1899 in New Zealand

Decades:	1870s; 1880s; 1890s; 1900s; 1910s;
See also:	History of New Zealand; List of years in New Zealand; Timeline of New Zealand history;

The following lists events that happened during 1899 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State – Queen Victoria
Governor – The Earl of Ranfurly GCMG^[1]

Government and law

The Liberal Party is re-elected and forms the 14th New Zealand Parliament. The number of MPs is increased to 80.

Speaker of the House – Sir Maurice O'Rorke
Prime Minister – Richard Seddon
Minister of Finance – Richard Seddon
Chief Justice – Sir Robert Stout replaced Hon Sir James Prendergast

Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition – William Russell, (Independent).^[2]

Main centre leaders

Mayor of Auckland – David Goldie
Mayor of Christchurch – Charles Louisson
Mayor of Dunedin – William Swan followed by Robert Chisholm
Mayor of Wellington – John Rutherford Blair

Events

28 September: Prime Minister Richard Seddon asks Parliament to approve the offer to the imperial government of a contingent of mounted rifles and the raising of such a force if the offer were accepted and thus becoming the first British Colony to send troops to the Boer war. The first New Zealand Army contingent leaves for South Africa before the end of the year.
2 November: Balloonist David Maloney (alias Captain Charles Lorraine) is blown out to sea after taking off from Lancaster Park. The balloon crashes into the sea and although Maloney is seen to survive by the time rescuers arrive there is no sign of him and his body is never found.^[3] This is the first aviation fatality in New Zealand.^[4]
6 December: General election.
19 December: Māori vote for the general election.

Undated

The Government legislates that from 1900 Labour Day will be a public holiday.
British expedition led by Carstens Borchgrevink, including several New Zealanders, establishes first base in Antarctica, at Cape Adare

Economy

Kauri gum exports peak at 11,116 tons.^[5]

Arts and literature

Music

Sport

Athletics

National champions, Men^[6]

100 yards – George Smith (Auckland)
250 yards – W. Kingston (Otago)
440 yards – W. Kingston (Otago)
880 yards – C. Hill (Hawkes Bay)
1 mile – S. Pentecost (Canterbury)
3 miles – P. Malthus (South Canterbury)
120 yards hurdles – George Smith (Auckland)
440 yards hurdles – George Smith (Auckland)
Long jump – R. Brownlee (Otago)
High jump – R. Brownlee (Otago)
Pole vault – Jimmy Te Paa (Auckland)
Shot put – O. McCormack (Otago)
Hammer throw – W. Madill (Auckland)

Chess

National Champion: No tournament held in calendar year (see 1898)

Cricket

Golf

The National Amateur Championships were held in Wellington^[7]

Men – Arthur Duncan (Wellington) – first title
Women – K. Rattray (Otago) – second title

Horse racing

Harness racing

Auckland Trotting Cup (over 2 miles) is won by Billy Wilson^[8]

Thoroughbred racing

New Zealand Cup – Seahorse
New Zealand Derby – Seahorse
Auckland Cup – Blue Jacket
Wellington Cup – Daunt

Season leaders (1898/99)

Top New Zealand stakes earner – Screw Gun
Leading flat jockey – C. Jenkins

Lawn Bowls

National Champions^[9]

Singles – W. Carswell (Taieri)
Pairs – T. Mackie and W. Carswell (skip) (Taieri)
Fours – A. Luoisson, H. Nalder, A. Bishop and W. Barnett (skip) (Christchurch)

Polo

Savile Cup winners – Oroua

Rowing

National Champions (Men)

Coxed fours – Picton
Coxless pairs – Wellington
Double sculls – Star
Single sculls – P. Graham (North Shore)

Rugby union

Provincial club rugby champions include:

see also Category:Rugby union in New Zealand

Shooting

Ballinger Belt – Bandmaster W. King (Oamaru Rifles)

Soccer

Provincial league champions:^[10]

Auckland: Auckland United
Otago: Roslyn Dunedin
Wellington: Wellington Rovers

Swimming

National champions (Men)

100 yards freestyle – T. Edwards (Canterbury)
220 yards freestyle – J. Hamilton (Wellington)

Tennis

National championships

Men's singles – C. Cox
Women's singles – Kathleen Nunneley
Men's doubles – C. Cox and J. Collins
Women's doubles – Kathleen Nunneley and C. Lean

Births

25 March: Burt Munro, record-setting motorcyclist
14 June: Philip Skoglund, politician.^[11]
26 July: Charles William "Bill" Hamilton, inventor of the jetboat.
14 November: Philip Connolly, politician.^[11]

Deaths

8 November: Thomas McDonnell, public servant and military leader.
28 November: Sophia Ann Bates, teacher and postmistress.^[12]

References

General

Romanos, J. (2001) New Zealand Sporting Records and Lists. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett. ISBN 1-86958-879-7

Specific

^ Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
^ "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
^ The New Zealand Herald, 2 November 1999. Looking Back.
^ Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Accidents and the development of aviation
^ Dunmore, Patricia, ed. (1977). The Dunmore Book of New Zealand Records. p. 21. ISBN 0-908564-08-2.
^ "National Champions, Men". Archived from the original on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
^ McLintock, A. H., ed. (1966). "Men's Golf – National Champions". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
^ Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ As the New Zealand Bowling Association at this time consists entirely of South Island clubs, the first truly "national" championships are not deemed to have begun until 1914.
^ "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.
^ ^a ^b Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
^ Matthews, Kay Morris. "Sophia Ann Bates". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

External links

Media related to 1899 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons

[1] Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52

[2] "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.

[NZH-3] The New Zealand Herald, 2 November 1999. Looking Back.

[TeAraAA-4] Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Accidents and the development of aviation

[5] Dunmore, Patricia, ed. (1977). The Dunmore Book of New Zealand Records. p. 21. ISBN 0-908564-08-2.

[6] "National Champions, Men". Archived from the original on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2008.

[7] McLintock, A. H., ed. (1966). "Men's Golf – National Champions". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 February 2009.

[8] Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[9] As the New Zealand Bowling Association at this time consists entirely of South Island clubs, the first truly "national" championships are not deemed to have begun until 1914.

[10] "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.

[nzp-11] Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

[DNZB_Bates-12] Matthews, Kay Morris. "Sophia Ann Bates". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

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v t e 1899 in Oceania
Sovereign states	Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue