Surveyor-General of New Zealand is a position created in 1840 when New Zealand became a separate colony.
| Surveyor general | Period in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| February 1840 – December 1841 | Appointed 1839 | |
| January 1842 – February 1856 | From 1852 to 1876 the office of Surveyor-General lapsed. Control of surveys was ceded to the provinces. | |
| May 1876 – October 1879 | Surveyor-General was appointed in 1876 as head of the Department of the Surveyor-General. | |
| November 1879 – January 1889 | Secretary for Crown Lands and Surveyor-General | |
| February 1889 – June 1901 | Secretary for Crown Lands and Surveyor-General | |
| Alexander Barron | July 1901 – December 1901 | Secretary for Crown Lands and Acting Surveyor-General |
| January 1902 – June 1906 | Secretary for Crown Lands and Surveyor-General | |
| Thomas Humphries | July 1906 – June 1909 | |
| John Strauchon | July 1909 – Mar 1912 | |
| James Mackenzie | April 1912 – Mar 1914 | |
| Ernest Herbert Wilmot | April 1914 – Mar 1920 | |
| April 1920 – October 1920 | Under-Secretary for Lands and Surveyor-General | |
| William Thomas Neill | October 1920 – December 1928 | |
| Maurice Crompton Smith | October 1922 – December 1922 | Acting |
| John Baird Thompson | January 1929 – Mar 1929 | |
| Harry Edward Walshe | April 1929 – Mar 1946 | |
| Russell Gladstone Dick | April 1946 – June 1962 | |
| Robert Philip Gough | June 1962 – June 1970 | |
| William Seaton Boyes | July 1970 – February 1973 | |
| Ian Francis Stirling | Mar 1973 – June 1981 | |
| Warren Neil Hawkey | July 1981 – September 1987 | |
| William Alexander Robertson | October 1987 – June 1996 | also Director-General from April 1988 |
| Anthony John Bevin | June 1996 – April 2004 | Acting from October 1995 to June 1996 |
| Dr Donald Grant | April 2004 – February 2014 | |
| Mark Dyer[1] | Mar 2014 – August 2018 | |
| Anselm Haanen[2] | August 2018 – present | Acting from August 2018 to July 2019 |