The Taranaki Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Initially known as New Plymouth Province, the province was renamed on 1 January 1859 as the Taranaki Province.

Area

With an area of some , New Plymouth Province was the smallest of the initial six provinces, and it was also the least populous. European settlement started in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

in 1841, which was the province's capital. For the first 30 years, European settlement did not extend many miles beyond New Plymouth.

History

At the beginning of the 19th century, a coastal fringe some deep was densely populated with Māori.

Iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

from the

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

region threatened these Ngāti Awa, and during the 1820s, many of the inhabitants left Taranaki. In 1832, Waikato

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

launched an assault with firearms, resulting in the remaining Ngāti Awa being killed or going into slavery apart from the Otaku

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

in New Plymouth. When English emigrants arrived in 1841, they found deserted land. The settlement of the province was organised by the Plymouth Company, a subsidiary of the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model that was focused on the systematic colonisation of New Ze ...

which was later absorbed into its parent company. Taranaki was chosen for the settlement by the surveyor Frederic Carrington, and New Plymouth was the only town founded in the country founded through organised settlement that lacked a natural harbour. Carrington argued that fertile land and natural harbours don't come together in New Zealand, and that the land is more important for the settlement, and an artificial harbour will later be affordable. He was present when the breakwater was built 40 years after New Plymouth had been founded.

Anniversary Day

New Zealand law provides an anniversary day for each province. Taranaki Anniversary Day is celebrated annually on the second Monday in March.

Superintendents

The Taranaki Province had four Superintendents:

Legislation

No surviving legislation.

References

External links

Map of the North Island provinces

The Seal of New Plymouth - on reverse of coin
{{coord, 39, 18, S, 174, 8, E, display=title History of Taranaki Provinces of New Zealand States and territories established in 1853 1876 disestablishments in New Zealand 1853 establishments in New Zealand