← 1849 1848 1847 1850 in New Zealand → 1851 1852 1853
Decades:	1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s
See also:	History of New Zealand List of years in New Zealand Timeline of New Zealand history

The following lists events that happened during 1850 in New Zealand.

Population

The estimated population of New Zealand at the end of 1850 is 65,650 Māori and 22,108 non-Māori.^[1]

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State – Queen Victoria
• Governor – Sir George Grey

Government and law

• Chief Justice – William Martin
• Lieutenant Governor, New Munster – Edward John Eyre
• Lieutenant Governor, New Ulster – George Dean Pitt

Events

• 16 December – The Charlotte-Jane, one of the First Four Ships bringing settlers to Canterbury arrives in Lyttelton Harbour followed by the Randolph later the same afternoon.
• 17 December – The George Seymour arrives in Lyttelton.
• 21 December – Otago News finishes publication. The newspaper started in 1848.^[2]
• 27 December – The Cressy is the last of the First Four Ships to arrive at Lyttelton.

Foundations

• St Mary's Seminary

Births

• 7 January: Joseph James Fletcher, Australian biologist (d. 1926)
• 8 April: Thomas Hislop, Mayor of Wellington (in Scotland)

Deaths

• 7 August: Hone Heke, tribal leader
• 15 October: William Darby Brind, master mariner and whaler (probable date of death)

Unknown date

• Te Rohu, tribal leader
• Rawiri Tareahi, tribal leader