Governor General's Foot Guards
The Governor General's Foot Guards is one of three Royal Household regiments in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army and the most senior militia infantry regiment in Canada. Civitas et Princeps Cura Nostra is the regiment's motto; the regiment has an operational role that encompasses both the territorial defence of Canada and supporting regular Canadian forces overseas. It performs the mounting of the Ceremonial Guard on Parliament Hill and at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, a task it shares with the Canadian Grenadier Guards; this gives the regiment a role similar to that of the guards regiments of the British Army. The GGFG are formally allied with the Coldstream Guards of the United Kingdom after being informally allied with them since the formation of the regiment; the regimental dress uniform has buttons in pairs, similar to the Coldstream Guards, with a red plume worn on the left side of the bearskin. The GGFG perpetuate the 2nd Canadian Battalion, CEF, 77th Battalion, CEF; the 1st Battalion is composed of 250 officers and non-commissioned officers who make up of the following companies: Battalion Headquarters GGFG Band Pipes and Drums Corps of Drums Ceremonial Guard Detachment 1st Rifle Company 2nd Rifle Company Training Company Support CompanyThe regiment supports the 2784 GGFG Army Cadets of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets.
The Governor General's Foot Guards originated in Ottawa, Ontario, on 7 June 1872 as the 1st Battalion Governor General's Foot Guards. It was redesignated as the Governor General's Foot Guards on 16 September 1887; the 1st Battalion Governor General's Foot Guards mobilized a single company for active service on 10 April 1885. It served in the Battleford Column of the North West Field Force; the company was removed from active service on 24 July 1885. The regiment contributed volunteers for the various Canadian Contingents the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. Details of the Governor General's Foot Guards were placed on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties; the 2nd Battalion, CEF was authorized on 10 August 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 26 September 1914. It disembarked in France on 11 February 1915, where it fought as part of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war; the battalion was disbanded on 15 September 1920.
The 77th Battalion, CEF was authorized on 10 July 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 19 June 1916. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until 22 September 1916, when its personnel were absorbed by the 47th Battalion, CEF and 73rd Battalion, CEF and the battalion was disbanded. Details from the regiment were called out on service on 26 August 1939 and placed on active service on 1 September 1939 for local protection duties; the details were disbanded on 31 December 1940. The regiment mobilized The Governor General's Foot Guards, CASF, for active service on 24 May 1940. On 26 January 1942, it was converted to armour, it embarked for Great Britain on 23 September 1942. On 24 July 1944, it landed in France as part of the 4th Armoured Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, it continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war; the overseas regiment was disbanded on 31 January 1946. In the 1990s the regiment was well-represented in several international operations.
The foot guard took part in rescue operations in the National Capital Region during the 1998 Ice Storm. Members of the Foot Guards have served in Cyprus, the Former Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sierra Leone, Haiti and combat operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. Despite all of this, the GGFG of today works with the CG in the summer, mounting the guard of honour during ceremonial occasions at Rideau Hall; the Strengthening the Army Reserve initiative increases the ceremonial effect the GGFG has on the performance of public duties in the National Capital Region. The No 1 Company Governor Generals Foot Guards and the Ladies Soldiers Aid Association of Ottawa erected a memorial tablet, unveiled on May 2, 1887. Osgood who fell in action at Cut Knife Hill on May 2, 1885, during the Northwest Rebellion. A memorial plaque in the Governor General's Foot Guards Regimental Museum is dedicated to the memory of the 5326 Officers and Men who served in the 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion Canadian Expeditionary force during the Great War 1914-1918.
A Second-World War era Sherman tank nicknamed "Forceful III" in the Canadian War Museum, is dedicated to the memory of the members of the Governor General's Foot Guards killed during the Second World War while operating as an armoured regiment. North West Canada, 1885 South Africa 1899–1900 World War I: Ypres 1915, 1917, Flers-Courcelette, Gravenstafel, Ancre Heights, Amiens, St. Julien, Arras 1917, 1918, Drocourt-Queant, Festubert, 1915, Vimy 1917, Hindenburg Line, Mount Sorrel, Canal du Nord, Somme, 1916, Scarpe, 1917–18, Pursuit to Mons
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion from 1907 to 1949. The dominion, situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast, comprised the island of Newfoundland as well as Labrador on the continental mainland. Before attaining dominion status, Newfoundland was a British colony, self-governing from 1855. Newfoundland was one of the original "dominions" within the meaning of the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and accordingly enjoyed a constitutional status equivalent to the other dominions at the time. In 1934, Newfoundland became the only dominion to give up its self-governing status, ending 79 years of self-government; this episode came about due to a crisis in Newfoundland's public finances in 1932. Newfoundland had accumulated a significant amount of debt by building a railway across the island and by raising its own regiment for the First World War. In November 1932 the government warned that Newfoundland would default on payments on the public debt; the British government established the Newfoundland Royal Commission to inquire into and report on the position.
The Commission's report, published in October 1933, recommended that Newfoundland give up its system of self-government temporarily and allow the United Kingdom to administer the dominion through an appointed commission. The Newfoundland parliament accepted this recommendation and presented a petition to the King asking for the suspension of the constitution and the appointment of commissioners to administer the government until the country became self-supporting again. To enable compliance with this request, the United Kingdom Parliament passed the Newfoundland Act 1933, on 16 February 1934, the UK government appointed six commissioners, three from Newfoundland and three from the UK, with the Governor as chairman; the dominion would never become self-governing again. The system of a six-member Commission of Government continued to govern Newfoundland until it joined Canada in 1949 to become Canada's tenth province; the official name of the dominion was "Newfoundland" and not, as is sometimes reported, "Dominion of Newfoundland".
The distinction is apparent in many statutes, most notably the Statute of Westminster that listed the full name of each realm, including the "Dominion of New Zealand", the "Dominion of Canada", "Newfoundland". The Newfoundland Blue Ensign was used as the colonial flag from 1870 to 1904; the Newfoundland Red Ensign was used as the'de facto' national flag of the dominion until the legislature adopted the Union Flag on 15 May 1931. The anthem of the Dominion was the "Ode to Newfoundland", written by British colonial governor Sir Charles Cavendish Boyle in 1902 during his administration of Newfoundland, it was adopted as the dominion's anthem on 20 May 1904, until confederation with Canada in 1949. In 1980, the province of Newfoundland re-adopted the song as a provincial anthem, making Newfoundland and Labrador the only province in Canada to adopt a provincial anthem; the "Ode to Newfoundland" continues to be heard at public events in the province. In 1854 the British government established Newfoundland's responsible government.
In 1855, Philip Francis Little, a native of Prince Edward Island, won a parliamentary majority over Sir Hugh Hoyles and the Conservatives. Little formed the first administration from 1855 to 1858. Newfoundland rejected confederation with Canada in the 1869 general election. Prime Minister of Canada Sir John Thompson came close to negotiating Newfoundland's entry into confederation in 1892, it remained a colony until the 1907 Imperial Conference resolved to confer dominion status on all self-governing colonies in attendance. The annual holiday of Dominion Day was celebrated each 26 September to commemorate the occasion. Newfoundland's own regiment, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment, fought in the First World War. On 1 July 1916, the German Army wiped out most of that regiment at Beaumont Hamel on the first day on the Somme, inflicting 90 percent casualties, yet the regiment went on to serve with distinction in several subsequent battles, earning the prefix "Royal". Despite people's pride in the accomplishments of the regiment, Newfoundland's war debt and pension responsibility for the regiment and the cost of maintaining a trans-island railway led to increased and unsustainable government debt in the post-war era.
After the war, Newfoundland along with the other dominions sent a separate delegation to the Paris Peace Conference but, unlike the other dominions, Newfoundland neither signed the Treaty of Versailles in her own right nor sought separate membership in the League of Nations. In the 1920s, political scandals wracked the dominion. In 1923, the attorney general arrested Newfoundland's prime minister Sir Richard Squires on charges of corruption. Despite his release soon after on bail, the British-led Hollis Walker commission reviewed the scandal. Soon after, the Squires government fell. Squires returned to power in 1928 because of the unpopularity of his successors, the pro-business Walter Stanley Monroe and Frederick C. Alderdice, but found himself governing a country suffering from the Great Depression; the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council resolved Newfoundland's long-standing Labrador boundary dispute with Canada to the satisfaction of Newfoundland and against Canada with a ruling on 1 April 1927.
Prior to 1867, the Quebec North Shore portion of the "Labrador coast" had shuttled back and forth between the colonies of Lower Canada and Newfoundland. Maps up to 1927 showed the coastal region with an undefined boundary; the Privy Council ruling established a boundary along the drainage div
New Zealand
New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia and Tonga; because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal and plant life; the country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington. Sometime between 1250 and 1300, Polynesians settled in the islands that were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands.
In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire and in 1907 it became a dominion. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.9 million is of European descent. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration; the official languages are English, Māori, NZ Sign Language, with English being dominant. A developed country, New Zealand ranks in international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, economic freedom. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy; the service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, agriculture. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament, while executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
Queen Elizabeth II is the country's monarch and is represented by a governor-general Dame Patsy Reddy. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes; the Realm of New Zealand includes Tokelau. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ASEAN Plus Six, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and named it Staten Land "in honour of the States General", he wrote, "it is possible that this land joins to the Staten Land but it is uncertain", referring to a landmass of the same name at the southern tip of South America, discovered by Jacob Le Maire in 1616. In 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand. Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand.
It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole country before the arrival of Europeans, with Aotearoa referring to just the North Island. Māori had several traditional names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North and South. In 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907 this was the accepted norm; the New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised, names and alternative names were formalised in 2013. This set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, South Island or Te Waipounamu. For each island, either its English or Māori name can be used. New Zealand was one of the last major landmasses settled by humans. Radiocarbon dating, evidence of deforestation and mitochondrial DNA variability within Māori populations suggest New Zealand was first settled by Eastern Polynesians between 1250 and 1300, concluding a long series of voyages through the southern Pacific islands.
Over the centuries that followed, these settlers developed a distinct culture now known as Māori. The population was divided into iwi and hapū who would sometimes cooperate, sometimes compete and sometimes fight against each other. At some point a group of Māori migrated to Rēkohu, now known as the Chatham Islands, where they developed their distinct Moriori culture; the Moriori population was all but wiped out between 1835 and 1862 because of Taranaki Māori invasion and enslavement in the 1830s, although European diseases contributed. In 1862 only 101 survived, the last known full-blooded Moriori died in 1933; the first Europeans known to have reached New Zeala
Canada Day
Canada Day is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of July 1, 1867, the effective date of the Constitution Act, 1867, which united the three separate colonies of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick into a single Dominion within the British Empire called Canada. Called Dominion Day, the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day celebrations take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world, attended by Canadians living abroad. Although Canada existed prior to 1867, within both the French and British empires, Canada Day is informally referred to as "Canada's birthday" in the popular press. However, the term "birthday" can be seen as an oversimplification, as Canada Day is the anniversary of only one important national milestone on the way to the country's full independence, namely the joining on July 1, 1867, of the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick into a wider British federation of four provinces.
Canada became a "kingdom in its own right" within the British Empire known as the Dominion of Canada. Although still a British colony, Canada gained an increased level of political control and governance over its own affairs, the British parliament and Cabinet maintaining political control over certain areas, such as foreign affairs, national defence, constitutional changes. Canada gained increasing independence over the years, notably with the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, until becoming independent with the passing of the Constitution Act, 1982 which served to patriate the Canadian constitution. Under the federal Holidays Act, Canada Day is observed on July 1, unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case July 2 is the statutory holiday. Celebratory events will still take place on July 1 though it is not the legal holiday. If it falls on a weekend, businesses closed that day dedicate the following Monday as a day off. Most communities across the country will host organized celebrations for Canada Day outdoor public events, such as parades, festivals, barbecues and maritime shows and free musical concerts, as well as citizenship ceremonies.
There is no standard mode of celebration for Canada Day. There doesn't seem to be a central recipe for how to celebrate it—chalk it up to the nature of the federation." However, the locus of the celebrations is the national capital, Ontario, where large concerts and cultural displays are held on Parliament Hill, with the governor general and prime minister officiating, though the monarch or another member of the Royal Family may attend or take the governor general's place. Smaller events are mounted in other parks in neighbouring Gatineau, Quebec. Given the federal nature of the anniversary, celebrating Canada Day can be a cause of friction in the province of Quebec, where the holiday is overshadowed by Quebec's National Holiday, on June 24. For example, the federal government funds Canada Day events at the Old Port of Montreal—an area run by a federal Crown corporation—while the National Holiday parade is a grassroots effort, met with pressure to cease from federal officials; the nature of the event has been met with criticism outside of Quebec, such as that given by Ottawa Citizen columnist David Warren, who said in 2007: "The Canada of the government-funded paper flag-waving and painted faces—the'new' Canada, celebrated each year on what is now called'Canada Day'—has nothing controversially Canadian about it.
You could wave a different flag, choose another face paint, nothing would be lost."Canada Day coincides with Quebec's Moving Day, when many fixed-lease apartment rental terms expire. The bill changing the province's moving day from May 1 to July 1 was introduced by a federalist member of the Quebec National Assembly, Jérôme Choquette, in 1973, in order not to affect children still in school in the month of May. Canadian expatriates will organize Canada Day activities in their local area on or near the date of the holiday. Examples include Canada D'eh, an annual celebration that takes place on June 30 in Hong Kong, at Lan Kwai Fong, where an estimated attendance of 12,000 was reported in 2008. In China, Canada Day celebrations are held at the Bund Beach by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and at Canadian International School in Beijing by Canada China Business Council; the enactment of the British North America Act, 1867, which confederated Canada, was celebrated on July 1, 1867, with the ringing of the bells at the Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto and "bonfires and illuminations, military displays and musical and other entertainments", as described in contemporary accounts.
On June 20 of the following year, Governor General the Viscount Monck issued a royal proclamation asking for Canadians to celebrate the anniversary of Confederation, the holiday was not established statutorily until May 15, 1879, when it was designated as Dominion Day, alluding to the reference in the British North America Act to the country as a dominion. The holiday was in
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings is the home of the Parliament of Canada and has architectural elements of national symbolic importance. Parliament Hill attracts 3 million visitors each year. Law enforcement on Parliament Hill and in the parliamentary precinct is the responsibility of the Parliamentary Protective Service; the site of a military base in the 18th and early 19th centuries, development of the area into a governmental precinct began in 1859, after Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital of the Province of Canada. Following a number of extensions to the parliament and departmental buildings and a fire in 1916 that destroyed the Centre Block, Parliament Hill took on its present form with the completion of the Peace Tower in 1927. Since 2002, an extensive $1 billion renovation and rehabilitation project has been underway throughout all of the precinct's buildings.
Parliament Hill is a limestone outcrop with a sloping top, covered in primeval forest of beech and hemlock. For hundreds of years, the hill served as a landmark on the Ottawa River for First Nations and European traders and industrialists, to mark their journey to the interior of the continent. After Ottawa—then called Bytown—was founded, the builders of the Rideau Canal used the hill as a location for a military base, naming it Barrack Hill. A large fortress was planned for the site, but was never built, by the mid 19th century the hill had lost its strategic importance. In 1858, Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as the capital of the Province of Canada, Barrack Hill was chosen as the site for the new parliament buildings, given its prominence over both the town and the river, as well as the fact that it was owned by the Crown. On 7 May, the Department of Public Works issued a call for design proposals for the new parliament buildings to be erected on Barrack Hill, answered with 298 submitted drawings.
After the entries were narrowed down to three, Governor General Sir Edmund Walker Head was approached to break the stalemate, the winners were announced on August 29, 1859. The Centre Block, departmental buildings, a new residence for the governor general were each awarded separately, the team of Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones, under the pseudonym of Semper Paratus, winning the prize for the first category with their Victorian High Gothic scheme of a formal, symmetrical front facing a quadrangle, a more rustic, picturesque back facing the escarpment overlooking the Ottawa River; the team of Thomas Stent and Augustus Laver, under the pseudonym of Stat nomen in umbra, won the prize for the second category, which included the East and West Blocks. These proposals were selected for their sophisticated use of Gothic architecture, thought to remind people of parliamentary democracy's history, would contradict the republican Neoclassicism of the United States' capital, would be suited to the rugged surroundings while being stately.
$300,000 was allocated for the main building, $120,000 for each of the departmental buildings. Ground was broken on December 20, 1859, the first stones laid on April 16 of the following year, Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, laid the cornerstone of the Centre Block on September 1; the construction of Parliament Hill became the largest project undertaken in North America to that date. However, workers hit bedrock earlier than expected, necessitating blasting in order to complete the foundations, altered by the architects in order to sit 5.25 metres deeper than planned. By early 1861, Public Works reported that $1,424,882.55 had been spent on the venture, leading to the site being closed in September and the unfinished structures covered in tarpaulins until 1863, when construction resumed following a commission of inquiry. Two years the unfinished site hosted a celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday, further cementing the area's position as the central place for national outpouring; the site was still incomplete when three of the British North American colonies entered Confederation in 1867, with Ottawa remaining the capital of the new country.
Within four years Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, the North-West Territories were added and, along with the associated bureaucracy, the first three required representation be added in parliament. Thus, the offices of parliament spread to buildings beyond Parliament Hill at that early date; the British military gave a nine-pound naval cannon to the British army garrison stationed in Ottawa in 1854. It was purchased by the Canadian government in 1869 and fired on Parliament Hill for many years as the "Noonday Gun". By 1876, the structures of Parliament Hill were finished, along with the surrounding fence and gates. However, the grounds had yet to be properly designed. Vaux completed a layout for the landscape of Parliament Hill, including the present day driveways and main lawn, while Scott created the more informal grounds to the sides of and behind the buildings. In 1901 they were the site of both mourning for, celebration of, Queen Victoria, when the Queen's death was mourned in official ceremonies in January of that year, when, in late September, Victoria's grandson, Pr
Independence of New Zealand
The independence of New Zealand is a matter of continued academic and social debate. New Zealand has no fixed date of independence; the concept of a national "Independence Day" does not exist in New Zealand. The principles behind the independence of New Zealand began before New Zealand became a British colony in 1840. There had been minor rebellions in Canada, in order to avoid making the mistakes which had led to the American revolution, Lord Durham was commissioned to make a report on the government of colonies which contained a substantial British population; the principles of self-government within the Empire were laid down in the Durham Report and first put into operation in Nova Scotia in 1848. Canada, New Zealand, the Australian colonies soon followed suit; the British Parliament passed the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 to grant the colony's settlers the right to self-governance, only 12 years after the founding of the colony. New Zealand was therefore to all intents and purposes independent in domestic matters from its earliest days as a British colony.
The first major step towards nationhood on the international stage came in 1919 when New Zealand was given a seat in the newly founded League of Nations. In 1926 the Balfour Declaration declared Britain's Dominions as "equal in status", followed by the creation of the legal basis of independence, established by the Statute of Westminster 1931 which came about at the behest of nationalist elements in South Africa and the Irish Free State. However, New Zealand, Newfoundland were hostile towards this development, the statute was not adopted in New Zealand until 1947. Irrespective of any legal developments, some New Zealanders still perceived themselves as a distinctive outlying branch of the United Kingdom until at least the 1970s; this attitude began to change when the United Kingdom joined the European Community in 1973 and abrogated its preferential trade agreements with New Zealand, gradual nationality and societal changes further eroded the relationship. On 28 October 1835, the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand was signed by the United Tribes of New Zealand, a loose confederation of Māori tribes from the far north of New Zealand organised by British resident James Busby.
This document declared the independence of the Māori tribes who signed the Declaration, acknowledged by Lord Glenelg, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies on behalf of the British Crown on 25 May 1836, following consideration of the Declaration by the House of Lords. The Declaration and acknowledgement of New Zealand's independence continued after this acknowledgement, such as in Lord Normanby's instructions to Captain William Hobson, where Lord Normanby stated: "...we acknowledge New Zealand as a sovereign and independent State." The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840 marked the beginning of organised British colonisation of New Zealand. New Zealand was a sub-colony of the Colony of New South Wales, but in 1841 it was created as the Colony of New Zealand. Waitangi Day is thus celebrated as New Zealand's national day; some constitutional lawyers, such as Moana Jackson, have argued that the Treaty did not cede total sovereignty of New Zealand to the British Crown, argue that the Treaty intended to protect tino rangatiratanga or the absolute independence of Māori.
Others dispute this, pointing to the use of the term kawanatanga in the Treaty deducts from rangatiratanga, equating the term to Māori control of Māori assets. New Zealand became a self-governing colony in 1853 following the passage of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, which established responsible government in the colony; the New Zealand Parliament was bound by a number of Acts of the British Parliament, such as the Colonial Laws Validity Act and the Colonial Navy Defence Act 1865 which led to the creation of the Flag of New Zealand in 1869. New Zealand participated in the 1891 National Australian Convention in Sydney to consider the Federation of the Australian and New Zealand colonies; the Convention agreed to four principles including the creation of navy. Interest in the proposed Australian Federation faded and New Zealand did not send a delegation to the 1897 National Australian Convention. In 1901 New Zealand did not ratify the Australian Constitution, did not partake in the Federation of Australia.
Prime Minister Joseph Ward determined that New Zealand should become a dominion, parliament passed a resolution to that effect. On 26 September 1907 the United Kingdom granted New Zealand "Dominion" status within the British Empire. New Zealand became known as the Dominion of New Zealand; the date never reached any popularity as a day of independence. As a potential national day, Dominion Day never possessed any emotional appeal, although the term "Dominion" was popular; the Dominion newspaper began on Dominion Day, 1907. To regard it as a national independence day is incorrect, the change to dominion status was seen as "purely cosmetic."Despite this new status, there was some apprehension in 1919 when Prime Minister Bill Massey signed the Treaty of Versailles, which indicated that New Zealand did have a degree of control over its foreign affairs. Massey, himself a fervent imperialist, did not view it as a symbolic act. In 1926, the Balfour Declaration declared that the British Dominions were equal, which had the effect of granting New Zealand control over its own foreign policy and military.
The legislation required to effect this change, the Statute of Westminster 1931 was not adopted by New Zealand until some 16 years later. B
Dominion of New Zealand
The Dominion of New Zealand was the historical successor to the Colony of New Zealand. It was a constitutional monarchy with a high level of self-government within the British Empire. New Zealand became a separate British Crown colony in 1841 and received responsible government with the Constitution Act in 1852. New Zealand chose not to take part in Australian Federation and became the Dominion of New Zealand on 26 September 1907, Dominion Day, by proclamation of King Edward VII. Dominion status was a public mark of the political independence that had evolved over half a century through responsible government. Just under one million people lived in New Zealand in 1907 and cities such as Auckland and Wellington were growing rapidly; the Dominion of New Zealand allowed the British Government to shape its foreign policy, it followed Britain into the First World War. The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939 the New Zealand Government made its own decision to enter the war. In the post-war period, the term Dominion has fallen into disuse. Full independence was granted with the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and adopted by the New Zealand Parliament in 1947. However, the 1907 royal proclamation of Dominion status has never been revoked and remains in force today; the alteration in status was stirred by a sentiment on the part of the prime ministers of the self-governing colonies of the British Empire that a new term was necessary to differentiate them from the non-self-governing colonies. At the 1907 Imperial Conference, it was argued that self-governing colonies that were not styled'Dominion' or'commonwealth' should be designated by some such title as'state of the empire'. After much debate over lexicon, the term'Dominion' was decided upon. Following the 1907 conference, the New Zealand House of Representatives passed a motion respectfully requesting that King Edward VII "take such steps as he may consider necessary" to change the designation of New Zealand from the Colony of New Zealand to the Dominion of New Zealand.
The adoption of the designation of Dominion would, "raise the status of New Zealand" stated Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward and "… have no other effect than that of doing the country good". Ward had regional imperial ambitions, he hoped. It would dignify New Zealand, a country he thought was "the natural centre for the government of the South Pacific". Dominion status was opposed by Leader of the Opposition Bill Massey, an ardent imperialist, who suspected that the change would lead to demands for increases in viceregal and ministerial salaries. A royal proclamation granting New Zealand the designation of'Dominion' was issued on 9 September 1907. On 26 September the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, read the proclamation from the steps of Parliament: Edward R. & I. Whereas We have on the Petition of the Members of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of Our Colony of New Zealand determined that the title of Dominion of New Zealand shall be substituted for that of the Colony of New Zealand as the designation of the said Colony, We have therefore by and with the advice of Our Privy Council thought fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation and We do ordain and command that on and after the twenty-sixth day of September, one thousand nine hundred and seven, the said Colony of New Zealand and the territory belonging thereto shall be called and known by the title of the Dominion of New Zealand.
And We hereby give Our Commands to all Public Departments accordingly. Given at Our Court at Buckingham Palace, this ninth day of September, in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven, in the seventh year of Our Reign. God save the King With the attaining of Dominion status, the colonial treasurer became the minister of finance and the Colonial Secretary's Office was renamed the Department of Internal Affairs; the proclamation of 10 September designated members of the House of Representatives as "M. P.". They were designated "M. H. R.". Letters patent were issued to confirm New Zealand's change in status, declaring that: "there shall be a Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Our Dominion of New Zealand". Dominion status allowed New Zealand to become independent, while retaining the British monarch as head of state, represented by a governor appointed in consultation with the New Zealand Government. Control over defence, constitutional amendments, foreign affairs remained with the British Government.
Joseph Ward had thought. However, Dominion status was received with limited enthusiasm or indifference from the general public, who were unable to discern any practical difference. Dominion status symbolised New Zealand's shift to self-governance, but this change had been accomplished with the first responsible government in the 1850s. Historian Keith Sinclair remarked:… the change of title, for which there had been no demand, produced little public interest, it was regarded as Ward's personal show … it was cosmetic. According to Dame Silvia Cartwright, 18th Governor-General of New Zealand, in a 2001 speech:This event passed unheralded, it attracted little comment. This illustrates that what may appear as a constitutional landmark from this point in time needs to be seen in its context, and so, although new Letters Patent and Royal Instructions were issued in 1907, the re
