1959 in New Zealand
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The following lists events that happened during 1959 in New Zealand.
Population[edit]
- Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,359,700.[1]
- Increase since 31 December 1958: 43,700 (1.89%).[1]
- Males per 100 females: 101.0.[1]
Incumbents[edit]
Regal and viceregal[edit]
Government[edit]
The 32nd New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the Labour government led by Walter Nash.
- Speaker of the House – Robert Macfarlane[3]
- Prime Minister – Walter Nash
- Deputy Prime Minister – Jerry Skinner.[3]
- Minister of Finance – Arnold Nordmeyer.[3]
- Minister of Foreign Affairs – Walter Nash.[3]
- Attorney-General – Rex Mason.[3]
- Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough
Parliamentary opposition[edit]
Main centre leaders[edit]
- Mayor of Auckland – Keith Buttle then Dove-Myer Robinson
- Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite then Denis Rogers
- Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
- Mayor of Christchurch – George Manning
- Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright then Stuart Sidey
Events[edit]
- 30 May: The Auckland Harbour Bridge is opened.[5]
- 24 November: The coastal trader MV Holmglen sinks near Timaru with the loss of 15 lives.[6]
Arts and literature[edit]
- Ian Cross wins the first Robert Burns Fellowship.
See 1959 in art, 1959 in literature
Music[edit]
See: 1959 in music
Radio[edit]
See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand
Film[edit]
See: Category:1959 film awards, 1959 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1959 films
Sport[edit]
Athletics[edit]
- Ray Puckett wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:27:28.2 on 7 March in Palmerston North.
Chess[edit]
- The 66th National Chess Championship was held in Hamilton. The title was shared between F.A. Foulds and B.C. Menzies, both of Auckland.[7]
Horse racing[edit]
Harness racing[edit]
- New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step (2nd win)[8]
- Auckland Trotting Cup – Scottish Command[9]
Lawn bowls[edit]
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.[10]
- Men's singles champion – W.R. Fleming Sr (Tuakau Bowling Club)
- Men's pair champions – G. Bradley, H.J. Thompson (skip) (Whitiora Bowling Club)
- Men's fours champions – T. Sunde, C. Hill, A. Sunde, M.A. Marinovich (skip) (Oratia Bowling Club)
Rugby union[edit]
- The British Lions team toured New Zealand, losing the Test series 3–1. They also lost two of their 21 provincial games, to Canterbury and Otago.[11]
- 18 July, Carisbrook, Dunedin: New Zealand 18 – 17 British Isles
- 15 August, Athletic Park, Wellington: New Zealand 11 – 8 British Isles
- 29 August, Lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 22 – 8 British Isles
- 19 September, Eden Park, Auckland: New Zealand 6 – 9 British Isles
Soccer[edit]
- The national men's team played one match against a visiting Costa Rican club side:[12]
- 6 June, Auckland: NZ 3 – 2 Deportivo Saprissa
- The Chatham Cup was won by Dunedin team Northern who beat North Shore United 3–2 in the final.[13]
- Provincial league champions:[14]
- Auckland: North Shore United
- Bay of Plenty: Kahukura
- Buller: Denniston Hotspurs
- Canterbury: Western
- Hawke's Bay: Napier Athletic
- Manawatu: Kiwi United
- Marlborough: Woodbourne
- Nelson: Rangers
- Northland: Otangarei United
- Otago: Northern AFC
- Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
- South Canterbury: West End
- Southland: Rovers
- Taranaki: Moturoa
- Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
- Wairarapa: Douglas Villa
- Wanganui: New Settlers
- Wellington: Northern
Births[edit]
- 13 April: Justin Boyle , cricketer.
- 8 May: Ingrid Jagersma, cricketer.
- 9 May: Andrew Jones , cricketer.
- 16 May: Greg Johnston, rower.
- 26 May: Brett Austin , breaststroke swimmer.
- 28 May: Eric Verdonk, rower.
- 17 June: Vivienne Gapes, skier.
- 20 August: David Howard, poet.
- 4 September: Robbie Deans , rugby player and coach.
- 14 September: Brendon Bracewell , cricketer.
- 27 September: Mark Inglis , mountaineer.
- 3 November: Vaughan Brown , cricketer.
- 12 December: George Keys, rower.
- Bianca van Rangelrooy , artist.
- Harry Sinclair , actor, filmmaker and musician.
Deaths[edit]
- 23 February: Gordon Wilson, Government architect.
- 8 April: Sir Bill Jordan, politician and diplomat.
- 8 June: George Dash, politician
- 7 November: Archie Fisher, painter.[15]
- 8 November: Walter William Massey, MP and politician
- 6 December (in Scotland): Edward Hunter a.k.a. Billy Banjo, trade unionist, politician and writer.
See also[edit]
- List of years in New Zealand
- Timeline of New Zealand history
- History of New Zealand
- Military history of New Zealand
- Timeline of the New Zealand environment
- Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Historical population estimates tables". Statistics New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
- ^ Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
- ^ a b c d e Lambert & Palenski: The New Zealand Almanac, 1982. ISBN 0-908570-55-4
- ^ "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
- ^ Peter Hinze, New Zealand (Hunter Publishing, Inc, 1998), p34
- ^ "Diver lost off South Canterbury coast". The Timaru Herald. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
- ^ List of New Zealand Chess Champions Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "List of NZ Trotting cup winners". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ McLintock, A.H., ed. (1966). "Bowls, men's outdoor—tournament winners". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ^ Pick and Go rugby results database
- ^ List of New Zealand national soccer matches
- ^ Chatham Cup: nzsoccer.com Archived 14 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.
- ^ Blackley, Roger. "Fisher, Archibald Joseph Charles 1896–1959". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
External links[edit]
Media related to 1959 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons