Editing List of cities in New Zealand (section)

=== Cities, 1877 to 1989 ===
The schedule of cities in New Zealand was brought under central government control in 1867,<ref name=act1867/> but continued to be sporadically applied. From 1886 the definition of a city was changed to any borough with a population of 20,000 or more.<ref>{{cite web|title=Municipal Corporations Act 1886|date=18 August 1886|publisher=Parliament of New Zealand|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/mca188650v1886n50338/}}</ref> This value was increased to 50,000 in 1989.<ref name=Brett2020/><ref>{{cite web|title=Local Government Amendment Act (No 2) 1989|date=6 June 1989|publisher=Parliament of New Zealand|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/lgaa219891989n29316/}}</ref>

Up to October 1989, the Local Government Commission undertook reorganisations of local government. As a result, some cities were reorganised into other larger cities or changed to districts, and some of these areas are still considered cities by many New Zealanders. This is a list as at {{Circa|1986}}.

* ''North Island''
** [[Whangārei]] (1964)
** ''Auckland''
*** [[Auckland City|Auckland]] (1871)
*** [[East Coast Bays]]
*** [[Takapuna]]
*** [[Birkenhead, New Zealand|Birkenhead]]
*** [[Waitemata City|Waitemata]] (1974)
*** [[Mount Albert, New Zealand|Mt Albert]]
*** [[Papatoetoe]]
*** [[Manukau City|Manukau]] (1965)
*** [[Papakura]]
*** [[Tamaki City|Tamaki]]
** [[Hamilton, New Zealand|Hamilton]] (1936)
** [[New Plymouth]] (1949)
** [[Tauranga]] (1963) (lost city status 1989, regained 2004)
*** Bethlehem
*** Mount Maunganui
*** Papamoa
*** Welcome Bay
** [[Rotorua]] (1962, merged into Rotorua District, 1979)
** [[Gisborne, New Zealand|Gisborne]] (1955)
** [[Napier, New Zealand|Napier]] (1950)
** [[Hastings, New Zealand|Hastings]] (1956)
** [[Whanganui|Wanganui]] (1924) (merged with surrounding counties to become Whanganui District, 1989)
** [[Palmerston North]] (1930)
** ''Wellington''
*** [[Wellington]] (1870)
*** [[Upper Hutt]] (1966)
*** [[Hutt City|Lower Hutt]] (1941)
*** [[Porirua]] (1965)
* ''South Island''
** [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]] (1874)
** [[Christchurch]] (1868)
** [[Timaru]] (1948)
** [[Dunedin]] (1865)
** [[Invercargill]] (1930)