Story: Ports and harbours
In colonial times harbour-board politics could be extreme. Every town knew that its future depended on matching or exceeding its rivals’ facilities. When the first stone was laid for New Plymouth’s harbour in February 1881, the townsfolk were given a holiday and the politicians and other worthies pontificated for all they were worth, as theTaranaki Herald’s report made clear.
Using this item
National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference: Taranaki Herald, 8 February 1881, p. 2
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How to cite this page
Gavin McLean, Ports and harbours – Beachheads and beginnings, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/6114/harbour-politics (accessed 15 February 2026).
Story by Gavin McLean, published 2 March 2009, updated 30 July 2015.