1900 in New Zealand explained

The following lists events that happened during 1900 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State – Queen Victoria
Governor – The Earl of Ranfurly GCMG^[1]

Government and law

The 14th New Zealand Parliament continued. Government was

Speaker of the House – Sir Maurice O'Rorke
Prime Minister – Richard Seddon
Minister of Finance – Richard Seddon
Chief Justice – Sir Robert Stout

Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition – William Russell (Independent).^[2]

Main centre leaders

Mayor of Auckland – David Goldie
Mayor of Wellington – John Aitken
Mayor of Christchurch – Charles Louisson, William Reece
Mayor of Dunedin – Robert Chisholm

Events

6 January — A by-election in Otaki is held.
15 January —The New Zealand Mounted Rifles rout a Boer assault at Slingersfontein, South Africa.
9 February — Opening of the Wanganui Opera House by premier Richard Seddon.^[3]
15 February — New Zealand troops are part of the relief of Kimberley, South Africa.
27 April — A by-election in Auckland is held.
3 May — Holy Cross College, Mosgiel (Roman Catholic seminary) established.
May — Phosphate discovered on Nauru – mining begins later in the year.
May–June — Tour of Pacific islands by Prime Minister Richard Seddon. Tonga, Niue, Fiji and the Cook Islands are visited.
18 July — A by-election in Waihemo is held.
28 September — The New Zealand Government votes to incorporate the Cook Islands into New Zealand.
October — The number of European electorates in the New Zealand Parliament is increased to 76.
23 October — The country's first electric tram service begins, between Roslyn and Maori Hill in Dunedin.

Unknown date

Māori Lands Administration Act passed.
George Hemmings brings the first motor car into the South Island.
The General Assembly Library (part of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings) is built.
18 people die in a boating tragedy on the Motu River.

Arts and literature

See 1900 in art, 1900 in literature,

Music

See: 1900 in music

Film

Alfred Henry Whitehouse's The Departure of the Second Contingent for the Boer War – the oldest known surviving New Zealand film – premieres.

Sport

Athletics

National champions (Men):

100 yards – G. Smith (Auckland)
250 yards – G. Smith (Auckland)
440 yards – W Strickland (Hawke's Bay)
880 yards – J Lynskey (Canterbury)
1 mile – W Simpson (Canterbury)
3 miles – W Simpson (Canterbury)
120 yards hurdles – G. Smith (Auckland)
440 yards hurdles – G. Smith (Auckland)
Long jump – Te Rangi Hīroa (Otago)
High jump – C Laurie (Auckland)
Pole vault – C Laurie (Auckland)
Shot put – W Madill (Auckland)
Hammer throw – W Madill (Auckland)

Badminton

The first club is formed, in Auckland, but soon goes into recess.^[4] (see also 1927)

Chess

National Champion: W.E. Mason of Wellington.^[5]

Cricket

See 1900–01 New Zealand cricket season
A tour of New Zealand by Australia's Melbourne Cricket Club included seven matches, of which the visitors won six with one match drawn.
Six provincial matches were played during the 1899–1900 domestic season, all of them over two or three days, with wins by Otago over Hawke's Bay and Canterbury, by Wellington and Auckland over Otago, and by Canterbury and Auckland over Wellington.
Scores were uniformly low by modern standards, mostly below 200, with only two centuries scored and only one team total of over 300 runs: the highest team total was 464 by Wellington against Otago, with centuries by F A Midlane (149) and C A Richardson (113), and the best bowling figures were A D Downes' 7–43 for Otago against Canterbury.

Golf

The 8th National Amateur Championships were held in Otago^[6]

Men: Arthur Duncan (Wellington) – 2nd title
Women: K Rattray (Otago) – 3rd title

Horse racing

Harness racing

Auckland Trotting Cup: Cob^[7]

Thoroughbred racing

New Zealand Cup winner: Fulmen Ideal
New Zealand Derby winner: Renown
Auckland Cup winner: Blue Jacket
Wellington Cup winner: Djin Djin
Top New Zealand stakes earner: Advance
Leading flat jockey: C Jenkins (50 wins)

Polo

Savile Cup winners: Oroua (A Strang, J Strang, W Strang, O Robinson)

Rowing

Men's national champions (coxed fours): Picton
Men's national champions (coxless pairs): Wellington
Men's national champions (double sculls): Canterbury
Men's national champions (single sculls): T Spencer (Wellington)

Rugby union

Provincial club rugby champions include: City (Auckland); Westport (Buller); Christchurch (Canterbury); Pirates (Hawke's Bay); Levin (Horowhenua); Awarua (Marlborough); Alhambra (Otago); Gisborne (Poverty Bay); Hawera (Taranaki); Kaierau (Wanganui); Melrose (Wellington); winners of Bush, Nelson, and Wairarapa club competitions unknown.

see also

Shooting

Ballinger Belt – no competition^[8]

Soccer

Provincial league champions:^[9]

Auckland: Grafton AFC (Auckland)
Otago: Roslyn Dunedin
Wellington: Diamond Wellington

Swimming

National champions (men):

100 yards freestyle – G.A. Tyler^[10]
220 yards freestyle – G.A. Tyler^[10]
440 yards freestyle – G.A. Tyler^[11]

Tennis

New Zealand championships:

Men's singles: J Hooper
Women's singles: K Nunneley
Men's doubles: C Cox/J Collins
Women's doubles: K Nunneley/E Harman

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

Births

4 January: Lance Richdale, ornithologist
19 January: Jerry Skinner, politician, deputy Prime Minister (in Australia)
4 February: Kazimierz Wodzicki
13 March: Quentin Donald
25 March: Lewis Harris
4 May: Archibald McIndoe, plastic surgeon
8 May: Lancelot William McCaskill
17 May: Robert Macfarlane
3 June: James Anderson McPherson
9 June: Norman Hargrave Taylor
4 July: Rudall Hayward, filmmaker
27 July (as Nina Betts): Nina Byron, silent film actress, dancer.
10 August: Arthur Porritt
11 August: Alexander Astor
1 September: Frederick McDowall
7 September: Nora Sipos
17 September: Hedwig Weitzel
22 September: Henry Ah Kew
23 September: Alwyn Warren
14 October: Eddie McLeod, cricketer
19 October: Edwin Coubray
21 October: Quentin Pope
3 November (in Durham, England): Roger Blunt, cricketer
5 November: Esther James
- 12 November: Stanley Graham 23 November: Keith Buttle, mayor of Auckland
27 November: Gordon Wilson

Deaths

date unknown: Te Rangitahau
3 February: Elizabeth Pulman
3 March: Arthur Halcombe
12 March: James McDonald, politician
15 March: William Crowther, Mayor of Auckland, politician
22 March: Carl Gustav Schmitt
May: Hirawanu Tapu
- 26 May: George Henry Frederick Ulrich 27 May: Ebenezer Hamlin, politician
20 July (in England): Andrew Russell; farmer, politician and soldier
28 September: Topi Patuki
4 October: William Skey
- 8 November: Charles O'Neill 9 December Archibald Hilson Ross (politician)
20 or 29 December (approximately, in Rome): Thomas Broham

Notes and References

Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
Web site: Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition. 6 April 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081017200326/http://www1.elections.org.nz/democracy/leaders-opposition.html. 17 October 2008. dead.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/timeline&new_date=09/02 nzhistory.net.nz
Todd, S. (1976) Sporting Records of New Zealand. Auckland: Moa Publications.
http://www.poisonpawn.co.nz/nzcftitles.htm List of New Zealand Chess Champions
Web site: Men's Golf – National Champions. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. McLintock. A. H.. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 1966. 13 February 2009.
http://www.hrnz.co.nz/data/major_races/major_race2.htm Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz
Web site: New Zealand champion shot / Ballinger Belt winners . National Rifle Association of New Zealand . 18 April 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150125012900/http://www.nranz.com/competitions/ballinger_belt . 25 January 2015 .
Web site: New Zealand: List of champions. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.
News: Swimming championships . 5 March 1900 . . 18 April 2014 . 6.
News: Swimming championships . 8 March 1900 . New Zealand Herald . 18 April 2014 . 3.