2016 in New Zealand explained
The following lists events that happened during 2016 in New Zealand.
Population
- NationalEstimated populations as at 30 June.[1]
- Main urban areasEstimated populations as at 30 June.
- Auckland – 1,495,000
- Blenheim – 30,700
- Christchurch – 389,700
- Dunedin – 118,500
- Gisborne – 36,100
- Hamilton – 229,900
- Invercargill – 50,700
- Kapiti – 41,800
- Napier-Hastings – 131,000
- Nelson – 65,700
- New Plymouth – 56,800
- Palmerston North – 84,300
- Rotorua – 57,800
- Tauranga – 134,500
- Wellington – 405,000
- Whanganui – 39,600
- Whangārei – 56,400
Incumbents
Regal and vice-regal
Government
2016 is the second full year of the 51st Parliament, which first sat on 21 October 2014.
The Fifth National Government, first elected in 2008, continues.
Other party leaders
Judiciary
Main centre leaders
Events
February
March
April
June
August
September
October
November
December
Arts and literature
Performing arts
Benny Award presented by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand to Suzanne Prentice OBE.
Sport
Awards
- 54th Halberg Awards (awarded 9 February 2017 for the 2016 calendar year)
Olympics
See main article: New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
- New Zealand sends a team of 199 competitors across 20 sports.
- Sprint canoeist Lisa Carrington becomes the first New Zealand women to win two medals in the same Olympic Games.
Paralympics
See main article: New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
- Swimmer Sophie Pascoe overtook Eve Rimmer to become New Zealand's most successful Paralympian in terms of medals won.
Athletics
Rowing
Shooting
Youth Olympics
See main article: New Zealand at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.
- New Zealand sends a team of 11 competitors in five sports.
Births
Deaths
January
- 2 January – Tim Francis, diplomat (born 1928)
- 5 January – Keith Thiele, World War II pilot (born 1921)
- 7 January – David Shale, mathematician (born 1932)
- 8 January – Ida Gaskin, schoolteacher, quiz show contestant, politician (born 1919)
- 17 January
- 22 January – Alec Wishart, musician (born 1939)
- 23 January – Barry Brickell, potter (born 1935)
- 24 January – Neville Black, rugby union and rugby league player (born 1925)
- 26 January – Bob Thomas, long jumper (born 1939)
- 27 January – Shirley Tonkin, sudden infant death syndrome researcher (born 1921)
- 28 January
- 31 January
February
- 1 February – Kelly McGarry, mountain biker (born 1982)
- 2 February
- Chris Kenny, boxing trainer (born 1937)
- Marcus Turner, singer-songwriter, folk musician, television presenter (born 1956)
- 7 February – Andrew Hintz, cricketer (born 1963)
- 10 February – John Spencer, businessman (born 1934)
- 13 February – Barry Jones, Catholic Bishop of Christchurch (born 1941)
- 17 February – Sophia Hawthorne, actress (born 1976)
- 23 February – George Newton, weightlifter (born 1936)
- 24 February – Ken English, rugby league player (born 1927)
- 26 February – Jack Forrest, rugby league player (born 1924)
- 28 February – Bob Morrison, association footballer (born 1926)
- 29 February – Ranginui Walker, Māori academic (born 1932)
March
- 3 March – Martin Crowe, cricketer (born 1962)
- 4 March – Harry Turbott, architect, landscape architect, environmentalist (born 1930)
- 5 March – David Abbott, cricket umpire (born 1934)
- 10 March – Judy Pickard, abstract painter, librarian and advocate for women's rights (born 1921)
- 11 March – Sel Belsham, rugby league player, cricketer (born 1930)
- 16 March – George Menzies, rugby league player and coach (born 1930)
- 18 March – Paul Swadel, film director and producer (born 1969)
- 19 March – Graham Fortune, diplomat and public servant (born 1941)
- 25 March – Ross Jennings, television producer and director (born 1944)
- 27 March – Frank Torley, television reporter, director and producer (born 1941)
- 31 March – Mark Vryenhoek, alpine skier (born 1960)
April
- 3 April
- Rowley Habib, poet, playwright, short-story writer (born 1933)
- Whai Ngata, broadcaster, journalist, lexicographer (born 1942)
- 4 April – Maida Bryant, politician, community leader (born 1926)
- 7 April – Matiu Dickson, politician, kapa haka exponent (born 1952)
- 11 April – Ruth Gilbert, poet (born 1917)
- 12 April – Alan Loveday, violinist (born 1928)
- 13 April – Kurtis Haiu, rugby union player (born 1984)
- 14 April – Colin Knight, educationalist (born 1934)
- 22 April
- 23 April – Bill Sevesi, musician (born 1923)
- 24 April – Paul Annear, jeweller (born 1947)
- 27 April – Chris Parkinson, broadcaster (born 1941)
May
June
- 1 June – Leonard Boyle, bishop (born 1930)
- 2 June
- 4 June – Bill Snowden, rugby league player (born 1935)
- 6 June – Keith Smith, cricketer (born 1929)
- 7 June – Sir Graham Latimer, Māori leader (born 1926)
- 9 June – Joyce Carpenter, diver (born 1923)
- 10 June – Derek Wilson, architect and environmentalist (born 1922)
- 15 June – David Hall, chemistry academic (born 1928)
- 16 June – Pat Suggate, geologist (born 1922)
- 21 June – Susanna Ounei, Kanak independence activist, feminist (born 1945)
- 23 June – Roy Crawford, mechanical engineering academic, university administrator (born 1949)
- 25 June – Jack Cropp, yachtsman (born 1927)
- 27 June – Dame Grace Hollander, community leader (born 1922)
- 29 June – Maurie Gordon, sport shooter (born 1926)
July
- 5 July
- Johnny Borland, high jumper, athletics administrator (born 1925)
- Max Carr, field athlete and coach, athletics official, air force officer (born 1922)
- Rex Pickering, rugby union player (born 1936)
- 14 July
- 19 July – Ray Bell, rugby union player (born 1925)
- 20 July
- 21 July – Sid Hurst, farmer (born 1918)
- 22 July – Lee Grant, actor, singer, choreographer (born 1931)
- 25 July – Tony Lentino, motor racing team owner (born 1974)
- 26 July – Henry Connor, botanist (born 1922)
- 30 July – Peter Gossage, author and illustrator (born 1946)
August
- 2 August – Terence Bayler, actor (born 1930)
- 3 August – Chris Amon, motor racing driver (born 1943)
- 5 August – Don Donnithorne, architect (born 1926)
- 7 August – Sir Ron Scott, sports administrator (born 1928)
- 11 August – Sir Ian Turbott, diplomat, university administrator (born 1922)
- 19 August – Bob Skelton, jockey (born 1934)
- 22 August – Don McIver, military leader, public servant (born 1936)
- 24 August – Glen Evans, politician, mayor of Lower Hutt (1986–95) (born 1936)
- 29 August – Edward Latter, military officer, politician, diplomat (born 1928)
- 30 August – Brian Robinson, inorganic chemist (born 1940)
September
October
- 1 October
- 3 October – David Donald, cricketer (born 1933)
- 4 October – Peggy Hay, designer (born 1924)
- 14 October
- 15 October
- 21 October – Wally Argus, rugby union player (born 1921)
- 24 October – Roger Slack, plant biologist and biochemist (born 1937)
- 29 October – Tom Weal, politician (born 1929)
- 30 October – Reg Boorman, politician (born 1935)
November
- 11 November – Sir James McNeish, writer (born 1931)
- 13 November – Leslie Kenton, journalist, entrepreneur (born 1941)
- 14 November – Marti Friedlander, photographer (born 1928)
- 15 November – Rod Bieleski, plant physiologist (born 1931)
- 16 November – Jean Wishart, magazine editor (born 1920)
- 20 November
- 21 November – Helen Ryburn, school principal, local-body politician (born 1925)[13]
- 22 November
- 25 November – Bill Skelton, jockey (born 1931)
- 28 November – Ray Columbus, entertainer (born 1942)
- 29 November – Margaret Belcher, literary scholar (born 1936)
December
- 3 December – Sir David Hay, cardiologist, anti-smoking campaigner (born 1927)
- 6 December – Elva Bett, artist, art historian, art gallery director (born 1918)
- 12 December – Lord Gyllene, Thoroughbred racehorse (foaled 1988)
- 13 December – Christopher Vance, Standardbred racehorse (foaled 1986)
- 14 December – Bunny Walters, singer (born 1953)
- 15 December – Richard Dowden, astrophysicist (born 1932)
- 18 December – Frank Crotty, rower, industrial chemist (born 1938)
- 19 December – Arthur Berry, cricketer (born 1928)
- 23 December – Doug Coombs, cricketer, geologist (born 1924)
- 24 December – Ron Broom, cricketer (born 1925)
- 25 December – John Gregson, George Cross recipient (born 1924)
- 30 December – Con Linton, sailor (born 1938)
Notes and References
- Web site: Subnational Population Estimates: At 30 June 2016 (provisional) . 21 October 2016 . . 21 October 2016. For urban areas, Web site: Subnational population estimates (UA, AU), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996, 2001, 2006–16 (2017 boundary) . 21 October 2016 . . 21 October 2016.
- Web site: Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae . Governor-General of New Zealand . 8 June 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120603173912/http://gg.govt.nz/content/biography-lt-gen-rt-hon-sir-jerry-mateparae . 3 June 2012 .
- Web site: New Zealand Navy Kicks off Seventy-Fifth Celebrations . The Maritime Executive . 28 January 2024.
- News: New Zealand cliffs collapse in Christchurch earthquake . 28 January 2024 . BBC News . 14 February 2016.
- Web site: 2015 and 2016 Referendums on the New Zealand Flag . Electoral Commission . 28 January 2024.
- News: Ainge Roy . Eleanor . This article is more than 7 years old Zero-hour contracts banned in New Zealand. . 28 January 2024 . The Guardian . 11 March 2016.
- Web site: Disestablishment of CERA . 19 June 2024 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
- Web site: Queen's 90th Birthday honours list 2016 . 6 June 2016 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 7 January 2021.
- Web site: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred 120 km north-east of Te Araroa, New Zealand on Fri Sep 2 2016 4:37 AM. The quake was 22 kilometres deep and the shaking was severe close to the quake. . 2024-04-28 . www.geonet.org.nz . en.
- Web site: New Year honours list 2017 . 31 December 2016 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 7 January 2021.
- Web site: Ballinger Belt . National Rifle Association of New Zealand . 26 March 2016.
- Web site: Copy That . Harness Racing New Zealand . 14 August 2023.
- News: Strong-minded, whiskey-loving Auckland leader Helen Ryburn dies . Zizi . Sparks . 16 December 2016 . North Shore Times . 16 April 2022.