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Story: Capital city

Travelling to the General Assembly

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Travelling to the General Assembly

Difficult transport links between New Zealand’s North and South islands – and among the various colonial settlements on each of the islands – made travel to the capital, Auckland, time-consuming and hazardous. In April 1854, prior to the first meeting of the General Assembly, the Taranaki Herald reported on the chartering of a vessel to take elected members to Auckland for the inaugural meeting, with ‘a rumour’ (which proved correct) of a second vessel also being arranged.

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National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past

Reference: Taranaki Herald, 3 May, 1854, p. 3

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Stephen Levine, Capital city – The first two capitals, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/34162/travelling-to-the-general-assembly (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Stephen Levine, published 5 June 2012, updated 1 August 2016.