# 1896 in New Zealand

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The following lists events that happened during 1896 in New Zealand.

## Incumbents
### Regal and viceregal

* Head of State – Queen Victoria
* Governor – David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow

### Government and law

The Liberal Party is re-elected and begins the 13th New Zealand Parliament.
* Speaker of the House – Sir Maurice O'Rorke
* Prime Minister – Richard Seddon
* Minister of Finance – Joseph Ward resigns on 16 June and is replaced by Richard Seddon
* Chief Justice – Hon Sir James Prendergast
* The Female Law Practitioners Act was passed in 1896, and Ethel Benjamin who had graduated in law from the University of Otago in 1896 was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 1897.

### Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition – William Russell.

### Main centre leaders

* Mayor of Auckland – James Holland followed by Abraham Boardman
* Mayor of Christchurch – Walter Cooper followed by Harry Joseph Beswick
* Mayor of Dunedin – Nathaniel Wales followed by Hugh Gourley
* Mayor of Wellington – George Fisher

## Events

* 26 March: Brunner Mine disaster; 65 miners killed in explosion
* 13 April: National Council of Women of New Zealand is founded, with Kate Sheppard as its first president.
* 30 September: The government increases the New Zealand head tax to £100 per head from £10, and tightens the other restriction to only one Chinese immigrant for every 200 tons of cargo from 100 tons.
* 13 October: First public screening of a motion picture in New Zealand, in Auckland.
* 4 December: 1896 New Zealand general election.

### Undated

* Census measures national population as 743,214.

## Media

* The Waikato Argus starts publication. The newspaper runs until 1915.
* The Gisborne Times is founded. It became a daily in 1901, and continued to publish until being bought out by The Poverty Bay Herald in 1938.
* July: The Waikato Times and Waikato Advocate merge, and the former moves to daily publication.

## Sport
### Athletics

National Champions, Men
* 100 yards – E. Robinson (Canterbury)
* 250 yards – W. Kingston (Otago)
* 440 yards – W. Low (Otago)
* 880 yards – W. Low (Otago)
* 1 mile – W. Bennett (Otago)
* 3 miles – W. Bennett (Otago)
* 120 yards hurdles – W. Martin (Auckland)
* 440 yards hurdles – J. Thomas Roberts (Auckland)
* Long jump – Leonard Cuff (Canterbury)
* High jump – P. Brown (Canterbury)
* Pole vault – tie R. Hunter (Hawkes Bay) and H. Kingsley (Wanganui)
* Shot put – W. Rhodes (Wellington)
* Hammer throw – P. Brown (Canterbury)

### Chess

National Champion: W. Meldrum of Rangitikei.

### Golf

* Men's national amateur champion – M.S. Todd (Otago)
* Women's national amateur champion – L. Wilford (Hutt)

### Horse racing
#### Harness racing

* Auckland Trotting Cup (over 3 miles) is won by Fibre

#### Thoroughbred racing

* New Zealand Cup – Lady Zetland
* New Zealand Derby – Uniform
* Auckland Cup – Nestor
* Wellington Cup – Brooklet

#### Season leaders (1895/96)

* Top New Zealand stakes earner – Euroclydon
* Leading flat jockey – C. Jenkins

### Lawn Bowls

National Champions There are no national championships this year.

### Polo

* Savile Cup winners – Manawatu

### Rowing

National Champions (Men)
* Single sculls – C. Chapman (Wairewa)
* Double sculls – Wairewa, Little River
* Coxless pairs – Canterbury
* Coxed fours – Queen's Dr, Port Chalmers

### Shooting

Ballinger Belt – Sergeant Wakelyn (Honorary Reserve Corps, Christchurch)

### Soccer

Provincial league champions:
* Auckland: Auckland United
* Otago: Roslyn Dunedin
* Wellington: Wellington Swifts

### Swimming

Not held

### Tennis

National Championships
* Men's singles – H. Parker
* Women's singles – Kathleen Nunneley
* Men's doubles – Richard Harman and D. Collins
* Women's doubles – Kathleen Nunneley and T. Trimmell

## Births

* 15 June (in England): Archie Fisher, painter. (died 1959)
* 7 July: Harold Beamish, World War I flying ace. (died 1986)

## Deaths

* 18 May: Daniel Pollen, politician (born 1813)
* 2 August: James FitzGerald, politician (born 1818).
* 28 August:James Hume, medical doctor (born 1823).