← 1880 1879 1878 1881 in New Zealand → 1882 1883 1884
Decades:	1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s
See also:	History of New Zealand List of years in New Zealand Timeline of New Zealand history

The following lists events that happened during 1881 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State – Queen Victoria
• Governor – The Hon. Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon

Government and law

The general election is held on 9 December. Afterwards the 8th New Zealand Parliament begins.

• Speaker of the House – Maurice O'Rorke.
• Premier – John Hall (New Zealand)
• Minister of Finance – Harry Atkinson
• Chief Justice – Hon Sir James Prendergast

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – James Clark
• Mayor of Christchurch – Charles Thomas Ick followed by James Gapes
• Mayor of Dunedin – Archibald Hilson Ross followed by James Gore
• Mayor of Wellington – William Hutchison

Events

• The government passes the Chinese Immigration Act 1881. This imposes a £10 tax per Chinese person entering New Zealand, and permits only one Chinese immigrant for every 10 tons of cargo.
• 1 October – The first telephone exchange in New Zealand is opened in Christchurch.^[1]
• 24 October – A telephone exchange is opened in Auckland.^[1]

Sport

Cricket

• The Auckland Association is formed.^[2]
• An Australian team tours the country playing twelve matches against provincial teams. None of the games have first-class status, with the home teams fielding between 12 and 22 players. Australia suffered one loss, but 10 wickets to the Wanganui XXII. Itinerary

Horse racing

• New Zealand Cup winner: Grip
• New Zealand Derby winner: The Dauphin
• Auckland Cup winner: King Quail
• Wellington Cup winner: Natator

Rugby union

The Otago union is formed.^[2]

Provincial club rugby champions include:

see also Category:Rugby union in New Zealand

Shooting

Ballinger Belt: Lieutenant Paynter (Nelson)

Births

• 16 January: Hercules Wright, rugby union player.
• 14 February (in Australia): George Skellerup, industrialist
• 6 April: Walter Broadfoot, politician.

Deaths

• 15 September William Sefton Moorhouse, politician.

Unknown date

• Paora Te Potangaroa, Māori prophet.