Parliament passed the Scientific and Industrial Research Act 1926, which established the DSIR to foster scientific research beneficial to the New Zealand economy.
The Reform government led by Prime Minister Gordon Coates had agreed to establish a new scientific research agency following pressure from scientists – including Ernest Rutherford – and a report by a visiting British expert, Frank Heath. While it borrowed the structure and name of the British DSIR (which Heath led), it would focus more on supporting primary industries, especially agriculture, rather than industrial manufacturing as in Britain. The DSIR’s first secretary (from 1926 to 1947) was Ernest Marsden, a former student and research assistant of Rutherford’s.
The department initially coordinated research within existing institutions or in new research associations, which were partly funded by the industries concerned. The first of these were the Dairy Research Institute (1927) and Wheat Research Institute (1928), which soon made important contributions to the economy. In the latter year the DSIR also joined with the Department of Agriculture to establish a Plant Research Station, which (along with superphosphate fertiliser) helped provide the basis for New Zealand’s ‘grasslands revolution’.
These institutions were followed by the New Zealand Wool Industries Research Institute (1937), the Tobacco Research Station at Motueka (1938), the New Zealand Fertiliser Manufacturers' Research Association (1947), the Hop Research Station at Riwaka (1949) and the Meat Industry Research Institute (1955).
The Second World War led to major expansion of the DSIR as it undertook research to support industrial ventures using local materials. By the time of its 50th anniversary in 1976, the department employed over 2000 staff in 20 research divisions. It provided scientific advice to industry and carried out research covering native and introduced plants and animals, climate, geology and the marine environment.
The DSIR was disestablished in 1992 and replaced by a range of semi-independent (and more commercially focused) Crown Research Institutes (CRIs). In 2025 the seven existing CRIs were merged into three new Public Research Organisations (PROs) covering earth sciences, bioeconomic science, and public health and forensic science; a fourth PRO was being established in 2026 to foster advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.