1878 in New Zealand explained

The following lists events that happened during 1878 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State – Queen Victoria
• Governor – The Marquess of Normanby

Government and law

The 6th New Zealand Parliament continues.

• Speaker of the House – Sir William Fitzherbet
• Premier – Sir George Grey
• Minister of Finance – William Larnach resigns on 5 March. He is succeeded by John Ballance on 12 July.
• Chief Justice – Hon Sir James Prendergast

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – Henry Brett followed by Thomas Peacock
• Mayor of Christchurch – James Gapes followed by Henry Thomson
• Mayor of Dunedin – Richard Henry Leary followed by Henry John Walter
• Mayor of Wellington – Joseph Dransfield

Events

• 2 February: Alois Lubecki makes the first telephone call in the country, between Dunedin and Milton. Later in the year the first public demonstration of the telephone is made with a call between Blenheim and Nelson.^[1]
• 30 September: Great Flood of 1878, caused by the rapid melting of heavy winter snows in Central Otago, kills at least three people and destroys several bridges in Clutha and Southland.^[2]

Undated

• Ashburton is made a borough.^[3]

Sport

Cricket

An Australian team tours New Zealand in January and February, playing seven provincial teams.^[4] None of the matches have first-class status as the home sides fielded between 15 and 22 players. A win by the Canterbury XV is the first ever win by a New Zealand side over an international touring team.

• See Australian cricket team in New Zealand in 1877–78

Horse racing

• New Zealand Cup winner: Maritana
• New Zealand Derby winner: Natator
• Auckland Cup winner: Ariel
• Wellington Cup winner: Lara

Rugby union

New clubs were formed in Featherston and Carterton, both in the south Wairarapa. Existing football clubs in Gisborne, Palmerston North and Feilding adopted rugby rules.^[5]

Shooting

Ballinger Belt: No competition

Births

• 10 September: Fanny Irvine-Smith, teacher and writer
• 9 May: Jessie Buckland, photographer

Deaths

• 9 February: William Williams, first Bishop of Waiapu.^[6]
• 11 February: William Barnard Rhodes, businessman and politician.
• 6 December: Sir John Richardson, politician.
• 25 December Thomas Bartley, politician.

See also

• List of years in New Zealand
• Timeline of New Zealand history
• History of New Zealand
• Military history of New Zealand
• Timeline of the New Zealand environment

References

General

• Romanos, J. (2001) New Zealand Sporting Records and Lists. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett.

Specific

Notes and References

1. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/telecommunications/2 A. C. Wilson. 'Telecommunications - Telephones, 1877–1914', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 4-Jul-12
2. Web site: Great Flood hits South Island.
3. http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/A/Ashburton/Ashburton/en Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966: Ashburton
4. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/NZ/1877-78_NZ_Australia_in_New_Zealand_1877-78.html Itinerary
5. Encyclopedia: RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. A. H. . McLintock . Alexander Hare McLintock. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 1966. 13 February 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090108122511/http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/R/RugbyUnionFootball/History/en. 8 January 2009. live.
6. 'Williams, William', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2007