4 May: The Māori language magazine, The Maori Messenger or Ko te Karere Maori, which started in 1849, stops publishing. In 1855 it will be revived with a different Māori title.[3]
June: The Canterbury Standard begins publication. The Christchurch newspaper continues until 1866.[4]
Sport
Horse racing
2 December – The Canterbury Jockey Club is formed, the first club of its kind in New Zealand.[5][6] It holds its first meeting, at Riccarton Racecourse, in 1855.
^Statistics New Zealand has collated estimates from a number of sources (interpolating where necessary) at "Long-term data series". Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008., in particular "A1.1 Total population.xls". Archived from the original(Excel) on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.