1959 in New Zealand explained

The following lists events that happened during 1959 in New Zealand.

Population

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,359,700.^[1]
• Increase since 31 December 1958: 43,700 (1.89%).
• Males per 100 females: 101.0.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – The Viscount Cobham GCMG TD.^[2]

Government

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.
• Minister of Finance – Arnold Nordmeyer.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Walter Nash.
• Attorney-General – Rex Mason.
• Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough

Parliamentary opposition

• Leader of the Opposition – Keith Holyoake (National).^[4]

Main centre leaders

• 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

• 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

• Ian Cross wins the first Robert Burns Fellowship.

See 1959 in art, 1959 in literature

Music

See: 1959 in music

Radio

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film

See:, 1959 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand,

Sport

Athletics

Ray Puckett wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:27:28.2 on 7 March in Palmerston North.

Chess

• 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

Harness racing

• New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step (2nd win)^[8]
• Auckland Trotting Cup – Scottish Command^[9]

Lawn bowls

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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 23 February: Gordon Wilson, Government architect.
• 8 April: Sir Bill Jordan, politician and diplomat.
• 8 June: George Dash, politician
• 7 November: Archie Fisher, painter.
• 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

• 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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Historical population estimates tables . https://web.archive.org/web/20171231000952/http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/historical-population-tables.aspx . 31 December 2017 . Statistics New Zealand.
2. Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
3. Lambert & Palenski: The New Zealand Almanac, 1982.
4. Web site: Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition. 6 April 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081017200326/http://www1.elections.org.nz/democracy/leaders-opposition.html. 17 October 2008. dead. dmy-all.
5. Peter Hinze, New Zealand (Hunter Publishing, Inc, 1998), p34
6. Web site: Diver lost off South Canterbury coast . 11 November 2008. The Timaru Herald. 30 September 2009.
7. http://www.poisonpawn.co.nz/nzcftitles.htm List of New Zealand Chess Champions
8. Web site: List of NZ Trotting cup winners . 5 May 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120222233106/http://www.hrnz.co.nz/data/major_races/nz_trotting_cup.htm . 22 February 2012 . dead . dmy-all .
9. http://www.hrnz.co.nz/data/major_races/major_race2.htm Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz
10. Book: McLintock . A.H. . Alexander Hare McLintock . Bowls, men's outdoor—tournament winners . An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . 6 June 2018 . 1966 . Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
11. http://www.lassen.co.nz/pickandgo.php Pick and Go rugby results database
12. http://www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/NZRepSoccer/id164.htm List of New Zealand national soccer matches
13. http://www.nzsoccer.com/page/chatham_cup_records.html Chatham Cup: nzsoccer.com
14. Web site: New Zealand: List of champions. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.