1901 in New Zealand

A New Zealand census was held in March 1901. The population was given as 815,862, consisting of 43,112 Māori, 31 Moriori, and 772,719 others.^[1] – an increase in the non-Māori population of 9.86% over the previous census in 1896.^[2]

The figures for the 1901 census revealed that the North Island's population had exceeded the South Island's for the first time since the Otago gold rush of 1861 – the two islands (plus their associated minor offshore islands) had populations of 390,579 and 382,140 respectively. Only 40% of the country's population was based in urban centres, and only two of these centres, Auckland and Dunedin, had populations of over 25,000.

• 9 January — A Northern Maori by-election is held.

• 28 January — Captain William James Hardham became the first New Zealand-born winner of the Victoria Cross as a result of action in the South African War (Boer War).^[5]
• 2 February — a day of mourning acknowledging the death of Queen Victoria brings the nation to a standstill.
• 24 April
  • A mayoral election is held in Auckland City.
  • A mayoral election is held in Invercargill.
• 25 April — A mayoral election is held in Wellington City.
• 19 June — The 1901 New Zealand Royal Visit Honours are announced.
• 18 July
  • A City of Christchurch by-election is held.
  • A by-election is held in Patea.
• 12 September — The Nurses Registration Act 1901 is passed.
• 16 November — A 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurs in Cheviot
• 19 December — A Caversham by-election is held.
• Union of the Synod of Otago and Southland with the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.
• A second visit to New Zealand by members of the Royal Family: the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (later to become George V and Queen Mary).
• The New Zealand red ensign became the official flag for merchant vessels.^[6]
• Founding of the New Zealand Socialist Party.
• New Zealand rejects the proposal to become a state in the Commonwealth of Australia
• Richard Seddon adopts the term Prime Minister rather than Premier.

See 1901 in art, 1901 in literature

• 7 February: Arnold Nordmeyer, politician.
• 26 February: Leslie Munro, diplomat.
• 25 March: Raymond Firth, ethnologist.
• 10 April: Robert Aitken, physician and university administrator.
• 17 May: Robert Macfarlane, politician.
• 19 May: William Stevenson, industrialist and philanthropist.
• 13 June: John Cawte Beaglehole, historian and biographer.
• 15 June: Dove-Myer Robinson, long-serving mayor of Auckland.
• 5 July: Len Lye, sculptor, filmmaker, writer.
• 24 December: Nola Luxford, silent film actress.^[11]

• 14 February: Edward Stafford. politician and 3rd Premier of New Zealand.
• 17 April Loughlin O'Brien, politician.
• 15 July: Frederic Carrington, surveyor and politician.^[12]
• 6 August (in Scotland): John McKenzie, politician
• 2 September:
  • Charles Brown, politician
  • Benjamin Crisp, carrier and temperance reformer^[13]
• 27 September: Matthew Holmes, politician
• 5 December Francis Rich, politician and farmer.

• List of years in New Zealand
• Timeline of New Zealand history
• History of New Zealand
• Military history of New Zealand
• Timeline of the New Zealand environment
• Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica