New Zealand becomes a Dominion
- When
- 26 September 1907
- Where
- Wellington · Te Whanganui-a-Tara
- Reach
- Nationwide
The colony was renamed a Dominion — a change of title that Prime Minister Joseph Ward wanted for its prestige, and which altered almost nothing legally.
Dominion Day was celebrated with parades and a public holiday, then quietly forgotten within a generation. Real legislative independence came only with the Statute of Westminster, which New Zealand did not adopt until 1947 — the last of the Dominions to do so, out of genuine attachment to Britain rather than oversight.
Regions affected
Sources
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Related
New Zealand declines to join Australia
A royal commission weighed federation with the new Commonwealth of Australia and recommended against it. The Australian constitution still leaves the door open.
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The first Labour government
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WellingtonThe provinces are abolished
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