2008 in New Zealand explained

The following lists events that happened during 2008 in New Zealand.

Population

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 4,280,300.^[1]
• Increase since 31 December 2007: 34,500 (0.81%).
• Males per 100 Females: 95.7.

Incumbents

Regal and vice regal

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Anand Satyanand

Government

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

Party leaders

• 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

Judiciary

• Chief Justice — Sian Elias

Main centre leaders

• 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

Events

January

• 22 January – State funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary

April

• 5 April – A propane explosion at a coolstore in Tamahere kills firefighter senior station officer Derek Lovell, and seriously injures seven others.^[2]

May

• 8 May – The Tapuae Marine Reserve is established.^[3]

June

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

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

• 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]

Holidays and observances

• 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

New books

• Book: Brower, Ann. Who Owns the High Country? The controversial story of tenure review in New Zealand. Craig Potton Publishing. New Zealand: Nelson. August 2008. 978-1-877333-78-1.
• Book: Catton, Eleanor. Eleanor Catton. The Rehearsal. Victoria University Press. New Zealand. 2008. 978-1-84708-116-2.

Awards

• 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 ^[13]
• CHILDREN’S Winner: The King's Bubbles by Ruth Paul

Music

• 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

• Benny Award presented by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand to Suzanne Lynch MNZM.

Television

• Freeview|HD]] Digital television is launched.
  • The country's first Chinese television channel, CTV8 (Chinese Television 8) is launched in early October.

  Sport

  Cricket

  • 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

  Harness racing

  • New Zealand Trotting Cup: Changeover^[14]
  • Auckland Trotting Cup: Gotta Go Cullen^[15]

  Thoroughbred racing

  Netball

  • The ANZ Netball Championship begins in April 2008.

  Olympic Games

  See main article: New Zealand at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

  • New Zealand sends a team of 182 competitors across 17 sports.

  Paralympics

  See main article: New Zealand at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

  • New Zealand sends a team of 30 competitors across seven sports.

  Rugby league

  • 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.

  Shooting

  • Ballinger Belt – Brian Carter (Te Puke)^[16]

  Soccer

  • 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

  Births

  • 17 March - Nate Wilbourne, environmentalist and activist
  • 12 August – Dwayne Li, figure skater
  • 18 September – Silent Achiever, Thoroughbred racehorse
  • 23 September – Zurella, Thoroughbred racehorse
  • 13 October – Ocean Park, Thoroughbred racehorse

  Deaths

  January

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  External links

  ]

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. Web site: Coolstore fire report calls for overhaul . Ihaka. James . 23 September 2008. New Zealand Herald. 6 January 2009.
3. Web site: New marine reserve off the Taranaki coast . 8 May 2008 . beehive.govt.nz/ . New Zealand Government . 13 April 2014.
4. Web site: The Governor-General’s new flag. 15 September 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081014033632/http://gg.govt.nz/features/. 14 October 2008 . live.
5. Web site: Full police funeral for Wootton. 14 July 2008. TVNZ. 6 January 2009.
6. Web site: Declared States of Emergency . 2024-04-23 . www.civildefence.govt.nz . en.
7. Web site: Dunedin Hospital to lift lockdown. Schofield. Edith. 22 August 2008. Otago Daily Times. 25 August 2008.
8. Web site: Chinese Baby Formula Scandal Widens as 2nd Death Is Announced. Yardley. Jim. 15 September 2008. The New York Times. 16 September 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081210083010/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/world/asia/16milk.html. 10 December 2008. live.
9. Web site: Opening of Taputeranga Marine Reserve . 7 September 2008 . beehive.govt.nz/ . New Zealand Government . 13 April 2014.
10. Web site: Single shot among many killed officer . Milne. Rebecca . 14 September 2008. New Zealand Herald. 18 October 2008.
11. Web site: Cullen resigns after election defeat. New Zealand Herald. 9 November 2008. 9 November 2008.
12. Web site: Airbus A320 crashes into sea off France . 28 November 2008 . CNN . 6 January 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081201091043/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/27/airbus.france.crash/ . 1 December 2008 . live .
13. Web site: Astronomy Aotearoa . https://web.archive.org/web/20080705091330/http://astronomyaotearoa.net/ . 5 July 2008 . dead . 27 April 2009 . dmy-all .
14. http://www.newzealandatoz.com/index.php?pageid=962&New+Zealand+Trotting+Cup List of NZ Trotting cup winners
15. http://www.hrnz.co.nz/data/major_races/major_race2.htm Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz
16. Web site: New Zealand champion shot / Ballinger Belt winners . National Rifle Association of New Zealand . 18 April 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150125012900/http://www.nranz.com/competitions/ballinger_belt . 25 January 2015 . dmy .
17. http://www.nzsoccer.com/page/chatham_cup_records.html Chatham Cup records, nzsoccer.com