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Story: Political values

Auckland courthouse, 1843

New Zealand settlers were not seeking to live in a society without law or government. Their commitment to a British-based legal system, with laws, courts and judges, was reflected in the early establishment of courthouses, as in this 1843 painting which shows a court on Auckland’s Queen Street among the city’s earliest buildings.

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Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: PD76

by Edward Ashworth

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Stephen Levine, Political values – Enduring political values, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/36560/auckland-courthouse-1843 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Stephen Levine, published 29 May 2012.