The Department of Island Territories is a now-defunct

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

government department that was tasked with administrating New Zealand's three Pacific Islands territories—the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

(until 1965),

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

, and

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

, and the country's League of Nations mandate

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

(until 1962). It was established on 3 October 1919 under the "External Affairs Bill" as the Department of External Affairs."External Affairs Bill", in ''New Zealand Parliamentary Debates'', Vol. 185 (3 October–5 November 1919), p.337. In 1943, the Department was renamed the Department of Island Territories after a separate

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

was created to conduct the country's external relations. In 1975, the Department was dissolved and its functions were absorbed back into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the successor to the External Affairs Department. The Department was headed by a Minister of Island Territories who oversaw the Resident-Commissioners of the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Administrator of the Tokelau Islands. The Island Territories Department was responsible for the formulation and development of New Zealand government policy towards its Island Territories. The Department's other functions included transmitting advice and assistance from other New Zealand government departments to local Island governments, operating the ship ''GMV Moana Roa'', and acting as a purchasing agent for the Island Territories. The Department had offices in both the capital

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

and the country's largest city

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

List of ministers

The following ministers have held the office of Minister of Island Territories. ;Key

List of ministers

Notes

References

Further reading