2008 in New Zealand
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The following lists events that happened during 2008 in New Zealand.
Population[edit]
- Estimated population as of 31 December: 4,280,300.[1]
- Increase since 31 December 2007: 34,500 (0.81%).[1]
- Males per 100 Females: 95.7.[1]
Incumbents[edit]
Regal and vice regal[edit]
-
Elizabeth II -
Anand Satyanand
Government[edit]
2008 was the third and last year of the 48th Parliament, which was dissolved on 3 October. A general election was held on 8 November to elect the 49th Parliament, which saw the Fifth National Government elected.
- Speaker of the House – Margaret Wilson then Lockwood Smith
- Prime Minister – Helen Clark to 19 November, then John Key
- Deputy Prime Minister – Michael Cullen to 19 November, then Bill English
- Minister of Finance – Michael Cullen to 19 November, then Bill English
- Minister of Foreign Affairs – Winston Peters to 29 August, then Helen Clark (acting) to 19 November, then Murray McCully
-
Margaret Wilson -
Lockwood Smith -
Helen Clark -
John Key -
Michael Cullen -
Bill English -
Winston Peters -
Murray McCully
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Party leaders[edit]
- Labour – Helen Clark to 11 November, then Phil Goff
- National – John Key
- Progressive – Jim Anderton
- New Zealand First – Winston Peters
- United Future – Peter Dunne
- Act – Rodney Hide
- Greens – Jeanette Fitzsimons and Russel Norman
- Māori Party – Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples
-
Helen Clark -
Phil Goff -
John Key -
Jim Anderton -
Winston Peters -
Peter Dunne -
Rodney Hide -
Jeanette Fitzsimons -
Russel Norman -
Pita Sharples -
Tariana Turia
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Judiciary[edit]
-
Dame Sian Elias
Main centre leaders[edit]
- Mayor of Auckland – John Banks
- Mayor of Tauranga – Stuart Crosby
- Mayor of Hamilton – Bob Simcock
- Mayor of Wellington – Kerry Prendergast
- Mayor of Christchurch – Bob Parker
- Mayor of Dunedin – Peter Chin
-
John Banks -
Stuart Crosby -
Kerry Prendergast -
Bob Parker -
Peter Chin
Events[edit]
January[edit]
- 22 January – State funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary
February[edit]
March[edit]
April[edit]
- 5 April – A propane explosion at a coolstore in Tamahere kills firefighter senior station officer Derek Lovell, and seriously injures seven others.[2]
May[edit]
- 8 May – The Tapuae Marine Reserve is established.[3]
June[edit]
- 5 June – A newly redesigned flag for the Governor General of New Zealand is flown for the first time at Government House, Auckland.[4]
July[edit]
- 1 July – Rail transport network is renationalised as KiwiRail
- 11 July – Police Sergeant Derek Wootton (52) is struck and killed by a vehicle fleeing police, while laying road spikes at Titahi Bay.[5]
- 30 July – A state of emergency is declared in Marlborough due to flooding.[6]
August[edit]
- 1 August – Crown entities Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand merge to form the NZ Transport Agency
- 16 August – Dunedin Hospital is put in lockdown for a week after approximately 170 staff and patients fall ill to a norovirus outbreak, resulting in 2,300 appointments and procedures being delayed.[7]
September[edit]
- 5 September – Fonterra advise Prime Minister Helen Clark of the 2008 baby milk scandal.[8]
- 7 September – The Taputeranga Marine Reserve is opened.[9]
- 11 September – Undercover police Sergeant Don Wilkinson (47) is fatally shot in Māngere, after being discovered attempting to secretly fix a tracking device to a car.[10]
- 24 September - GO Wellington dispute - an industrial dispute between the GO Wellington bus company and drivers
October[edit]
On the 17th The Dominion Post Billboard Heading Reads "Market Madness" There is also a graph on the Billboard showing the NZX taking a big dive . This was indicative of the worlds sharemarkets in turmoil.
November[edit]
- 8 November – John Key and the New Zealand National Party win the 2008 general election. John Key is able to form a Government and in Helen Clark's speech that she resigns as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
- 9 November – Michael Cullen resigns as deputy leader of the Labour Party.[11]
- 19 November – John Key is sworn in as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
- 27 November – 2008 Air New Zealand A320 test flight crash. Air New Zealand A320 Airbus crashes into the Mediterranean during a test flight, killing five New Zealand and two German air crew.[12]
December[edit]
Holidays and observances[edit]
- 6 February – Waitangi Day
- 21 March – Good Friday
- 23 March – Easter Sunday
- 24 March – Easter Monday
- 25 April – Anzac Day
- 2 June – Queen's Birthday
- 5 June – Matariki
- 27 October – Labour Day
Arts and literature[edit]
New books[edit]
- Brower, Ann (August 2008). Who Owns the High Country? The controversial story of tenure review in New Zealand. New Zealand: Nelson: Craig Potton Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877333-78-1.
- Catton, Eleanor (2008). The Rehearsal. New Zealand: Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-1-84708-116-2.
Awards[edit]
- BPANZ Book Design Awards - In association with Spectrum Print and the New Zealand Listener id=13
- BEST BOOK Title: Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning
- BEST COVER Winner: Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning
- NON-ILLUSTRATED Winner: Dear to Me
- ILLUSTRATED Winner: Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning
- EDUCATIONAL Winner: Astronomy Aotearoa NCEA Level 1 by Robert Shaw ISBN 978-0-7339-9261-2[13]
- CHILDREN’S Winner: The King's Bubbles by Ruth Paul
Music[edit]
- May - New Zealand Music Month
- 3 September: Technical Awards for the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards
- 8 October: Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards
Performing arts[edit]
- Benny Award presented by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand to Suzanne Lynch MNZM.
Television[edit]
- Freeview|HD Digital television is launched.
- The country's first Chinese television channel, CTV8 (Chinese Television 8) is launched in early October.
Sport[edit]
Cricket[edit]
- New Zealand men's cricket team, the Black Caps plays three test matches against England and draws the series, each team having won a game
Horse racing[edit]
Harness racing[edit]
- New Zealand Trotting Cup: Changeover[14]
- Auckland Trotting Cup: Gotta Go Cullen[15]
Thoroughbred racing[edit]
Netball[edit]
- The ANZ Netball Championship begins in April 2008.
Motorsport[edit]
Olympic Games[edit]
- New Zealand sends a team of 182 competitors across 17 sports.
 Gold |
 Silver |
 Bronze |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
Paralympics[edit]
- New Zealand sends a team of 30 competitors across seven sports.
| Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
Rugby league[edit]
- The New Zealand national rugby league team won the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
- The New Zealand Warriors finished 8th in the National Rugby League and in the playoffs made it through to the semi-finals, beating minor premiers the Melbourne Storm in the progress.
- The inaugural season of the new Bartercard Premiership saw Auckland defeat Canterbury 38-10 in the grand final.
Rugby union[edit]
Rowing[edit]
Shooting[edit]
- Ballinger Belt – Brian Carter (Te Puke)[16]
Soccer[edit]
- 30 October – 16 November – New Zealand hosts the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Matches are held in Albany, Christchurch, Hamilton and Wellington.
- The Chatham Cup is won by East Coast Bays AFC who beat Dunedin Technical 1—0 in the final.[17]
Tennis[edit]
Births[edit]
- 12 August – Dwayne Li, figure skater
- 18 September – Silent Achiever, Thoroughbred racehorse
- 23 September – Zurella, Thoroughbred racehorse
- 13 October – Ocean Park, Thoroughbred racehorse
Deaths[edit]
January[edit]
- 1 January – Joan Dingley, mycologist (born 1916)
- 2 January – Lindsay Poole, botanist and forester (born 1908)
- 4 January
- Graham Percy, artist, designer and illustrator (born 1938)
- Bert Walker, politician (born 1919)
- 6 January – Charlie Steele, Jr., association football player (born 1930)
- 10 January – Sir George Laking, diplomat (born 1912)
- 11 January – Sir Edmund Hillary, mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist (born 1919)
- 16 January – Hone Tuwhare, poet (born 1922)
February[edit]
- 12 February – Ron Chippindale, pilot, air accident investigator (born 1933)
- 14 February – June Schoch, athlete (born 1926)
- 16 February – K. Radway Allen, fisheries biologist (born 1911)
- 19 February – Barry Barclay, filmmaker (born 1944)
- 28 February – Peter Bannister, botanist (born 1939)
March[edit]
- 13 March – Tessa Birnie, concert pianist (born 1934)
- 18 March – Ruth Dallas, poet and children's author (born 1919)
- 21 March – Merv Wallace, cricketer (born 1916)
April[edit]
- 2 April – Sir Geoffrey Cox, newspaper and television journalist (born 1910)
- 6 April – Tony Davies, rugby union player (born 1939)
- 10 April – Greg Hough, association football player (born 1958)
- 11 April – Fraser Colman, politician (born 1925)
- 12 April – Dame Augusta Wallace, jurist, first woman District Court judge (born 1929)
- 15 April – Mahinārangi Tocker singer–songwriter (born 1955)
May[edit]
- 4 May – Colin Murdoch, pharmacist, veterinarian and inventor (born 1929)
- 8 May – William L. Holland, Pacific affairs academic (born 1907)
- 20 May – Mihi Edwards, writer, social worker, teacher (born 1918)
June[edit]
- 1 June – Doug Zohrab, diplomat (born 1917)
- 4 June – John Armitt, wrestler (born 1925)
- 5 June
- Colin Kay, athlete and politician, mayor of Auckland (1980–83) (born 1926)
- Bruce Purchase, actor (born 1938)
- 24 June
- Neill Austin, politician (born 1924)
- Charlie Dempsey, association football administrator (born 1921)
- 27 June – Lyn Davis, rugby union player (born 1943)
- 30 June – Just An Excuse, Standardbred racehorse (foaled 1998)
July[edit]
- 16 July – Bob Walton, police officer (born 1921)
- 17 July – Sir Graham Speight, jurist (born 1921)
- 25 July – Walter Metcalf, physical chemistry academic (born 1918)
- 31 July – Falani Aukuso, Tokelauan public servant
August[edit]
- 6 August – Ken Going, rugby union player (born 1942)
- 9 August – Bob Cunis, cricket player and coach (born 1941)
- 16 August – Rei Hamon, artist (born 1919)
- 25 August – Hardwicke Knight, historian and photographer (born 1911)
- 31 August – Victor Yates, rugby union and league player (born 1939)
September[edit]
- 7 September – Sir Hamish Hay, politician, mayor of Christchurch (1974–89) (born 1927)
- 8 September – Ron Guthrey, soldier, politician, mayor of Christchurch (1968–71) (born 1916)
- 11 September – Sue Garden-Bachop, rugby union player, coach and administrator (born c.1961)
- 13 September – Duncan Laing, swimming coach (born 1933)
- 15 September
- Peter Hanan, swimmer (born 1915)
- Arthur Stubbs, soldier, oldest New Zealand war veteran (born 1904)
- 21 September – Al Hobman, professional wrestler (born 1925)
- 25 September
- Wynne Bradburn, cricketer (born 1938)
- Brian Donnelly, politician and diplomat (born 1949)
October[edit]
- 2 October – Rob Guest, actor and singer (born 1950)
- 14 October – Dame Daphne Purves, educator (born 1908)
- 15 October – Des Townson, yacht designer (born 1934)
- 26 October – Neil Purvis, rugby union player (born 1953)
- 29 October – John Darwin, statistician and public servant (born 1923)
November[edit]
- 6 November – Kevin J. Sharpe, mathematician, theologian and archaeologist (born 1950)
- 7 November – Hedley Howarth, cricketer (born 1943)
- 8 November – Hugh Cook, science fiction writer (born 1956)
- 27 November – Mike Minogue, politician (born 1923)
- 29 November – Robert Wade, chess player (born 1921)
December[edit]
- 6 December – Peter Wardle, plant ecologist (born 1931)
- 13 December – John Drake, rugby union player (born 1959)
- 16 December – Peg Batty, cricketer (born 1920)
- 24 December – Ian Ballinger, sports shooter (born 1925)
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
For world events and topics in 2008 not specifically related to New Zealand see: 2008
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Historical population estimates tables". Statistics New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
- ^ Ihaka, James (23 September 2008). "Coolstore fire report calls for overhaul". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ "New marine reserve off the Taranaki coast". beehive.govt.nz/. New Zealand Government. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ "The Governor-General's new flag". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ "Full police funeral for Wootton". TVNZ. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ "Declared States of Emergency". www.civildefence.govt.nz. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ Schofield, Edith (22 August 2008). "Dunedin Hospital to lift lockdown". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ Yardley, Jim (15 September 2008). "Chinese Baby Formula Scandal Widens as 2nd Death Is Announced". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
- ^ "Opening of Taputeranga Marine Reserve". beehive.govt.nz/. New Zealand Government. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Milne, Rebecca (14 September 2008). "Single shot among many killed officer". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
- ^ "Cullen resigns after election defeat". New Zealand Herald. 9 November 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
- ^ "Airbus A320 crashes into sea off France". CNN. 28 November 2008. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ "Astronomy Aotearoa". Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ List of NZ Trotting cup winners
- ^ Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "New Zealand champion shot / Ballinger Belt winners". National Rifle Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ Chatham Cup records, nzsoccer.com Archived 14 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
External links[edit]
Media related to 2008 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons