The Dominion of New Zealand was the historical successor to the Colony of New Zealand. It was a constitutional monarchy with a high level of self-government within the British Empire.

New Zealand became a separate British Crown colony in 1841 and received responsible government with the Constitution Act in 1852. New Zealand chose not to take part in the Federation of Australia and became the Dominion of New Zealand on 26 September 1907, Dominion Day, by proclamation of King Edward VII. Dominion status was a public mark of the political independence that had evolved over half a century through responsible government.

Just under one million people lived in New Zealand in 1907 and cities such as Auckland and Wellington were growing rapidly. The Dominion of New Zealand allowed the British Government to shape its foreign policy, and it followed Britain into the First World War. The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. When the Second World War broke out in 1939 the New Zealand Government made its own decision to enter the war.

In the post-war period, the term 'dominion' has fallen into disuse. Sovereignty on external affairs was granted with the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and adopted by the New Zealand Parliament in 1947. The 1907 royal proclamation of dominion status has never been revoked, After much debate over lexicon, the term 'dominion' was decided upon. to change the designation of New Zealand from the Colony of New Zealand to the Dominion of New Zealand.

The adoption of the designation of dominion would, "raise the status of New Zealand" stated Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward and "… have no other effect than that of doing the country good". Ward also had regional imperial ambitions. He hoped the new designation would remind the world that New Zealand was not part of Australia. It would dignify New Zealand, a country he thought was "the natural centre for the government of the South Pacific".

Dominion status was strongly opposed by Leader of the Opposition William Massey, an ardent British imperialist, who suspected that the change would lead to demands for increases in viceregal and ministerial salaries.

Effect and reception

right|thumb|upright=1.5|The New Zealand Observer (1907) shows Prime Minister [[Joseph Ward|Sir Joseph Ward as a pretentious dwarf beneath a massive 'Dominion' top hat. The caption reads:

The Surprise Packet:<br>

Canada: "Rather large for him, is it not?"<br>

Australia: "Oh his head is swelling rapidly. The hat will soon fit."]]

With the attaining of dominion status, the colonial treasurer became the minister of finance and the Colonial Secretary's Office was renamed the Department of Internal Affairs. The proclamation of 10 September also designated members of the House of Representatives as "M.P." (Member of Parliament). Previously they were designated "M.H.R." (Member of the House of Representatives).

Letters patent were issued to confirm New Zealand's change in status, declaring that: "there shall be a Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Our Dominion of New Zealand".

Joseph Ward had thought that New Zealanders would be "much gratified" with the new title. Dominion status was in fact received with limited enthusiasm or indifference from the general public, Dominion status symbolised New Zealand's shift to self-governance, but this change had been practically accomplished with the first responsible government in the 1850s.

The national flag, depicting the British Union Flag, remained the same. Until 1911 New Zealand used the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom on all official documents and public buildings, but following its new status a new coat of arms for New Zealand was designed. A royal warrant granting armorial ensigns and supports was issued on 26 August 1911 and published in the New Zealand Gazette on 11 January 1912.

For a further decade, until 1917, the viceroy retained the title 'governor'; letters patent were issued re-designating the viceroy as 'governor-general' (as in other dominions). The new title better reflected New Zealand's prestige within the British Empire. The 1917 letters patent constituted the office, with the officeholder described as 'Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Our Dominion of New Zealand'.

Despite the new status, there was some apprehension in 1919 when Prime Minister Bill Massey signed the Treaty of Versailles (giving New Zealand membership of the League of Nations). This act was a turning point in New Zealand's diplomatic history, indicating that the dominion had a degree of control over its foreign affairs. Massey himself did not view it as a symbolic act and would have preferred New Zealand to maintain a deferential role within the empire.

Territorial expansion

The Antarctic territory of the Ross Dependency, previously under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, is today regarded by New Zealand as having become part of the Dominion of New Zealand on 16 August 1923. The legality of that contemporary assertion has been questioned but is nonetheless the position of New Zealand.

The Cook Islands and Niue each already formed part of the Dominion of New Zealand on the date it was proclaimed. Both had become part of the Colony of New Zealand on 11 June 1901. Western Samoa was never part of New Zealand, having instead been the subject of a League of Nations mandate and subsequently a United Nations Trusteeship agreement. In 1982 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council allowed Samoans born under New Zealand administration (i.e. prior to 1962) to claim New Zealand citizenship.

Changes to dominion status

Balfour Declaration

thumb|right|upright=1.2|[[George V|King George V with the prime ministers of the British dominions at the 1926 Imperial Conference]]

The 1926 Imperial Conference devised the 'Balfour formula' of dominion status, stating that: The Balfour Report further resolved that each respective governor-general occupied "the same position in relation to the administration of public affairs in the Dominion" as was held by the monarch in the United Kingdom. Consequently, the only advisers to the governor-general (and the monarch in New Zealand) were his New Zealand ministers.

Prime Minister Gordon Coates, who led the New Zealand delegation to the conference, called the Balfour Declaration a "poisonous document" that would weaken the British Empire as a whole.

New Zealand initially viewed the Statute of Westminster as an "unnecessary legal complication that it perceived would weaken imperial relations." The New Zealand Government only allowed the Dominion of New Zealand to be cited in the statute provided that the operative sections did not apply unless adopted by the New Zealand Parliament. Preferring the British Government to handle most of its foreign affairs and defence, New Zealand held back from adopting the Statute of Westminster Act.

thumb|upright|The Labour government of [[Peter Fraser adopted the Statute of Westminster in 1947.]]

The First Labour Government (1935–1949) pursued a more independent path in foreign affairs, in spite of the statute remaining unadopted. It was forced to abandon the proposal when the opposition accused the government of being disloyal to Britain at a time of need.

One of the first marks of New Zealand's sovereignty was the alteration of the monarch's title by the Royal Titles Act 1953. For the first time, the monarch's official New Zealand title mentioned New Zealand separately from the United Kingdom and the other dominions, now called Realms:

The name of the state in official usage was also changed to the Realm of New Zealand. The term 'dominion' largely fell into disuse over the next decade. The term persisted the longest in the names of institutions (for instance, the Dominion Museum was not renamed the National Museum until 1972), businesses, and in the constitutions of clubs and societies. The Dominion Post, a newspaper formed by a merger of The Dominion (first published on 26 September 1907, the day New Zealand achieved dominion status) and The Evening Post, dropped "Dominion" to become The Post as late as April 2023.

The change in style did not otherwise affect the legal status of New Zealand or its Government; the 1907 royal proclamation of dominion status has never been revoked and remains in force today. As such, the term 'dominion' may be included in the formal title of New Zealand.

Nevertheless, the opinion of the New Zealand Government is that New Zealand became sovereign on foreign issues in 1947: "…both in terms of gaining formal legal control over the conduct of its foreign policy and the attainment of constitutional and plenary powers by its legislature". Legal academics Dame Alison Quentin-Baxter and Janet McLean argue the 1907 proclamation should be regarded as "spent", albeit not revoked.

See also

  • History of New Zealand
  • Independence of New Zealand
  • Proclamation of accession of Elizabeth II

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

  • Dominion status symposium 2007
  • Radio talks, 2007, about dominion status (Radio New Zealand)