[2] The total membership in the society has varied from approximately 100 soon after its 1974 foundation to between 200 and 300 at its 25th anniversary in 1999.
[4] A drafting committee for the new society was formed at the 1973 colloquium, despite some opposition from the RSNZ's National Committee for Mathematics,[5][6] and the society was founded in 1974 with David Vere-Jones as founding president.
[3][8] The journal was given its name and co-sponsorship in 1992, and is the successor to a previous publication founded in 1969, the Mathematical Chronicle of the University of Auckland.
[3][8][9] Other activities of the society include hosting student competitions, visiting lecturers, and colloquium speakers, and providing travel grants for New Zealand students and mathematicians to attend conferences.
A small number of distinguished mathematicians with ties to New Zealand have been named as Honorary Life Members of the society, including Henry Forder, Vaughan Jones, and Bernhard Neumann.