History of New Zealand Post
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New Zealand Post has a rich history stretching back 170 years. From the early 1830s when whalers, missionaries and traders had to rely on occasional passing ships, to the present as a successful commercial entity competing in local and global markets.
- The Early Years
- The Post Office – a Government Department
- Becoming a State-Owned Enterprise
- The Arrival of Competition
- Our Recent History- 1987 to Today
The Early Years
The earliest forms of postal communication within New Zealand and to and from its shores were haphazard at best – the first whalers, missionaries and traders having to rely on occasional passing ships for inwards and outwards communications.
During the 1830s, several Bay of Islands merchants were delegated the responsibility for inward and outward mail by the Postmaster-General of New South Wales. In 1840, the first official Post Office in New Zealand was opened at Kororareka, when Captain Hobson, the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor, arrived in the Bay of Islands and appointed William Clayton Hayes as Clerk to the Bench of Magistrates and Postmaster. Within six months, Hayes was suspended from duty – the first civil servant to incur this penalty in New Zealand – for neglect of duty and continual inebriety.
When New Zealand was established as a Crown Colony independent of New South Wales in 1841, HM Treasury in London, unaware that Captain Hobson had already created a Post Office under his control, issued a Warrant establishing the Post Office in New Zealand under British Post Office control. Change of control did not in fact take place until some 18 months later, and was returned to Colonial control again in 1850.
The establishment of settlements across North and South Islands meant the need for an internal postal service was becoming more and more important, however New Zealand's geography, and ongoing wars between Maori and Europeans and inter-tribal fighting hindered communication. At the time, shipping mail coast-to-coast, although inefficient, was the most reliable means of transporting mail around the country. A monthly shipping service to Sydney, where mail was exchanged with outbound and inbound London ships saw the first regular overseas mail service established.
The Local Posts Act of 1856 and the Post Office Act of 1858 signalled a period of growth for the New Zealand Post Office. The Local Posts Act gave provincial councils the authority to create their own mail services and local Post Offices, while the Government continued to maintain the overland trunk postal routes and the head Post Office in each province. The Post Office Act repealed the Local Posts Act, establishing the Post Office as a separate government department, reporting to the Postmaster General, and providing for its administration.
By the end of the 1860s, 'postie' deliveries and private boxes had been introduced, agency services for other government departments were offered at Post Offices, a money order service was available and the Post Office Savings Bank had opened. The discovery of gold in the South Island and the boom of New Zealand's railway, roads and communication infrastructure as part of Julius Vogel's public works and assisted migration programme in the 1870s did much to facilitate the growth of the postal network. By 1880 there were over 850 post offices. The following year, the merger of the Electric Telegraphs Department with the Post Office Department created the enlarged New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department, which later became the New Zealand Post Office.
The Post Office – a Government Department
The New Zealand Post Office entered the 20th century as a burgeoning government department with over 1,700 branches.
Rapid growth of the Post Office continued throughout the century, with its broad role as post office, savings bank and telephone exchange cementing its place in New Zealand society. Public demand for its services, including the growth of private telephones in people's homes, and the introduction of internal and international airmail services in the 1930s, enabling faster, more efficient mail services, ensured its future.
By the middle of the century, the Post Office was a complex and financially successful organisation – fulfilling political, social and economic needs. Its role in the community was expansive. Beyond the traditional communication services, the Post Office provided important community services including registering births, marriages, deaths and cars, accepting television and fishing licence fees, enrolling people to vote, and collecting pensions. Post Offices also provided daily weather and temperature checks for the Meteorological Office, and postmasters were able to perform marriage ceremonies.
In the 1960s and 70s steps were taken towards better managing the ever-increasing volumes of national and international mail: the installation of New Zealand's first mechanical mail sorting machine in the Auckland parcel depot, and the introduction of address postal codes to simplify bulk mail sorting. However, increasingly the tension between political and commercial pressures meant the business was not operating efficiently.
By the 1980s, the variety of roles, the sometimes-conflicting needs of three different businesses, and political considerations were major constraints on the Post Office. It was increasingly unable to meet growing consumer demands and the postal side alone was losing over $20 million a year, with expectations that this would balloon in the future.
In 1985, Jonathan Hunt, Postmaster General, ordered a review of the organisational and management structure of the Post Office. The subsequent Mason-Morris report of 1986 called for sweeping changes, separating the three core businesses to operate as independent State-owned corporations.
Becoming a State-Owned Enterprise
On 1 April 1987 the New Zealand Post Office was 'corporatised' and its core businesses split into three separate companies - Telecom, Post Bank and New Zealand Post. Each company was set up as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) and was expected to operate as a commercial entity.
The State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 required New Zealand Post to operate as a successful business and to be:
- as profitable and efficient as comparable businesses not owned by the Crown
- a good employer
- an organisation that exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates and by endeavouring to accommodate or encourage these when it is able to do so.
The Act also spelled out the broad nature of the Crown’s ownership of the company, defining the role of directors and outlining the responsibilities of shareholding Ministers. The reporting requirements for SOEs are also outlined in the Act.
The Act creates an arms-length relationship by distancing management tasks from political control. Under the Act, the Government must fund any non-commercial activities that the Government wants carried out.
Other regulatory instruments include five legal documents shaping New Zealand Post's business charter as a state owned enterprise. They are:
- The Constitution of New Zealand Post
- The Postal Services Act 1998
- The Commerce Act 1986
- The Fair Trading Act 1986
- The Companies Act 1993
One of the major innovations of the State-Owned Enterprise Act was the introduction of a Statement of Corporate Intent for New Zealand Post. This was designed to bring accountability to the new business, accounting policies and performance targets. The Statement of Corporate Intent is updated annually and records the information required for New Zealand Post Limited for the following three years. Performance updates are presented to the shareholding Ministers and Parliament through half-yearly and annual reports.
In 1989 a Deed of Understanding between New Zealand Post and the Government was first established, setting out certain social, price and service undertakings to be met by the company. The Deed was updated in 1998 to reflect the newly competitive environment for postal services. The Deed cements New Zealand Post's position as the provider of a universal postal service for all New Zealanders.
The arrival of competition
On 1 April 1998, the Postal Services Act 1998 was passed, deregulating the New Zealand postal market and opening it to full competition. In all other products and activities New Zealand Post was already operating in a competitive market.
New Zealand Post had been preparing for competition since it became a State-Owned Enterprise in 1987, with the impact of deregulation always being included as a scenario in the company’s business plans.
The Act removed New Zealand Post's monopoly on the delivery of the standard letter, resulting for the first time in 150 years, in full competition in postal services.
Under current regulations anyone can now process and deliver mail, at any cost, as long as they register as a postal operator with the Ministry of Economic Development.
Under deregulation New Zealand Post is still required to provide a universal service – delivery throughout New Zealand under the Deed of Understanding.
There are currently more than 25 individual postal operators, including New Zealand Post, registered on the Postal register with the Ministry of Economic Development.
Our recent History - 1987 to Today
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*Special thanks to Robin Startup and to 'POST OFFICE', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 26-Sep-2006
www.TeAra.govt.nz/1966/P/PostOffice/en