TypeAgencyDate Range11 October 1842-4 December 1843DescriptionThe first settlers in Wellington arrived in 1840. The New Zealand Company had drafted regulations and an agreement on the maintenance of good order in the new settlement which all migrants were asked to sign before sailing from Gravesend. The agreement nominated a committee of eminent persons to run the new settlement and set out the rules for resolving disputes.
This agreement lasted for approximately four months until the Lieutenant-Governor appointed an Acting-Governor to disband the committee and impose rule by the Acting-Governor. After a good deal of dispute and dissatisfaction on both sides the settlers lobbied for the creation of a municipal corporation.
Wellington was proclaimed a borough in 1842. The first borough council consisted of a Mayor and 12 aldermen elected by the burgesses of Wellington: 'every male inhabitant of full age who had been duly enrolled and had paid the sum of 20 shillings, should be qualified to vote.'
The first meeting of the Borough Council took place on 11 October 1842; the council lasted until September 1843 when the Ordinance allowing for its constitution was disallowed by the Queen. Wellington was then administered by the central government, as part of the Southern Division, then as part of Province of New Munster (1847-1852) and finally within Wellington Province until 1863.
