Independence of New Zealand

New Zealand was, therefore, to all intents and purposes independent in domestic matters from its earliest days as a British colony.

A 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.

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.

[6] In 1839, in instructions given to Captain William Hobson, Lord Normanby said: "I have already stated that we acknowledge New Zealand as a sovereign and independent State, so far at least as it is possible to make that acknowledgment in favour of a people composed of numerous dispersed and petty tribes, who possess few political relations to each other, and are incompetent to act or even to deliberate in concert.

Normanby continued: "...extensive settlement of British subjects will be rapidly established in New Zealand, and that unless protected and restrained by necessary laws and institutions, they will repeat unchecked in that quarter of the globe the same process of war and spoliation under which uncivilised tribes have almost invariably disappeared, as often as they have been brought into the immediate vicinity of emigrants from the nations of Christendom.

To mitigate, and, if possible, to avert these disasters, and to rescue the emigrants themselves from the evils of a lawless state of society, it has been resolved to adopt the most effective measures for establishing amongst them a settled form of civil government.

On 17 August 1840 the first French colonists (from the Nanto-Bordelaise Company) arrived in Akaroa, soon learning of the new British rule, and thus effectively ending any further colonisation attempts by France.

The connection was severed formally when the last Commissaire du Roi (Representative of the king of France) departed New Zealand on 10 April 1846.

[14] Some members of this group, such as newspaper publisher Samuel Revans, recounting earlier New Zealand Company schemes for a separate colony, advocated for independence outside of the British Empire.

As a result of this pressure, Governor Grey wrote his own draft constitution bill, while camping on Mount Ruapehu in 1851.

Prime Minister Joseph Ward determined that New Zealand should become a dominion, and parliament passed a resolution to that effect.

[16] On 26 September 1907 the United Kingdom granted New Zealand (along with Newfoundland, which later became a part of Canada) "Dominion" status within the British Empire.

[16] 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 had a degree of control over its foreign affairs.

In other words, they have achieved full national status and they now stand beside the United Kingdom as equal partners in the dignities and responsibilities of the British Commonwealth.

[19]The Balfour Declaration made at the time (not to be confused with the Balfour Declaration of 1917 on Palestine) stated that "They [the Dominions] are autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations."

The New Zealand Government saw little urgency in the Act and delayed ratification, but for practical purposes 1926 had removed doubts about functional independence.

At the outset of the Second World War, the Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage, who had been critical of the British policy of appeasement, declared: ...for almost a century, behind the sure shield of Britain, we have enjoyed and cherished freedom and self-government.

We are only a young nation, but we are one and all a band of brothers, and we march forward with a union of hearts and wills to a common destiny.

Prior to this Act, migrants to New Zealand were classed as either "British" (mainly from the United Kingdom itself, but also other Commonwealth countries such as Australia, South Africa and India) or "Non-British".

Under the ANZUS Treaty and growing concerns about Communist influences in the Asia-Pacific region, the United States pressured the governments of Australia and New Zealand to contribute to the war in Vietnam, eventually resulting in both nations sending forces.

The Vietnam War was the first conflict that New Zealand entered that did not involve Britain or any other Commonwealth nations other than Australia.

This led to the Reagan administration cutting major military and diplomatic ties between Wellington and Washington, downgrading New Zealand from 'ally', to 'friend'.

[31] A more significant move towards independence in a practical rather than legal sense came in 1973 when Britain joined the European Economic Community.

This Act removed the residual power of the United Kingdom Parliament to legislate for New Zealand at its request and consent.

[38] At the same time, political relations between New Zealand and the United States improved during the George W. Bush administration (2001–2009) especially after Prime Minister Helen Clark visited the White House on 22 March 2007.