1838 in New Zealand#Undated

The following lists events that happened during 1838 in New Zealand.

Incumbents

=Regal and viceregal=

Head of State – Queen Victoria
Governor of New South Wales – Sir George Gipps, having been appointed on 5 October 1837, arrives in Sydney on 23 February.

=Government and law=

British Resident in New Zealand — James Busby

Events

10 January
— Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier arrives in New Zealand at Totara Point on the Hokianga Harbour.Wises New Zealand Guide, 7th Edition, 1979. p. 145.
— Flax trader James Farrow purchases an acre of land at Otumoetai, Tauranga.{{Cite web |url=http://ourcity.tauranga.govt.nz/heritage/history/traders/ |title=Tauranga City History |access-date=8 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928115909/http://ourcity.tauranga.govt.nz/heritage/history/traders/ |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}
13 January – Bishop Pompallier celebrates the first Catholic mass on land in New Zealand at the home of Thomas and Mary Poynton at Totara Point.
February
— The offer of a Royal charter to the New Zealand Association to take responsibility for the administration of New Zealand is withdrawn. (see 1837, December).
April
— The French whaler Cachalot, commanded by Jean Langlois, arrives in New Zealand waters and commences whaling near the Chatham Islands.
May
— The Cachalot arrives at Banks Peninsula accompanied by the French corvette Héroine.
2 August – Jean Langlois completes the purchase of Banks Peninsula from local Māori and makes a downpayment of goods to the value of 150 francs. Captain Cecille of the Héroine raises the French flag and proclaims French sovereignty over Banks Peninsula.
August
— The New Zealand Association is wound up. In its place the New Zealand Colonisation Company and the New Zealand Land Company are established. (see also 1839)

;Undated

The Reverend Alfred Nesbitt Brown re-opens the Anglican mission at Tauranga.Wises New Zealand Guide, 7th Edition, 1979. p. 422.[http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/B/BrownAlfredNesbitt/BrownAlfredNesbitt/en New Zealand Encyclopaedia 1966: Brown Biography] (see also 1836 & 1837)
Three Gisborne Māori, having had Christian instruction in the Bay of Islands, return as catechists.Wises New Zealand Guide, 7th Edition, 1979. p. 113.