unknown date

John Robertson, politician.

Deaths

15 March: William Turnbull Swan, politician
29 May: James Mackay, politician.
31 July: Thomas Beckham, politician
8 August: William Tolmie, politician.
12 August: John Parkin Taylor, politician.
17 October: Archibald Clark, politician.
23 December: Felix Wakefield, colonist