Members of Parliament and guests are assembled in front of the 'Parliament Special' in 1908. Members of Parliament travelling by rail received free gold medallion railway passes.
The lobby, around 1900. The lobby was the centre of parliamentary life. Here, bets were made and tricks played, and the more boisterous Member of Parliament sometimes put on the odd impromptu sporting or wrestling match as well.
Politicians used the ferries to
travel between their electorates and Wellington,
so they scrutinised the Union Steam Ship Company's management of the ships.
Leaders of Maori society have represented their people in the House, including Maui Pomare, James Carroll, Matiu Rata and, most famously, Apirana Ngata.
One of the early issues parliamentarians discussed was pay for MPs, and one of the biggest difficulties MPs faced in the early years was travelling to Parliament.
In 1990 New Zealand's first Maori Governor-General, Sir Paul Reeves (1985–90) (right), swore in ministers in the newly elected National government of Jim Bolger (third from right); the Cabinet secretary and clerk of the Executive Council
Edward Jerningham Wakefield (1820–79) was the son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the prime mover behind immigration schemes from Britain to New Zealand in the late 1830s and 1840s.
Liberal Prime Minister Richard "King Dick" Seddon, came from a background as a gold digger, publican, and athlete. He had been Native Minister before his election as premier, and had ended a period of extensive purchases of Maori land.
Politician Francis Bell staunchly supported the Waitara purchase in 1860, which led to the Taranaki
war. In 1862 he became Minister of Native Affairs. His administration
has been described as 'not particularly efficient or vigorous',
although he did support the 1862 forerunner of the Native Land Court
Cabinet Minister and twice acting Prime Minister, James Carroll’s main aim in Parliament was to empower Maori and secure a role for them in the economic life of the country
Image of Elizabeth McCombs, the first woman to become a Member of Parliament in New Zealand when she was elected as a Labour Party candidate in a Lyttelton by-election in 1933.
Anything new in the House came in for comment in the newspapers. In 1933 when Elizabeth McCombs took her seat as the first woman in Parliament, there was much fussing about what she would wear.
There was a sharp edge to the cartoons that touched on public attitudes towards politics and politicians, especially as cartoonists themselves sought to offer a social commentary in their work.
No satirist could resist the temptation to draw the obvious conclusions from Members of Parliament talking a lot of hot air in the stuffy and poorly ventilated Parliament Buildings during the 1930s.
Astute observers of Parliament were found inside the House as well as outside. In the 1850s and 1860s, Member of Parliament Alfred Domett captured the foibles and habits of his fellow parliamentarians, preserving them in a small sketchbook.
Parliamentarians' so-called perks were fair game. Salaries, travel allowances, meals at Bellamy's and many other things became the butt of humour and a form of criticism when people thought that Members of Parliament had too much of a good thing.
Like salaries and 'perks', the behaviour of Members of Parliament in the chamber of the House has featured prominently in cartoons. The 19th-century politician Robert Stout had a reputation for being a windbag and talking endlessly in convoluted and erudite speeches that drove his colleagues to distraction.
Cartoonists and illustrators have a field day with distinctive physical characteristics of politicians. Weight, nose, hairstyle, beards or any particular style of dress are played up.
