List of former territorial authorities in New Zealand facts for kids

New Zealand has a special way of organizing its local areas, called "territorial authorities." These are like local councils that help manage towns, cities, and rural areas. Over time, New Zealand's local government has changed a lot. It started with large provinces, then moved to a system of counties and boroughs, and now has regions, cities, and districts. This article tells you about the local councils that used to exist but don't anymore.

New Zealand's Early Days: The Provincial Era (until 1876)

In the very beginning, New Zealand was divided into big areas called provinces. These were set up in 1841. At first, there were only three, but then the number changed a few times. By 1852, there were six provinces, and a few more were added later. This system ended in 1876 when the government decided to get rid of the provinces.

Here are the provinces that used to exist:

Local Government After the Provinces (1876–1989)

After the provinces were removed in 1876, New Zealand started a new system. It had counties for rural areas and boroughs for towns. This system stayed mostly the same until 1989. In 1989, a big change happened, and these councils were reorganized into larger districts and regions.

The Local Government Act 1974 started to bring different types of councils under the same rules. This led to the major changes in 1989. Almost all the old counties were removed. Only the Chatham Islands County kept its name for a few more years before becoming a "Territory" under the "Chatham Islands Council."

Borough Councils: Governing Towns

In the past, New Zealand used the word "borough" for self-governing towns with more than 1,000 people. However, some boroughs in the 1800s had as few as 200 people.

Here are some of the borough councils that no longer exist:

Cities: Larger Urban Areas

Before 1989, a borough could become a city if its population was more than 20,000 people. During the 1989 reorganization, many cities were combined with nearby rural areas to create districts. For example, Hastings became a district, even though it was larger than Napier, which stayed a city. New Zealand's first city was Christchurch, which became a city in 1856.

In the Auckland Region, several cities like Auckland City, North Shore City, Waitakere City, and Manukau City were combined in 2010 to form one large council called the Auckland Council.

Here are some cities that no longer exist as separate councils:

Counties: Managing Rural Areas

When the provinces were abolished in 1876, 63 counties were created to manage rural areas. Over the next 113 years, some counties merged, and new ones were formed, with as many as 129 existing at one time. Sometimes, a county area existed before a county council was officially set up. In those cases, a roads board often managed local administration. Some counties, like Fiord and Sounds, never even formed county councils because they didn't have enough people.

Here are some of the counties that no longer exist:

Districts: Early Mergers

From the 1970s, some local councils that voluntarily joined together were called "Districts." These were a mix of rural and urban areas. They are different from the Districts created in the big 1989 local government changes.

Here are some of these early districts:

Town Districts: Small Town Governance

A "town district" was a type of local council for small towns. It was somewhere between a county town and a borough. To become an independent town district, a town had to have more than 500 people.

Here are some town districts that no longer exist:

The Big Change in 1989

By 1986, New Zealand had more than 850 different local councils and special-purpose groups. This was a lot! So, in 1989, a major reform happened. Many borough and county councils were combined into larger districts. The number of cities was also reduced.

The lists above include all the local councils that existed before this big change in 1989.

Local Government After 1989

Regions: Larger Areas of Governance

In 1987, 13 regional councils were created. The Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council was later dissolved in 1992. Its responsibilities were taken over by the Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough unitary authorities (which are councils that handle both regional and local duties).

The Auckland Regional Council was also combined into the new Auckland Council on 1 November 2010.

City Councils: Modern Urban Governance

Many of the city councils that were formed after the 1989 changes are still operating today. However, some have changed again. For example, seven territorial authorities in the Auckland area (Auckland City Council, Manukau City Council, Waitakere City Council, North Shore City Council, Papakura District Council, Rodney District Council, and Franklin District Council) were all combined to form the single Auckland Council in 2010.

District Councils: Modern Mixed Governance

Most of the districts created in the 1989 reforms are still in operation. One exception is the Banks Peninsula District, which joined with the Christchurch City Council in 2006.