Superintendent was the elected head of each Provincial Council in New Zealand from 1853 to 1876.
78-582: The General Assembly House , colloquially called " Shedifice " by the members of Parliament , was the first building to house the New Zealand Parliament in Auckland . It was in use by Parliament from 1854 until 1864 during the time that Auckland was the capital of New Zealand . It was also used by the Auckland Provincial Council , with Auckland Province owning the building from 1858. After
156-563: A Member of Parliament refers to a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka (since 1978), the National State Assembly (1972–78) and the House of Representatives of Ceylon (1947–72), the lower house of the Parliament of Ceylon . Members are elected in a general elections or appointed from the national lists allocated to parties (and independent groups) in proportion to their share of
234-669: A legal fiction allows voluntary resignation between elections; as MPs are forbidden from holding an " office of profit under the Crown", an MP wishing to resign will apply for the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds or the Stewardship of the Manor of Northstead which are nominally such paid offices and thus result in the MP vacating their seat. (Accepting a salaried ministerial office does not amount to
312-490: A proportional basis . After an election, the Election Commission allocates reserved seats to parties based on the number of general seats they won. A party then presents a list of candidates, each requiring a presenter and a seconder. If the number of candidates presented and seats allocated is equal, then there is no election and the reserved seats are filled in accordance with the candidate lists prepared by parties. In
390-507: A simple majority in Parliament. Since Bangladesh's independence, the prime minister has concurrently held the position of Leader of the House . The Parliament of Barbados is the legislative branch of the government of Barbados. It is a bicameral body, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Assembly. The Senate (upper house), the direct successor of a pre-Independence body known as
468-420: A speaker before Parliament could be formally opened. Charles Clifford found unanimous support and Wynyard as acting governor formally opened Parliament on Saturday, 27 May 1854. The General Assembly House was also used for meetings of the Auckland Provincial Council . This arrangement generally worked well, as many members of Parliament were also members of one of the provincial councils of New Zealand, and
546-569: A first-past-the-post basis in single-seat constituencies. The Parliament of Canada consists of the monarch , the Senate and the House of Commons . Only members of the House of Commons are referred to as members of Parliament ( French : député ); members of the Senate are called Senators (French: sénateur ). There are currently 105 seats in the Senate and 338 in the House of Commons. Members of Parliament are elected, while senators are appointed by
624-406: A general election for a three-year term. There are 72 electorate MPs, of which seven are elected only by Māori who have chosen to be registered on a separate Māori electoral roll. The remaining members are elected by proportional representation from published party lists . Since 1907, members of the House of Representatives have been referred to as 'Member of Parliament', abbreviated MP. From
702-409: A member of Parliament. Members of Parliament are styled Yang Berhormat ("Honourable") with the initials Y.B. appended prenominally . A prince who is a member of Parliament is styled Yang Berhormat Mulia . The prime minister, deputy prime minister and Tuns who are members of Parliament are styled Yang Amat Berhormat ("Most Honourable"), abbreviated Y.A.B. The Parliament of Malta consists of
780-480: A paid office under the Crown for these purposes.) The House of Lords is a legislative chamber that is part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Although they are part of the parliament, its members are referred to as peers , more formally as Lords of Parliament , not MPs. Lords Temporal sit for life, Lords Spiritual while they occupy their ecclesiastical positions. Hereditary peers may no longer pass on
858-431: A school, roads and bridges, another candidate might not deliver the same for their locality. Amongst other things, taxation, education, charitable aid and temperance were important issues back then. Initially, an open voting system was used, where those enrolled would tell the electoral officer their choice of candidate, who would note this on the electoral role. All of this was reasonably public, and unofficial tallies of
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#1732852152871936-535: A seat in the House of Lords to their heir automatically. The 92 who remain have been elected from among their own number, following the House of Lords Act 1999 and are the only elected members of the Lords. Members of the National Assembly , the lower house of Parliament , are styled "members of Parliament", while members of the Senate , the upper house, are referred to as "senators". Member of Parliament can be
1014-570: A £25,000 loan. By the time Parliament next convened and repealed the act, the loan had already been effected and could not be undone. Hence, the role of the Superintendents went much beyond the act of presiding over a provincial council. The post came with a lot of honour and responsibility. To be eligible to vote in the provincial (or national) elections, voters had to be male owners of property valued at £50, or leasehold valued at £10. The election for Superintendent, to be held every four years,
1092-667: Is a member of either of the two chambers of the Parliament of Austria ( Österreichisches Parlament ). The members of the Nationalrat are called Abgeordnete zum Nationalrat . The members of the Bundesrat , elected by the provincial diets ( Landtage ) of the nine federal States of Austria , are known as Mitglieder des Bundesrats . In Bulgaria there are 240 members of Parliament ( Bulgarian : Народно събрание / Парламент ; transliteration Narodno sabranie / Parlament), which are called 'Deputati' (singular Deputat). Moreover, there are 240 MPs in
1170-480: Is also sometimes used for members of parliament, but this may also be used to refer to unelected government officials with specific roles in a parliament and other expert advisers on parliamentary procedure such as the Senate parliamentarian in the United States. The term is aMembers of parliament typically form parliamentary groups , sometimes called caucuses , with members of the same political party .lso used to
1248-500: Is not subject to dissolution, and one third of the members retire every two years. Vacancies in both houses, whether because of death or resignation of a member, must be filled by using a bypoll within six months of the vacancy; the newly elected member then only serves the remainder of the term of the seat to which they are elected. The number of seats in both houses is regulated by the Constitution and parliamentary statutes . Since
1326-513: Is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district . Members of parliament typically form parliamentary groups , sometimes called caucuses , with members of the same political party . Many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often have a different title. The terms congressman / congresswoman or deputy are equivalent terms used in other jurisdictions. The term parliamentarian
1404-498: The Colony of New Zealand , was received. This allowed for a bicameral General Assembly (or Parliament), consisting of the governor, an appointed Legislative Council and an elected House of Representatives , with an Executive Council nominally appointed by the governor. It also allowed for provincial governments, and six provinces were initially established. The first general election was held in 1853 . On 18 January 1854, Parliament
1482-656: The Islamabad Capital Territory is represented by four senators. A member of the Senate of Pakistan (a senator) has a tenure of six years. Member of Parliament refers to elected members of the Parliament of Singapore , the appointed Non-constituency Member of Parliament from the opposition, as well as the Nominated Members of Parliament , who may be appointed from members of the public who have no connection to any political party in Singapore. In Sri Lanka ,
1560-654: The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel proposal by his opponent William Sefton Moorhouse (2nd Superintendent of Canterbury). Moorhouse had tried to use the Lyttelton Times for this purpose, a newspaper that he was the first editor of in 1851 but no longer had control over, but that newspaper backed the Moorhouse tunnel. The electors' excitement stemmed from the fact that the outcome of an election might significantly impact on their district; where one candidate might have promised
1638-628: The Mechanics' Institute instead. The second clash occurred in April 1856, when the fifth session of the Auckland Provincial Council had not finished when the first session of the 2nd New Zealand Parliament began; the provincial councillors once again moved to the Mechanics' Institute. The third and last clash occurred in late 1863, when the provincial council had not finished its session in time for
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#17328521528711716-647: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) and two houses, the Dewan Rakyat (the House of Representatives ) and Dewan Negara (the Senate ). The term "members of Parliament" only refers to members of the Dewan Rakyat . In Malay , a member of Parliament is called Ahli Parlimen , or less formally wakil rakyat (people's representative). Members of Parliament are elected from population-based single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post voting . The prime minister must be
1794-444: The counties and 12 members are nominated representatives. Kenya also has 47 elected senators from 47 counties; who sit in the Senate parliament. The senators oversee the counties, which are run by governors- also democratically elected. There are also members of county assembly. They are elected from each ward, and seat in county assemblies to oversee and make laws for their respective counties. The Parliament of Malaysia consists of
1872-531: The governor general on behalf of the sovereign at the direction of the prime minister . Retirement is mandatory for senators upon reaching the age of 75 years. Each province (and territory) has its own legislature, with each member usually known as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). In certain provinces, legislators carry other titles: Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario , Member of
1950-725: The "Legislative Council"—comprises 21 senators appointed by the president. The President appoints 12 Senators on the advice of the Prime Minister and two on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition.The remaining seven Senators are nominated by the President at their discretion (that is, the President is not bound by other political leaders' advice in these appointments) to represent various religious, social, economic, or other interests in Barbados. In
2028-529: The 1860s until 1907 they were designated as 'Member of the House of Representatives', abbreviated 'MHR'. Between the first general election, in 1853 , and the 1860s, the designation was "Member of the General Assembly", abbreviated MGA. Before 1951, New Zealand had an upper house, the Legislative Council , whose members were appointed. A member of Parliament is a member of either of the two houses of
2106-747: The Dáil", and addressed as "Teachta" (Deputy), while a Member of the Seanad is known and addressed as Seanadóir (Senator). These titles are used much more commonly in English than the official Irish. A member of Parliament was the term used to refer to a member of the pre-1801 Irish House of Commons of the Parliament of Ireland . Irish members elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were also called members of Parliament from 1801 to 1922. Northern Ireland continues to elect MPs to
2184-468: The General Assembly House. In late 1858, the ownership of the building transferred to Auckland Province, but with an agreement that Parliament would continue to use it, and it continued to be referred to as the General Assembly House. After 1858, some additions were made to the building. The system of provincial government was abolished in 1876 and ownership transferred back to the Crown. In 1883,
2262-408: The House of Representatives (Privileges and Powers) Ordinance. The Parliament of Nauru consists of 18 seats. Members of Parliament are entitled to use the prefix The Honourable . The New Zealand Parliament is made up of the monarch and the unicameral House of Representatives . A member of Parliament is a member of the House of Representatives, which has a minimum of 120 members, elected at
2340-593: The National Assembly (MNA) in Quebec ( French : député ) and Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) in Newfoundland and Labrador . The provincial upper houses were eliminated between 1876 ( Manitoba ) and 1968 (Quebec). In Gibraltar, members of parliament serve in the unicameral Gibraltar Parliament . There are 17 seats in the Parliament, to which candidates are elected by block voting . Each candidate represents
2418-481: The National Assembly . Parliamentary elections are traditionally held every five years with no term limits imposed. The 25 provinces of Cambodia are represented by the members of Parliament in the National Assembly. A constituency may have more than one MP, depending on the population. Superintendent (New Zealand) Provinces existed in New Zealand from 1841 until 1876 as a form of sub-national government. After
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2496-539: The Pakistani Parliament: the National Assembly of Pakistan and Senate of Pakistan . The National Assembly of Pakistan has a total of 342 members, of whom 272 are directly elected, and 70 seats are reserved for women and minorities. A member of the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA) has a tenure of five years. On the other hand, there are 104 members of the Senate of Pakistan, in which all four provinces are represented by 23 senators regardless of population, while
2574-410: The Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It is a bicameral body, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives. The Senate (upper house), the direct successor of a pre-Independence body known as the "Legislative Council"—comprises 21 senators appointed by the governor-general: thirteen on the advice of
2652-467: The abolition of the provincial government system, the building was used by the government's survey department and was then used by Auckland University College . The General Assembly House was demolished in 1917 to make way for Anzac Avenue . Today, a reserve adjacent to Parliament Street called Parliament Reserve commemorates the location where the New Zealand Parliament met initially. Auckland
2730-417: The absence of an opposition leader in parliament (i.e. in the case of a landslide victory where one party takes all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, as occurred in 2018 and 2022) the president will then appoint the remaining two senators in the opposition's stead allowing for 9 independents instead. The House of Assembly (lower house) is made up of 30 members of Parliament, elected to five-year terms on
2808-447: The advice of the prime minister . Under the Constitution of Bangladesh , an individual is required to be a citizen of Bangladesh and must have attained the age of 25 years in order to qualify for election to Parliament. The Parliament consists of 300 directly elected members from general seats elected by use of first past the post who represent single-constituencies, while 50 seats are reserved exclusively for women and are allocated on
2886-631: The ballot box had been introduced. Drunkenness, fighting and the throwing of flour bags and rotten eggs on election day were common. From 1853 to 1876, New Zealand had 41 superintendents across its ten provinces. The Auckland Province had nine superintendents: The Canterbury Province had four superintendents: The Hawke's Bay Province had four superintendents: The Marlborough Province had five superintendents: The Nelson Province had four superintendents: The Otago Province had five superintendents: The Southland Province had three superintendents: The Taranaki Province (initially called
2964-566: The building additions that initially housed Auckland's district (or magistrates) court were made available to the newly established Auckland University College , and laboratories and lecture rooms for the chemistry department were established here. The original part of the building remained for use by the Survey and Crown Lands Department. Parliament passed the Auckland University College Reserves Act 1885 and that allowed for
3042-456: The characteristic of performing the duties of a member of a legislature, for example: "The two party leaders often disagreed on issues, but both were excellent parliamentarians and cooperated to get many good things done." The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom . This term comes from the Palace of Westminster ,
3120-490: The contract awarded on 3 March for £ 2,572. During construction, the decision was made to increase the building in length by 8 feet (2.4 m) at either end, but despite this variation, the building was "reasonably complete" by 23 May. Despite labour shortage (the Victorian gold rush attracted much of the labour force) and poor weather, the building progressed quickly and was ready in time. The first meeting of parliamentarians
3198-414: The count would circulate. These tallies may well have been adjusted to suit a particular outcome. For example, where more than two candidates stood for election, a preferred candidate might be shown as so far behind that the remaining voters may be encouraged to vote for another candidate, in order to prevent the unwanted rival from gaining office. These unofficial tallies were still circulated after voting at
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3276-481: The creation of legislation. Elections to Dáil Éireann are held at least every five years using the single transferable vote; while elections to Seanad Éireann are restricted to members of both houses, elected members of local authorities, and alumni of National University of Ireland colleges. Eleven senators are nominated directly by the Taoiseach . A Member of Dáil Éireann is known as a Teachta Dála (TD) or "Deputy to
3354-519: The day on which it first met." ( Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 ). A candidate to become an MP must be a British or Irish or Commonwealth citizen, be at least 18 years of age (reduced from 21 in 2006), and not be a public official or officeholder, as set out in the schedule to the Electoral Administration Act 2006 . Technically, MPs have no right to resign their seats (though they may refuse to seek re-election). However
3432-400: The elected House of Representatives, which has 41 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, and the Senate which has 31 members appointed by the president: 16 government senators appointed on the advice of the prime minister, 6 opposition senators appointed on the advice of the leader of the opposition and 9 independent senators appointed by
3510-416: The event there are more candidates than seat allocations, the 300 MPs elected from general seats vote through use of the single transferable vote system to determine the reserved seats. In reality, there has never been an election for reserved seats as parties have never nominated more candidates than they have been allocated. In order to form a Government , a political party or alliance usually requires
3588-537: The first meeting beyond the three months threshold, much of the power of the Governor was negated. So in practice, Superintendents were more powerful than had been anticipated by the constitution. Another practicality was that Parliament had long breaks between sessions due to the difficulty of travel at the time. In one instance, the Wellington Provincial Council passed an act that empowered itself to raise
3666-604: The first thing we have to do is to turn all the interior arrangements topsy turvy. It is believed that the original building measured 65 by 20 feet (19.8 by 6.1 m). The building had two storeys and curiously, the Upper House (i.e. the Legislative Council) met on the lower storey, and the Lower House (i.e. the House of Representatives) met on the upper storey. Members of Parliament A member of parliament ( MP )
3744-609: The formation of the Irish Free State in 1922 and subsequently in the Republic of Ireland , the legislature of Ireland is known as the Oireachtas , and consists of the president; the upper house, Seanad Éireann (or Senate); and lower house, Dáil Éireann (Assembly, or House of Representatives). They are functionally similar to other bicameral parliaments, with the lower house being significantly more influential and having more power over
3822-568: The greatest number of representatives in both houses. The person which secures the support of more than half the seats in the Lok Sabha forms the Government . To form the government, parties may form a coalition. The term of a member of the Rajya Sabha is six years, while Lok Sabha members are elected for a term of five years, unless the house is dissolved sooner. Rajya Sabha is a permanent house that
3900-551: The initial provinces pre-1853, new provinces were formed by the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 . This Act established the first six provinces of Auckland , New Plymouth , Wellington , Nelson , Canterbury , and Otago . Other provinces were established later. Each province elected its own legislature known as a Provincial Council, and elected a Superintendent who was not a member of the council. The elections for council and superintendent were not necessarily held at
3978-435: The main building and the land it was on to also be transferred to the college, which happened in 1890. The college used the meeting room of the House of Representatives for general and mathematics lectures. The lower story of the original building became the college library and the registrar's office. The former Bellamy's (parliamentary refreshment room, i.e. a club where liquor could be purchased) in an adjacent building became
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#17328521528714056-401: The meeting chamber of the House of Representatives and the building in general as follows: The Room of moderate size—plain and with no architectural pretension whatever. The whole building is of the most undecorated style—a great wooden barnshaped affair, which might serve for a Hospital, a Jail, or a Barrack—or if gutted be turned into a Methodist Meeting house—very incommodiously arranged, and
4134-572: The national capital. The structure, functions, and procedures of the parliament are based on the Westminster system. In Bangladesh , a member of parliament is an individual who serves in the unicameral Jatiya Sangsad or House of the Nation. Members of the Jatiya Sangsad are elected at a general election , usually held once every five years unless Parliament is dissolved sooner by the president on
4212-416: The national vote at a general election. A candidate to become an MP must be a Sri Lankan citizen and can be a holder of dual-citizenship in any other country, be at least 18 years of age, and not be a public official or officeholder. The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. It consists of
4290-545: The normal parliament and 400 in the "Great Parliament". The Great Parliament is elected when a new constitution is needed. There have been seven Great Parliaments in modern Bulgarian history , in 1879, 1881, 1886, 1893, 1911, 1946 and 1990. MPs in Bulgaria are called депутати ( deputies) . The member of parliament ( Khmer : សមាជិកសភា ) refers to the elected members of the National Assembly . There are 125 members of parliament in total. They are also alternatively called member of
4368-439: The office of the college chairman. The college's geology museum was housed in the buildings, as were lecture rooms for classics and a girls' common room. The Mayor of Auckland City , James Gunson , held a civic reception in the buildings on 15 November 1917 to mark the historic significance just prior to demolition. The buildings were demolished to make way for Anzac Avenue, a new eastern arterial road. A year later, Eden Street
4446-455: The outline of the original buildings and a second plaque marking the entrance to the buildings were unveiled in the reserve. The quality of the first meeting house for the New Zealand Parliament found little favour. The Daily Southern Cross called it a "wretched, ill-constructed building". The building was drafty and the roof leaked. Henry Sewell , New Zealand's first premier after responsible government had been granted in 1856, described
4524-412: The parliamentary session that was to begin on 19 October 1863. On Friday, 16 October, the provincial council adjourned until Saturday, 28 November. Parliament had not finished its session by then, but took a rest day for the provincial council to be able to use the chamber. Rather than again adjourn its business, the provincial council decided to meet, from the following week, in the library room attached to
4602-475: The post-nominals "MLA" or "MHA" and members of the upper house ( legislative council ) use "MLC". MLCs are informally refer to as upper house MPs. The Parliament of the Bahamas is the bicameral national parliament of Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The parliament is formally made up by the monarch (represented by the governor-general), an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Assembly. It currently sits at Nassau,
4680-485: The power of the Superintendents. The Governor could dissolve the provincial council at any time, veto its enactments, or remove the Superintendent from office if voted by the majority of provincial councillors or disallow the Superintendent's elections (the latter two both within three month of the Superintendent's election). However, only Superintendents had the power to convene a provincial council, and by simply delaying
4758-516: The president of Malta and the House of Representatives of 69 members (article 51 of the Constitution), referred to as "members of Parliament" (article 52(1) of the Constitution). When appointed from outside the House, the speaker is also considered a member of the Parliament. The Constitution lists the qualifications and disqualifications from serving as a member of Parliament. Privileges of members of Parliament and their Code of Ethics are laid out in
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#17328521528714836-458: The president to represent other sectors of civil society. The United Kingdom elects members of its parliament: and four devolved legislatures: MPs are elected in general elections and by-elections to represent constituencies , and may remain MPs until Parliament is dissolved. "If it has not been dissolved earlier, a Parliament dissolves at the beginning of the day that is the fifth anniversary of
4914-407: The prime minister and eight on the advice of the leader of the opposition. The House of Representatives, the lower house, is made up of 63 (previously 60) members of Parliament, elected to five-year terms on a first-past-the-post basis in single-seat constituencies. The National Assembly of Kenya has a total of 349 seats; 205 members are elected from the constituencies , 47 women are elected from
4992-563: The prohibition of "MHR" does not appear to have been strictly enforced, as it was used most recently by Tony Abbott when he was in the parliament (1994–2019). A member of the upper house of the Commonwealth Parliament, the Senate , is known as a "Senator". In the Australian states and territories , "MP" is commonly used. In bicameral legislatures, members of the lower house ( legislative assembly or house of assembly ) also use
5070-405: The provincial council sessions were thus generally scheduled to not clash with sessions of Parliament. Only when sessions had to be called at short notice did clashes occur. The first such clash occurred in mid-August 1855, when Parliament was still in session and the superintendent of Auckland Province, William Brown , called the fourth session of the Auckland Provincial Council, which was held at
5148-551: The same time. Following abolition, the provinces became known as provincial districts. Their only visible function today is their use to determine, with the exception of the Chatham Islands , Northland , and South Canterbury , the geographical boundaries for anniversary day public holidays. The provincial councils and the House of Representatives were "locked into a battle of supremacy that would last for 20 years." The 1852 constitution defined thirteen areas where law making
5226-521: The seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . At the Commonwealth level, a "member of parliament" is a member of the House of Representatives , the lower house of the Commonwealth (federal) parliament . Members may use the postnominal "MP" after their names. "MHR" ("Member of the House of Representatives") was not used, which was affirmed by cabinet in 1901 and reaffirmed in 1951 and 1965. However,
5304-492: The state legislatures and 9 belongs to the union territories of Delhi , Puducherry , and Jammu and Kashmir , and are elected by using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation . The remaining 12 members are nominated by the president for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. Each state has a fixed number of representatives allocated in each chamber, in order of their respective populations. The state of Uttar Pradesh has
5382-563: The takeover of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in August 2021, a member of parliament (MP) was a member of the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan : a member of the Wolesi Jirga (House of People) held one of the in total 250 seats in the lower house. The 102 members of the upper house Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders) were called Senators. A member of Parliament
5460-766: The term (often a translation) for representatives in parliamentary democracies that do not follow the Westminster system and who are usually referred to in a different fashion, such as deputé in France, deputato in Italy, deputat in Bulgaria, parlamentario or diputado in Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America, deputado in Portugal and Brazil, and Mitglied des Bundestages (MdB) in Germany. However, better translations are often possible. Prior to
5538-559: The whole of Gibraltar as their constituency. A member of Parliament is a member of either of the two houses of the Indian Parliament : Lok Sabha (lower house) and Rajya Sabha (upper house). Lok Sabha has 543 seats, all of whom are directly elected by the citizens of India from each parliamentary constituency of states and union territories via first-past-the-post voting . Rajya Sabha can have 245 members, of which 238 members are indirectly elected. Of these 238 members, 229 belong to
5616-426: Was New Zealand's second capital from 1841 until 1865, when Parliament was permanently moved to Wellington after an argument that lasted for a decade. The initial form of government was an executive council formed of public servants appointed by and responsible to the governor . This changed when the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 , an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to
5694-529: Was a major event in the provinces for weeks and months leading up to it. It was such an exciting event that even the children of that time could remember it later in their adult lives. It was not uncommon that newspapers would be founded with the purpose of supporting a candidate and attacking the opponent. The Press , for example, these days the largest newspaper in the South Island , was founded by James FitzGerald (1st Superintendent of Canterbury) to oppose
5772-478: Was first summoned to meet in Auckland on 24 May of that year, i.e. on Queen Victoria 's birthday. There was no suitable building for the General Assembly, as it was then called, to meet in Auckland. Reader Wood , who was deputy surveyor-general, was tasked with designing a suitable meeting house that could be used by the survey department during the parliamentary recess. Tenders were called for in early February 1854 and
5850-469: Was held on 24 May, followed by a levee of Colonel Robert Wynyard , the administrator of the government . In the evening, a ball was held in the chamber of the House of Representatives. Of the 420 invited guests, only 200 could make it due to the poor weather. The chamber was a hall that normally had seating as opposed to being fitted out as a meeting place, and hence it could be used for a ball. The House of Representatives decided that it should first elect
5928-473: Was made up of strong personalities with strong and differing regional interests, who had no prior experience of acting for the greater good of the country as a whole. Consequently, the role of a provincial Superintendent was more highly regarded than those of Members of Parliament. The constitution had given the Governor substantial powers over the provincial councils, but many anomalies resulted in an increase in
6006-462: Was renamed Parliament Street. Today, Parliament Reserve, a reserve adjacent to Anzac Avenue and Parliament Street and behind the Auckland High Court , marks the former location of the buildings. A plaque unveiled in the reserve in 1956 commemorates the location of the General Assembly House. On 24 May 2004, on the 150th anniversary of the first meeting of Parliament, a basalt platform delineating
6084-404: Was reserved for the House of Representatives: customs, post-office, shipping dues, lighthouses, weights and measures, currency, bankruptcy, judiciary, marriage, Crown lands and native land (i.e. lands held by Māori ), criminal law, and inheritance law. For a variety of reasons, the provincial councils were more effective than the national Parliament. Initially, this was partially because Parliament
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