The following lists events that happened during 1907 in New Zealand. There are celebrations throughout the country this year as New Zealand changes from colony to independent dominion status by proclamation of Edward VII on 26 September. In Wellington on 11 December there is a great sensation when the tinder-dry Parliament buildings burn to the ground. Incumbents Regal and viceregal Head of State – Edward VII Governor – The Lord Plunket GCMG KCVO Government The 16th New Zealand Parliament Speaker of the House – Sir Arthur Guinness Prime Minister – Joseph Ward Minister of Finance – Joseph Ward Attorney-General – John Findlay Chief Justice – Sir Robert Stout Parliamentary opposition Leader of the Opposition – William Massey, (Independent). Main centre leaders Mayor of Auckland – Arthur Myers Mayor of Wellington – Thomas Hislop Mayor of Christchurch – John Hall followed by George Payling Mayor of Dunedin – John Loudon Dominion With the attaining of Dominion status, the Colonial Treasurer became the Minister of Finance and the Colonial Secretary's Office was renamed the Department of Internal Affairs. The Royal Proclamation of 10 September also designated members of the House of Representatives as "M.P." (Member of Parliament). Previously they were designated "M.H.R." (Member of the House of Representatives). Events The Tohunga Suppression Act is passed by parliament, sponsored by Māui Pōmare. Rua Kenana, a self-proclaimed prophet, establishes a religious community at the foot of Maungapōhatu, the sacred Tūhoe mountain in the Ureweras. St Paul's Church in Dunedin is consecrated by Bishop Churchill Julius. Highest ever recorded flooding along the Taupo, Tongariro, Waipa, and Waikato river systems. Prime Minister Joseph Ward is appointed to the Privy Council. Health Dr Sir Frederick Truby King establishes the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children which later becomes The Royal New Zealand Plunket Society, known simply as Plunket. The society established Plunket Rooms throughout the country and provides specially trained nurses to advise and assist New Zealand mothers free of charge. The first Home of Compassion is opened, at Island Bay in Wellington, by Mother Suzanne Aubert who had founded the congregation of the Sisters of Compassion in Jerusalem on the Whanganui River in 1892. The country's first dental school opens at Otago University. The first dean is Sir Henry Percy Pickerill, a pioneer of reconstructive surgery of the jaw and face. Arts and literature The New Zealand School Journal, an education