1896 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1896 in New Zealand.

Regal and viceregal

 * Head of State – Queen Victoria
 * Governor – David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow

Government and law
The Liberal Party is re-elected and begins the 13th New Zealand Parliament.


 * Speaker of the House – Sir Maurice O'Rorke
 * Prime Minister – Richard Seddon
 * Minister of Finance – Joseph Ward resigns on 16 June and is replaced by Richard Seddon
 * Chief Justice – Hon Sir James Prendergast
 * The Female Law Practitioners Act was passed in 1896, and Ethel Benjamin who had graduated in law from the University of Otago in 1896 was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 1897.

Parliamentary opposition
Leader of the Opposition – William Russell.

Main centre leaders

 * Mayor of Auckland – James Holland followed by Abraham Boardman
 * Mayor of Christchurch – Walter Cooper followed by Harry Joseph Beswick
 * Mayor of Dunedin – Nathaniel Wales followed by Hugh Gourley
 * Mayor of Wellington – George Fisher

Events

 * 26 March: Brunner Mine disaster; 65 miners killed in explosion
 * 13 April: National Council of Women of New Zealand is founded, with Kate Sheppard as its first president.
 * 30 September: The government increases the New Zealand head tax to £100 per head from £10, and tightens the other restriction to only one Chinese immigrant for every 200 tons of cargo from 100 tons.
 * 13 October: First public screening of a motion picture in New Zealand, in Auckland.
 * 4 December: 1896 New Zealand general election.


 * Undated


 * Census measures national population as 743,214.

Media

 * The Waikato Argus starts publication. The newspaper runs until 1915.
 * The Gisborne Times is founded. It became a daily in 1901, and continued to publish until being bought out by The Poverty Bay Herald in 1938.
 * July: The Waikato Times and Waikato Advocate merge, and the former moves to daily publication.

Athletics
National Champions, Men
 * 100 yards – E. Robinson (Canterbury)
 * 250 yards – W. Kingston (Otago)
 * 440 yards – W. Low (Otago)
 * 880 yards – W. Low (Otago)
 * 1 mile – W. Bennett (Otago)
 * 3 miles – W. Bennett (Otago)
 * 120 yards hurdles – W. Martin (Auckland)
 * 440 yards hurdles – J. Thomas Roberts (Auckland)
 * Long jump – Leonard Cuff (Canterbury)
 * High jump – P. Brown (Canterbury)
 * Pole vault – tie R. Hunter (Hawkes Bay) and H. Kingsley (Wanganui)
 * Shot put – W. Rhodes (Wellington)
 * Hammer throw – P. Brown (Canterbury)

Chess
National Champion: W. Meldrum of Rangitikei.

Golf

 * Men's national amateur champion – M.S. Todd (Otago)
 * Women's national amateur champion – L. Wilford (Hutt)

Harness racing

 * Auckland Trotting Cup (over 3 miles) is won by Fibre

Thoroughbred racing

 * New Zealand Cup – Lady Zetland
 * New Zealand Derby – Uniform
 * Auckland Cup – Nestor
 * Wellington Cup – Brooklet

Season leaders (1895/96)

 * Top New Zealand stakes earner – Euroclydon
 * Leading flat jockey – C. Jenkins

Lawn Bowls
National Champions There are no national championships this year.

Polo

 * Savile Cup winners – Manawatu

Rowing
National Champions (Men)
 * Single sculls – C. Chapman (Wairewa)
 * Double sculls – Wairewa, Little River
 * Coxless pairs – Canterbury
 * Coxed fours – Queen's Dr, Port Chalmers

Shooting
Ballinger Belt – Sergeant Wakelyn (Honorary Reserve Corps, Christchurch)

Soccer
Provincial league champions:
 * Auckland:	Auckland United
 * Otago:	Roslyn Dunedin
 * Wellington:	Wellington Swifts

Swimming
Not held

Tennis
National Championships
 * Men's singles – H. Parker
 * Women's singles – Kathleen Nunneley
 * Men's doubles – Richard Harman  and D. Collins
 * Women's doubles – Kathleen Nunneley and T. Trimmell

Births

 * 15 June (in England): Archie Fisher, painter. (died 1959)
 * 7 July: Harold Beamish, World War I flying ace. (died 1986)

Deaths

 * 18 May: Daniel Pollen, politician (born 1813)
 * 2 August: James FitzGerald, politician (born 1818).
 * 28 August:James Hume, medical doctor (born 1823).