The Qualification of Electors Act extended the right to vote (or electoral franchise) to all European men aged over 21, regardless of whether they owned or rented property.
It took a while for television to make its mark on New Zealand elections, but since the 1980s the small screen has become the decisive election battleground.
The first member of New Zealand's inaugural Parliament was elected unopposed at Russell in the Bay of Islands. It would take another two and a half months to elect the remaining 36 members of the House of Representatives.
