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Story: Australia and New Zealand

New South Wales includes New Zealand

This is a copy of the formal commission under the Great Seal which extended the limits of the colony of New South Wales to include New Zealand. This occurred on 15 June 1839 and represented the first formal claim by the British to authority over New Zealand.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: IA9-2

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Philippa Mein Smith, Australia and New Zealand – Shared colonial history, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/33122/new-south-wales-includes-new-zealand (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Philippa Mein Smith, published 20 March 2012.