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Kōrero: Constitution

Declaration of New Zealand's dominion status, 1907

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Declaration of New Zealand's dominion status, 1907

Prime Minister Joseph Ward declares New Zealand's dominion status on the steps of Parliament on 26 September 1907. New Zealand ceased to be a colony and became a dominion within the British Empire. While the shift from colony to dominion had little practical effect – New Zealand was no more independent from Britain than it had been previously – it did convey an emerging sense of independent nationhood.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library, The Press (Christchurch) Collection (PAColl-3031)

Reference: 1/1-008650-G

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.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Matthew Palmer, Constitution – Representative democracy and Parliament, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/35916/declaration-of-new-zealands-dominion-status-1907 (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Matthew Palmer, i tāngia i te 7 May 2012.