The Whitaker Ministry was formed in 1882 as the government of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It was led by

Frederick Whitaker Sir Frederick Whitaker (23 April 1812 – 4 December 1891) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served twice as the premier of New Zealand and six times as Attorney-General. Early life Whitaker was born at the Deanery Manor House, ...

and lasted for 17 months, from 21 April 1882 to 25 September 1883. The Whitaker Ministry succeeded the Hall Ministry upon

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (1951–2023), professor of classics at Brigham Young Univ ...

's resignation.

Background

John Hall resigned as

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

due to health issues and a Cabinet conflict with Native Minister

John Bryce John Bryce (14 September 1833 – 17 January 1913) was a New Zealand politician from 1871 to 1891 and Minister of Māori Affairs, Minister of Native Affairs from 1879 to 1884. In his attitudes to Māori land questions, he favoured strict legal ...

, which led Governor

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

to attempt to call

Sir George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

to form a Ministry. Hall reminded the Governor that his following held a majority in the House of Representatives and nominated Frederick Whitaker to replace him. Whitaker had been the Hall Government's representative in the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

, renowned as "a Triton among minnows" in that house.

Harry Atkinson Sir Harry Albert Atkinson (1 November 1831 – 28 June 1892) served as the tenth Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier of New Zealand on four separate occasions in the late 19th century, and was Minister of Finance (New Zealand), Colonial Tr ...

represented Whitaker in the lower house. The Ministry succeeded Hall's retrenching government, but as a Budget surplus had been achieved, they felt able to reduce the property tax by half and raise a 3 million pound loan for Public Works. Atkinson introduced a bill to establish a contributory social security scheme in 1882, but this was well ahead of contemporary opinion, and his second attempt in 1883 was greeted with "ribald laughter". Similarly,

William Rolleston William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent. Biography Early life Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby, York ...

’s attempt to create a perpetual Crown lease option for land ownership was amended beyond recognition by the Legislative Council. On 15 September 1882 the ministry passed the ''North Island Main Trunk Railway Loan Act'', to expedite construction of the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

south of

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato, Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipā District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south ...

by authorising the overseas borrowing of a million pounds for the work. Whitaker had only intended to serve for a single session of Parliament, and having found the Premiership tiresome, he returned to his legal practice. He was succeeded by his close colleague Harry Atkinson.

Ministers

The following members served in the Whitaker Ministry:

Background

Ministers

References

See also