Regal and viceregal

• Head of State – Queen Victoria
• Governor – Sir George Ferguson Bowen

Government and law

The 4th New Zealand Parliament continues.

• Speaker of the House – Sir David Monro stands down at the end of the year. He will be replaced after the 1871 election by Sir Francis Dillon Bell
• Premier – William Fox
• Minister of Finance – Julius Vogel
• Chief Justice – Hon Sir George Arney

Voting in New Zealand elections is changed to a secret ballot.^[1]

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Christchurch – John Anderson followed by Andrew Duncan
• Mayor of Dunedin – Thomas Birch followed by Henry Fish
• Mayor of Wellington – Joseph Dransfield

Archery

• The first club meets at One Tree Hill, Auckland.^[2]

Golf

• New Zealand's first golf course was opened in Dunedin.^[3]

Horse racing

There are 2 races for both the New Zealand Cup and New Zealand Derby (presumably at the beginning and end of the calendar year).^{(Confirmation required)}

Rugby union

Charles Monro, son of the Speaker of the House, Sir David Monro, introduces rugby to the Nelson Football club.^[2]

• 14 May – First rugby club match, Nelson College versus Nelson Football Club "The Town" at the Botanical reserve. This was the first interclub game of rugby union played in New Zealand.^[4]
• 12 September – A Nelson team, the "Lunatics", defeats Wellington at Petone.^[2]
• – The first "international" between Wellington and a team from HMS Rosario.^[2]

Shooting

Ballinger Belt: Lieutenant Goldie (Otago)^{[citation needed]}