The Office of Agent-General for New Zealand in the United Kingdom, 1870-1905

Abstract

At the beginning of 1970 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs employed 738 persons at diplomatic and consular posts overseas. It had High Commissioners stationed in seven countries of the Commonwealth and Ambassadors in ten other nations. A century ago New Zealand had no permanent representatives abroad. Nor was there any government department especially concerned with looking after the colony’s external affairs. The establishment of a department for this purpose and the extension of a network of representatives around the world has been a relatively recent development. The one exception to this is the office of the High Commissioner for New Zealand in the United Kingdom which had its origins in the office of the Agent-General.