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Story: Local and regional government

County boundaries, 1881: North Island

The Counties Act 1876 replaced the provinces with counties based on the boundaries of the earlier roads boards. This 1881 map shows the North Island county boundaries at that date. The names in large type are those of the provinces abolished in 1876 – as provincial districts they continued to be important for some administrative purposes. With expanding settlement, the number of North Island counties approximately doubled, to 76, by 1921.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: MapColl -830fb 1881 29305

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, 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

Mark Derby, Local and regional government – Local authorities multiply, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/35369/county-boundaries-1881-north-island (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Mark Derby, published 28 March 2012, updated 1 February 2015.