Cities
Prior to 1989, any borough with a population exceeding 20,000 could proclaim itself a city. As part of the restructuring, many provincial cities were combined with surrounding rural counties to form districts. For example, Hastings became a district, although its population is greater than nearby city Napier, which did not acquire any rural areas. The term city is still used informally for all large towns. New Zealand's first city was Christchurch, proclaimed by royal charter in 1856.
| Council | Established | Disestablished | Area | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birkenhead | 1978 | 1989 | 12.66 square kilometres (4.89 sq mi) | Merged into North Shore City |
| East Coast Bays | 1989 | 15.59 square kilometres (6.02 sq mi) | Merged into North Shore City | |
| Gisborne | 1989 | 26.28 square kilometres (10.15 sq mi) | Merged into Gisborne District | |
| Hastings | 1989 | 19.46 square kilometres (7.51 sq mi) | Merged into Hastings District | |
| Mount Albert City | 1986 | 1989 | 9.83 square kilometres (3.80 sq mi) | Merged into Auckland City |
| New Plymouth | 1989 | Merged into New Plymouth District | ||
| Papakura | 1989 | 13.95 square kilometres (5.39 sq mi) | Merged into Papakura District | |
| Papatoetoe | 1989 | 9.03 square kilometres (3.49 sq mi) | Merged into Manukau City | |
| Takapuna | 1989 | 114 square kilometres (44 sq mi) | Merged into North Shore City | |
| Tamaki | 1986 | 1989 | Merged into Auckland City | |
| Timaru | 1989 | 22.84 square kilometres (8.82 sq mi) | Merged into Timaru District | |
| Waitemata City | 1989 | 378.29 square kilometres (146.06 sq mi) | Merged into Waitakere City | |
| Wanganui | 1989 | 33.93 square kilometres (13.10 sq mi) | Merged into Wanganui District | |
| Whangarei | 1989 | 292.79 square kilometres (113.05 sq mi) | Merged into Whangarei District |
Read more about this topic: List Of Former Territorial Authorities In New Zealand
Famous quotes containing the word cities:
“Satire is born of the cities it denounces.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Do you know what Agelisas said, when he was asked why the great city of Lacedomonie was not girded with walls? Because, pointing out the inhabitants and citizens of the city, so expert in military discipline and so strong and well armed: “Here,” he said, “are the walls of the city,” meaning that there is no wall but of bones, and that towns and cities can have no more secure nor stronger wall than the virtue of their citizens and inhabitants.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“How far men go for the material of their houses! The inhabitants of the most civilized cities, in all ages, send into far, primitive forests, beyond the bounds of their civilization, where the moose and bear and savage dwell, for their pine boards for ordinary use. And, on the other hand, the savage soon receives from cities iron arrow-points, hatchets, and guns, to point his savageness with.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)