Dominion of New Zealand

New Zealand chose not to take part in the Federation of Australia and became the Dominion of New Zealand on 26 September 1907, Dominion Day, by proclamation of King Edward VII. Dominion status was a public mark of the political independence that had evolved over half a century through responsible government. Just under one million people lived in New Zealand in 1907 and cities such as Auckland and Wellington were growing rapidly. The Dominion of New Zealand allowed the British Government to shape its foreign policy, and it followed Britain into the First World War. The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. When the Second World War broke out in 1939 the New Zealand Government made its own decision to enter the war. In the post-war period, the term 'dominion' has fallen into disuse. Sovereignty on external affairs was granted with the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and adopted by the New Zealand Parliament in 1947. The 1907 royal proclamation of dominion status has never been revoked, although legal academics differ as to whether the proclamation can be said to be in force.

• Conventional Long Name — Dominion of New Zealand • Common Name — New Zealand • Status — Dominion of the British Empire • Status Text — Dominion of the British Empire • Government Type — Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy • Year Start — 1907 • Year End — 1947 • Life Span — 1907–1947 • Event Start — Declared a dominion • Date Start — 26 September • Event End — Statute of Westminster adopted • Date End — 25 November • P1 — Colony of New Zealand • Flag P1 — Flag of New Zealand.svg • P2 — German Samoa • Flag P2 — Reichskolonialflagge.svg • S1 — New Zealand • Flag S1 — Flag of New Zealand.svg • S2 — Territory of Western SamoaTrust Territory of Western Samoa • Flag S2 — Flag of the Samoa Trust Territory.svg • S3 — Cook Islands • Flag S3 — Flag of the Cook Islands.svg • S4 — Niue • Flag S4 — Flag of Niue.svg • Image Flag — Flag of New Zealand.svg • Image Coat — Coat of arms of New Zealand (1911–1956).svg • Symbol Type — Coat of arms (1911–1956) • Image Map — New Zealand (orthographic projection) 2.svg • Capital — Wellington • National Motto — "Onward" • National Anthem — "God Save the King" • Common Languages — English, Māori • Currency — New Zealand pound • Leader1 — Edward VII • Leader2 — George V • Leader3 — Edward VIII • Leader4 — George VI • Year Leader1 — 1907–1910 • Year Leader2 — 1910–1936 • Year Leader3 — 1936 • Year Leader4 — 1936–1947 • Title Leader — Monarch • Representative1 — The 5th Baron Plunket (first) • Representative2 — Sir Bernard Freyberg (last) • Year Representative1 — 1907–1910 • Year Representative2 — 1946–1947 • Title Representative — Governor/Governor-General • Deputy1 — Sir Joseph Ward (first) • Deputy2 — Peter Fraser (last) • Year Deputy1 — 1907–1912 • Year Deputy2 — 1940–1947 • Demonym — British, New Zealander • Title Deputy — Prime Minister • Legislature — General Assembly (Parliament) • House1 — Legislative Council • Type House1 — Upper house • House2 — House of Representatives • Type House2 — Lower house The Dominion of New Zealand was the historical successor to the Colony of New Zealand. It was a constitutional monarchy with a high level of self-government within the British Empire. New Zealand became a separate British Crown colony in 1841 and received responsible government with the Constitution Act in 1852. New Zealand chose not to take part in the Federation of Australia and became the Dominion of New Zealand on 26 September 1907, Dominion Day, by proclamation of King Edward VII. Dominion status was a public mark of the political independence that had evolved over half a century through responsible government. Just under one million people lived in New Zealand in 1907 and cities such as Auckland and Wellington were growing rapidly. The Dominion of New Zealand allowed the British Government to shape its foreign policy, and it followed Britain into the First World War. The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. When the Second World War broke out in 1939 the New Zealand Government made its own decision to enter the war. In the post-war period, the term 'dominion' has fallen into disuse. Sovereignty on external affairs was granted with the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and adopted by the New Zealand Parliament in 1947. The 1907 royal proclamation of dominion status has never been revoked, although legal academics differ as to whether the proclamation can be said to be in force.

The alteration in status was stirred by a sentiment on the part of the prime ministers of the self-governing colonies of the British Empire that a new term was necessary to differentiate them from the non-self-governing colonies. At the 1907 Imperial Conference, it was argued that self-governing colonies that were not styled 'dominion' (like Canada) or 'commonwealth' (like Australia) should be designated by some such title as 'state of the empire'. After much debate over lexicon, the term 'dominion' was decided upon. Following the 1907 conference, the New Zealand House of Representatives passed a motion requesting that King Edward VII "take such steps as he may consider necessary" to change the designation of New Zealand from the Colony of New Zealand to the Dominion of New Zealand. The adoption of the designation of dominion would, "raise the status of New Zealand" stated Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward and "… have no other effect than that of doing the country good". Ward also had regional imperial ambitions. He hoped the new designation would remind the world that New Zealand was not part of Australia. It would dignify New Zealand, a country he thought was "the natural centre for the government of the South Pacific". Dominion status was strongly opposed by Leader of the Opposition William Massey, an ardent British imperialist, who suspected that the change would lead to demands for increases in viceregal and ministerial salaries.

A royal proclamation granting New Zealand the designation of 'dominion' was issued on 9 September 1907. On 26 September the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, read the proclamation from the steps of Parliament:

To mark the granting of dominion status, 26 September was declared Dominion Day. Today, it is observed only as a Provincial Anniversary Day holiday in South Canterbury. There is support in some quarters for the day to be revived as an alternative New Zealand Day, instead of renaming Waitangi Day, New Zealand's current national day.

The Antarctic territory of the Ross Dependency, previously under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, is today regarded by New Zealand as having become part of the Dominion of New Zealand on 16 August 1923. The legality of that contemporary assertion has been questioned but is nonetheless the position of New Zealand. The Cook Islands and Niue each already formed part of the Dominion of New Zealand on the date it was proclaimed. Both had become part of the Colony of New Zealand on 11 June 1901. Western Samoa was never part of New Zealand, having instead been the subject of a League of Nations mandate and subsequently a United Nations Trusteeship agreement. In 1982 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council allowed Samoans born under New Zealand administration (i.e. prior to 1962) to claim New Zealand citizenship.

• Illustration — King George V with the prime ministers of the British dominions at the 1926 Imperial Conference The 1926 Imperial Conference devised the 'Balfour formula' of dominion status, stating that:The United Kingdom and the Dominions are autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth The Balfour Report further resolved that each respective governor-general occupied "the same position in relation to the administration of public affairs in the Dominion" as was held by the monarch in the United Kingdom. Consequently, the only advisers to the governor-general (and the monarch in New Zealand) were his New Zealand ministers. Prime Minister Gordon Coates, who led the New Zealand delegation to the conference, called the Balfour Declaration a "poisonous document" that would weaken the British Empire as a whole.

In 1931, the British (Imperial) Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster, which repealed the imperial Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 and gave effect to resolutions passed by the imperial conferences of 1926 and 1930. It essentially gave legal recognition to the "de facto sovereignty" of the dominions by removing Britain's ability to make laws for the dominions without their consent: No Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement of this Act shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to a Dominion as part of the law of that Dominion, unless it is expressly declared in that Act that that Dominion has requested, and consented to, the enactment thereof. New Zealand initially viewed the Statute of Westminster as an "unnecessary legal complication that it perceived would weaken imperial relations." The New Zealand Government only allowed the Dominion of New Zealand to be cited in the statute provided that the operative sections did not apply unless adopted by the New Zealand Parliament. Preferring the British Government to handle most of its foreign affairs and defence, New Zealand held back from adopting the Statute of Westminster Act. • Illustration — The Labour government of Peter Fraser adopted the Statute of Westminster in 1947. The First Labour Government (1935–1949) pursued a more independent path in foreign affairs, in spite of the statute remaining unadopted. In 1938 Deputy Prime Minister Peter Fraser told Parliament, "this country has to make up its own mind on international problems as a sovereign country – because under the Statute of Westminster ours is a sovereign country". In the 1944 Speech from the Throne the Governor-General announced the government's intention to adopt the Statute of Westminster. It was forced to abandon the proposal when the opposition accused the government of being disloyal to Britain at a time of need. Ironically, the National opposition prompted the adoption of the statute in 1947 when its leader, and future prime minister, Sidney Holland introduced a member's bill to abolish the Legislative Council. Because New Zealand required the consent of the British Parliament to make the necessary amendments to the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, Peter Fraser, now Prime Minister, had a reason to finally adopt the statute. It was formally adopted on 25 November 1947 with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947, along with consenting legislation from the British Parliament. New Zealand was the last dominion listed in the statute to adopt it.

After the Second World War, the country joined the United Nations as simply "New Zealand". A year later in 1946, Prime Minister Peter Fraser instructed government departments not to use the term 'dominion' any longer. One of the first marks of New Zealand's sovereignty was the alteration of the monarch's title by the Royal Titles Act 1953. For the first time, the monarch's official New Zealand title mentioned New Zealand separately from the United Kingdom and the other dominions, now called Realms: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. The name of the state in official usage was also changed to the Realm of New Zealand. The term 'dominion' largely fell into disuse over the next decade. The term persisted the longest in the names of institutions (for instance, the Dominion Museum was not renamed the National Museum until 1972), businesses, and in the constitutions of clubs and societies. The Dominion Post, a newspaper formed by a merger of The Dominion (first published on 26 September 1907, the day New Zealand achieved dominion status) and The Evening Post, dropped "Dominion" to become The Post as late as April 2023. The change in style did not otherwise affect the legal status of New Zealand or its Government; the 1907 royal proclamation of dominion status has never been revoked and remains in force today. As such, the term 'dominion' may be included in the formal title of New Zealand. Nevertheless, the opinion of the New Zealand Government is that New Zealand became sovereign on foreign issues in 1947: "…both in terms of gaining formal legal control over the conduct of its foreign policy and the attainment of constitutional and plenary powers by its legislature". In passing the Constitution Act 1986 (effective 1 January 1987), New Zealand "unilaterally revoked all residual United Kingdom legislative power". Legal academics Dame Alison Quentin-Baxter and Janet McLean argue the 1907 proclamation should be regarded as "spent", albeit not revoked.