The 1853 New Zealand provincial elections were the first elections in New Zealand to elect members and superintendents to the newly created Provinces of New Zealand. The elections were held between July and September 1853, at the same time as the 1853 New Zealand general elections for the central government, which were held between July and October. The provincial elections had higher voter turnouts than the general elections, with the elections for provincial superintendents (where they were contested) having the highest voter turnout.
The Auckland Provincial Council was originally made up by 24 members from six electorates: City of Auckland (6), Suburbs of Auckland (4), Pensioner Settlements (4), Northern Division (4), Southern Division (4), and Bay of Islands (2).
| Northern Division | Allan O'Neill[1] | 208 (1) | 1 August 1853 | |
| Northern Division | Patrick Dignan | 204 (2) | 1 August 1853 | |
| Northern Division | James Hill[2] | 168 (3) | 1 August 1853 | |
| Northern Division | Patrick Donovan | 162 (4) | 1 August 1853 | |
| City of Auckland | James Thomas Boylan | 575 (1) | 20 July 1853 | |
| City of Auckland | Thomas Bartley | 513 (2) | 20 July 1853 | |
| City of Auckland | Robert Mitchell | 485 (3) | 20 July 1853 | |
| City of Auckland | James O'Neill[3] | 448 (4) | 20 July 1853 | |
| City of Auckland | James Derrom | 367 (5) | 20 July 1853 | |
| City of Auckland | Andrew O'Brien | 363 (6) | 20 July 1853 | |
| Suburbs of Auckland | William Field Porter | 86 (1) | 20 July 1853 | |
| Suburbs of Auckland | William Connell | 84 (2) | 20 July 1853 | |
| Suburbs of Auckland | John Watson Bain | 75 (3) | 20 July 1853 | |
| Suburbs of Auckland | John Anderson Gilfillan | 72 (4) | 20 July 1853 | |
| Southern Division | Joseph Newman[4] | 244 (1) | 1 August 1853 | |
| Southern Division | James Dilworth | 222 (2) | 1 August 1853 | |
| Southern Division | William Innes Taylor[5] | 209 (3) | 1 August 1853 | |
| Southern Division | James Macky | 189 (4) | 1 August 1853 | |
| Pensioner Settlements | Francis Charles Lewis[6] | 342 (1) | 22 July 1853 | |
| Pensioner Settlements | Joseph Brennan | 296 (2) | 22 July 1853 | |
| Pensioner Settlements | William Powditch | 291 (3) | 22 July 1853 | |
| Pensioner Settlements | John Williamson | 263 (4) | 22 July 1853 | |
| Bay of Islands | James Busby[7] | unopposed | 27 July 1853 | |
| Bay of Islands | George Clarke | unopposed | 27 July 1853 |
The New Plymouth Provincial Council (with the province later known as Taranaki Province) was originally made up by nine members from three electorates:Town of New Plymouth (2), Grey and Bell (4), and Omata (3).
| Town of New Plymouth | Isaac Newton Watt[8] | 71 (1) | 20 August 1853 | |
| Town of New Plymouth | Samuel Vickers | 61 (2) | 20 August 1853 | |
| Grey and Bell | Peter Elliott | 119 (1) | 20 August 1853 | |
| Grey and Bell | George Cutfield | 108 (2) | 20 August 1853 | |
| Grey and Bell | Robert Parris | 106 (3) | 20 August 1853 | |
| Grey and Bell | Richard Chilman | 98 (4) | 20 August 1853 | |
| Omata | Thomas Good | 57 (1) | 20 August 1853 | |
| Omata | Richard Rundle | 57 (2) | 20 August 1853 | |
| Omata | George Burton | 36 (3) | 20 August 1853 |
The Wellington Provincial Council was originally made up by eighteen members from five electorates: City of Wellington (7), Wellington Country (3), Hutt (4), Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay (2), and Wanganui and Rangitikei (2).
| Hutt | [9] | 13 August 1853[10] | |
| Hutt | 13 August 1853 | ||
| Hutt | 13 August 1853 | ||
| Hutt | 13 August 1853 | ||
| Wanganui and Rangitikei | 27 August 1853 | ||
| Wanganui and Rangitikei | [11] [12] | 27 August 1853 | |
| Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay | [13] | 10 August 1853 | |
| Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay | 10 August 1853 | ||
| City of Wellington | 9 August 1853[14] | ||
| City of Wellington | 9 August 1853 | ||
| City of Wellington | 9 August 1853 | ||
| City of Wellington | 9 August 1853 | ||
| City of Wellington | 9 August 1853 | ||
| City of Wellington | 9 August 1853 | ||
| City of Wellington | 9 August 1853 | ||
| Wellington Country | 11 August 1853[15] | ||
| Wellington Country | 11 August 1853 | ||
| Wellington Country | 11 August 1853 |
The Nelson Provincial Council was originally made up by fifteen members from seven electorates: Town of Nelson (5), Waimea East (2), Waimea South (2), Wairau (2), Motueka and Massacre Bay (2), Waimea West (1), and Suburban Districts (1).
| Electoral district | Winner | Votes (rank) | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [16] | 161 (1) | 10 August 1853 | ||
| 160 (2) | 10 August 1853 | |||
| 132 (3) | 10 August 1853 | |||
| 114 (4) | 10 August 1853 | |||
| 110 (5) | 10 August 1853 | |||
| Waimea East | [17] | unopposed | 2 August 1853 | |
| Waimea East | unopposed | 2 August 1853 | ||
| Waimea South | [18] | 72 (1) | 18 August 1853 | |
| Waimea South | 35 (2) | 18 August 1853 | ||
| Wairau | [19] | unopposed | 10 August 1853 | |
| Wairau | unopposed | 10 August 1853 | ||
| [20] | 48 (1) | 19 August 1853 | ||
| 36 (2) | 19 August 1853 | |||
| Waimea West | [21] | unopposed | 3 August 1853 | |
| Suburban Districts | [22] | unopposed | 10 August 1853 |
The Canterbury Provincial Council was originally made up by twelve members from four electorates: Town of Christchurch (3), Christchurch Country District (4), Town of Lyttelton (3), and Akaroa (2). In Akaroa, there was a draw for second place between Rev. William Aylmer and William Sefton Moorhouse. The returning officer gave his vote to Aylmer;[23] Moorhouse had a week earlier been elected to the House of Representatives beating Rhodes.[24]
| Town of Christchurch | [25] | 77 (1) | 3 September 1853 | |
| Town of Christchurch | 74 (2) | 3 September 1853 | ||
| Town of Christchurch | 71 (3) | 3 September 1853 | ||
| Christchurch Country | [26] | 158 (1) | 10 September 1853 | |
| Christchurch Country | 154 (2) | 10 September 1853 | ||
| Christchurch Country | 151 (3) | 10 September 1853 | ||
| Christchurch Country | 132 (4) | 10 September 1853 | ||
| Town of Lyttelton | [27] | 66 (1) | 31 August 1853 | |
| Town of Lyttelton | 64 (2) | 31 August 1853 | ||
| Town of Lyttelton | 60 (3) | 31 August 1853 | ||
| Akaroa | 27 (1) | 31 August 1853 | ||
| Akaroa | 24 (2) | 31 August 1853 |
The Otago Provincial Council was originally made up by nine members from two electorates: Town of Dunedin (3) and Dunedin Country District (6).
| Electoral district | Winner | Votes (rank) | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Cutten[28] | 54 (1) | 20 September 1853 | ||
| 50 (2) | 20 September 1853 | |||
| 39 (3) | 20 September 1853 | |||
| John Hyde Harris[29] | 146 (1) | 28 September 1853 | ||
| 118 (2) | 28 September 1853 | |||
| 114 (3) | 28 September 1853 | |||
| 111 (4) | 28 September 1853 | |||
| 97 (5) | 28 September 1853 | |||
| 94 (6) | 28 September 1853 |
| Auckland | 30 June 1853[30] | Office established | Robert Wynyard | William Brown | None | 12 July 1853 | |
| New Plymouth | 16 July 1853 | Office established | Charles Brown[31] | William Halse | John T. Wicksteed | 16 July 1853 | |
| Wellington | Office established | Isaac Featherston | Elected unopposed | 2 July 1853 | |||
| Nelson | Office established | Edward Stafford | John Saxton | Francis Jollie | 1 August 1853 | ||
| Canterbury | Office established | James FitzGerald | James Campbell | Henry Tancred | 20 July 1853 | ||
| Otago | Office established | William Cargill | Elected unopposed | 26 December 1853 | |||