1870 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1870 in New Zealand.

Regal and viceregal

 * Head of State – Queen Victoria
 * Governor – Sir George Ferguson Bowen

Government and law
The 4th New Zealand Parliament continues.


 * Speaker of the House – Sir David Monro stands down at the end of the year. He will be replaced after the 1871 election by Sir Francis Dillon Bell
 * Premier – William Fox
 * Minister of Finance – Julius Vogel
 * Chief Justice – Hon Sir George Arney

Voting in New Zealand elections is changed to a secret ballot.

Main centre leaders

 * Mayor of Christchurch – John Anderson followed by Andrew Duncan
 * Mayor of Dunedin – Thomas Birch followed by Henry Fish
 * Mayor of Wellington – Joseph Dransfield

Events

 * 27 August – 3 September: Second visit by Prince Alfred, returning briefly to Wellington before departing for Sydney.
 * Torrens system of registered land titles adopted.

Archery

 * The first club meets at One Tree Hill, Auckland.

Golf

 * New Zealand's first golf course was opened in Dunedin.

Horse racing
There are 2 races for both the New Zealand Cup and New Zealand Derby (presumably at the beginning and end of the calendar year).(Confirmation required)

Major race winners

 * New Zealand Cup: Knottingley
 * New Zealand Cup: Knottingley
 * New Zealand Derby: Malabar
 * New Zealand Derby: Envy

Rugby union
Charles Monro, son of the Speaker of the House, Sir David Monro, introduces rugby to the Nelson Football club.


 * 14 May – First rugby club match, Nelson College versus Nelson Football Club "The Town" at the Botanical reserve. This was the first interclub game of rugby union played in New Zealand.
 * 12 September – A Nelson team, the "Lunatics", defeats Wellington at Petone.
 * – The first "international" between Wellington and a team from HMS Rosario.

Shooting
Ballinger Belt: Lieutenant Goldie (Otago)

Births

 * February (no date): Arthur Withy, journalist and politician.
 * 14 April: James Cowan, writer.
 * 20 October: C. F. Goldie, painter.

Deaths

 * 5 July: Henry Powning Stark, politician and sharebroker.
 * 16 July: Elizabeth Guard, of pioneering whaling family.
 * 27 November (in England): James Stuart-Wortley, politician
 * 30 November: Francis Jollie, politician