Ministry of Works and Development, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research - Palmerston North Office

The New Zealand Ministry of Works and Development, formerly the Department of Public Works and often referred to as the Public Works Department or PWD, was founded in 1876 and disestablished and privatised in 1988. The Ministry had its own Cabinet-level responsible minister, the Minister of Works or Minister of Public Works.

During the latter years of the Ministry there were seven District Offices (Auckland, Hamilton, Whanganui, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) each headed by a District Commissioner of Works. In each District there were a number of Residency Offices (headed by a Resident Engineer) and each had a number of Depots. In addition there were Project Offices set up for a particular purpose, such as to build a power project, airport, tunnel or irrigation scheme. There were several departments for air and water resources throughout the Horizons Region pre-1989.

The North Island Survey Party was folded into this division on 1 January 1968. This division was a forerunner to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).