new zealand was granted full external autonomy by british parliament on 28 october 1835.
new zealand was granted full external autonomy by british parliament on 28 october 1835.
when was new zealand granted full external autonomy by british parliament?
28 october 1835
statute of westminster adoption act 1947









































the statute of westminster adoption act 1947 (public act no. 38 of 1947) was a constitutional act of the parliament of new zealand that formally accepted the full external autonomy offered by the british parliament. by passing the act on 25 november 1947, new zealand adopted the statute of westminster 1931, an act of the british parliament which granted full sovereign status and commonwealth membership to the dominions ratifying the statute (new zealand was the last dominion to do so, as the dominion of newfoundland voted to become a part of canada in 1949).
statute of westminster adoption act 1947
although the royal warrant specified the design of the coat of arms, by the mid-1940s at least 20 variants were in use. one month prior to new zealand's adoption of the statute of westminster (which formally accepted the full external autonomy offered by the british parliament) on 25 september 1947, a special committee was formed by then prime minister peter fraser. responsible for the "redrawing and standardisation of the coat of arms", the committee consisted of alister mcintosh, joe heenan, colin aikman, frank corner, foss shanahan and professor john cawte beaglehole. one of the committee's concerns was that the female supporter looked too much like a "soviet heroine". following the election of the first national government in 1949, the new attorney-general, jack marshall (later prime minister) took up responsibility for the committee. marshall requested the woman to be re-drawn based on the likeness of grace kelly, a favourite actress of his.
coat of arms of new zealand