Premier — On 11 October George Waterhouse replaces Edward Stafford after the latter loses a vote of confidence. Stafford had only been in office for 1 month having taken over when William Fox was forced to resign on 10 September.
Minister of Finance — Julius Vogel loses his position on 10 September when the Fox ministry is forced to resign and is replaced by Thomas Gillies. Vogel regains the post on 11 October after he moves a vote of no confidence in the new ministry.
2 May: The Waikato Times and Thames Valley Gazette begins publishing in Ngāruawāhia. Initially it was produced three times a week. It moved to Hamilton in 1875 and became the Waikato Times. The paper, a daily since the late 19th century, continues to publish today[update].[1]
5 October: The Poverty Bay Standard begins publishing as a weekly newspaper in the Gisborne area. It increased its frequency over the next two years to become tri-weekly. It was later called the Gisborne Standard.[3]
Sport
Athletics
The first recorded amateur athletic meeting takes place, in Christchurch.[4]
^Heidenstrom, P. (1992) Athletes of the Century. Wellington: GP Publications ISBN1-86956-044-2
^ abTodd, S. (1976) Sporting Records of New Zealand. Auckland: Moa Publications. ISBN0-908570-00-7
^"Rugby Union Football". from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.