Pages tagged with: dominion day

On 26 September 1907 the colony of New Zealand ceased to exist. It became, instead, a dominion within the British Empire.

New Zealand had its own reasons for wanting to become a dominion. Premier Sir Joseph Ward had regional imperial ambitions, and he hoped the term ‘dominion’ would remind the world that New Zealand was not part of Australia.

The first Dominion Day, 1907, was a holiday for public servants as all government offices closed to mark the occasion.

The main entrance portico of Parliament Buildings is illuminated to celebrate Dominion Day (26 September 1907). Words are illuminated as follows: 'Advance New Zealand' and beneath this 'Colony 1840 Dominion 1907'.

Dominion Day, 26 September, never really took hold in New Zealand. Wellington was one of the few places that kept up ceremonies after 1907.

What changed when New Zealand became a dominion in 1907?

Talk entitled Building on the Past and Looking at the Future presented by Alison Quentin-Baxter DCNZM at the Dominion symposium, 26 September 2007

The Parliamentary Library was lit up on 26 September 2007 to mark the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of dominion status.

This clip tells the story of New Zealand's adoption of dominion status in 1907. It contains images and sound of Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward reading the proclamation on 26 September that year and film of Dominion Day celebrations outside Parliament and at Newtown Park in Wellington, taken in 1907 or 1908.

Classroom ideas and activities about dominion status

The proclamation on 26 September 1907 announces the 'Colony of New Zealand to be styled Dominion of New Zealand'.

Government Buildings on Lambton Quay, Wellington, are illuminated for Dominion Day (26 September) in 1907.

Reading the proclamation of New Zealand's dominion status, 1907

1908 Dominion Day celebrations at the Basin Reserve, Wellington

In this Dominion Day cartoon, Blomfield draws Prime Minister Joseph Ward as a pretentious dwarf beneath a massive ‘dominion’ top hat.

What was New Zealand like at the time of becoming a dominion?

Read and hear the papers from the Dominion status symposium held at  Parliament Buildings on Dominion Day - 26 September 2007