Regions

The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces. These were abolished for financial reasons in 1876, so that government could be centralised. As a result, New Zealand has no separately represented sub-national entities such as provinces, states or territories, apart from its local government. The spirit of the provinces however still lives on, and there is fierce rivalry exhibited in sporting and cultural events.

Today New Zealand has 16 regional councils for the administration of environmental and transport matters and 74 territorial authorities that administer roads, sewerage, building consents, and other local matters.

The regional councils and unitary authorities (central cities in brackets) are listed below, roughly in north to south order:

• Northland (Whangarei)
• Auckland (Auckland City)
• Waikato (Hamilton)
• Bay of Plenty (Whakatane)
• East Cape (Gisborne)
• Hawke's Bay (Napier)
• Taranaki (New Plymouth)
• Manawatu-Wanganui (Palmerston North)
• Wellington (Wellington)
• Tasman (Richmond)
• Nelson
• Marlborough (Blenheim)
• West Coast (Greymouth)
• Canterbury (Christchurch)
• Otago (Dunedin)
• Southland (Invercargill)