The following lists events that happened during 1939 in New Zealand.

Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,641,600. * Increase since 31 December 1938: 23,300 (1.44%). * Males per 100 females: 103.0.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

* Head of state – George VI *

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

– The Viscount Galway GCMG DSO

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Government

The

26th New Zealand Parliament The 26th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1938 general election in October of that year. 1938 general election The 1938 general election was held on Friday, 14 October in the Māori electo ...

continued with the Labour Party in government. *

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

– Bill Barnard ( Labour Party) * Prime Minister – Michael Joseph Savage * Minister of Finance – Walter Nash * Minister of Foreign Affairs – Michael Joseph Savage * Attorney-General – Rex Mason * Chief Justice – Sir Michael Myers

Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

– Adam Hamilton ( National Party).

Main centre leaders

* Mayor of Auckland –

Ernest Davis Ernest Davis may refer to: * Ernie Davis (1939–1963), American football running back * Sir Ernest Davis (brewer) (1872–1962), New Zealand brewer and mayor of Auckland * Ernest Davis (professor), Professor of Computer Science at New York Univer ...

* Mayor of Wellington – Thomas Hislop * Mayor of Christchurch – Robert Macfarlane * Mayor of Dunedin –

Andrew Henson Allen Andrew Henson Allen (23 December 1876 – 6 August 1963) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He served as mayor of Dunedin from 1938 to 1944, and was briefly a member of the Legislative Council. Biography Born in the Dunedin suburb ...

Events

* 29 January: (Sunday) Opening of

St Peter's College, Auckland St Peter's College ( mi, Te Kura Teitei o Hāto Petera) is a Catholic church, Catholic secondary school single-sex education, for boys in the Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice tradition, and dedicated to St Peter. it is located in the Auckland CBD ...

by Bishop J M Liston. * 20 March: William Snodgrass, a New Zealand politician, disappeared from the interisland ferry '' Arahura'' while travelling overnight from Wellington to Nelson. * 3 September (backdated to 9.30 pm): New Zealand declares war on Germany at the same time as Britain (though delayed until confirmation by the Admiralty message to the fleet). * 31 October: The Strongman coal mine in Nine Mile Valley near Greymouth is officially opened by Minister of Mines, Paddy Webb. * 8 November: New Zealand Centennial Exhibition opened in Kilbirnie, Wellington * 13 December: New Zealand warship HMS ''Achilles'' fought in the Battle of the River Plate against German pocket battleship '' Admiral Graf Spee''. * 17 December: The ''Graf Spee'' is scuttled off

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

harbour. *''The Poverty Bay Herald'' changes its name to ''

The Gisborne Herald ''The Gisborne Herald'' is the daily evening newspaper for Gisborne and environs. It is one of only four independently owned daily newspapers in New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacifi ...

'', which continues to publish .

Arts and literature

See

1939 in art Events from the year 1939 in art. Events * March 20 – The Berlin Fire Brigade is ordered to burn around 5000 works of graphic art considered by the ruling Nazi Party in Germany to be "degenerate art" and which have little market value. * April ...

1939 in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1939. Events *Early – The Pocket Books mass-market paperback imprint is launched in the United States. The first of the nationally distributed titles is James H ...

Music

See:

1939 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1939. Specific locations * 1939 in British music * 1939 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1939 in country music * 1939 in jazz Events * January 4- New band to be headed b ...

Radio

See:

Public broadcasting in New Zealand Public broadcasting in New Zealand is funded through New Zealand Government body New Zealand On Air, and consists of a number of television channels, radio stations, and websites. In addition to funding solely public media outlets, New Zealand On ...

Film

See: :1939 film awards,

1939 in film The year 1939 in film is widely considered the greatest year in film history. The ten Best Picture-nominated films that year include classics in multiple genres. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1939 released films by box office gross ...

List of New Zealand feature films This is a list of feature films and pre 1910 short films produced or filmed in New Zealand, ordered by year of release. Key * * = Funded in part by the New Zealand Film Commission. * † = Year given is date of principal photography rather th ...

, Cinema of New Zealand, :1939 films

Sport

Athletics

* Clarrie Gibbons wins the national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:44:56.2 on 11 March 1939 in

Napier Napier may refer to: People * Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name * Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders Given name * Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist * Napier Waller (1893–19 ...

Basketball

A second interprovincial championship is held even though there is still no national association.Todd, S. (1976) ''Sporting Records of New Zealand.'' Auckland: Moa Publications. (see

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

and

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

) * Interpovincial Champions: Men – Wellington

Chess

* The 48th National Chess Championship was held in Wanganui, and was won by John Dunlop of Dunedin (his 5th title).

Cricket

Horse racing

Harness racing

* New Zealand Trotting Cup – Lucky Jack (2nd win) *

Auckland Trotting Cup The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with ...

– Marlene

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Auckland. * Men's singles champion – W.C. Franks (Balmoral Bowling Club) * Men's pair champions – J. Anchor, W.J. Robinson (skip) (Hamilton Bowling Club) * Men's fours champions – C.F. Robertson, H. Franks, J.F. Benson, W.C. Franks (skip) (Balmoral Bowling Club)

Rugby union

:Rugby union in New Zealand, :All Blacks * Ranfurly Shield

Rugby league

New Zealand national rugby league team

Soccer

* The Chatham Cup is won by Waterside of Wellington who beat Western of Christchurch 4–2 in the final. * Provincial league champions: ** Auckland:

Ponsonby AFC Mount Albert-Ponsonby is a semi-professional association football club in Mount Albert, Auckland, New Zealand. History The club is an amalgamated between Mount Albert FC and Ponsonby in 1971. Ponsonby had previously won the Chatham Cup, New Z ...

** Canterbury: Western ** Hawke's Bay: Napier Utd ** Nelson: YMCA ** Otago: Mosgiel ** South Canterbury: Old Boys ** Southland: Mataura ** Waikato: Rotowaro ** Wanganui: Wanganui Athletic ** Wellington: Petone Football Club

Births

* 20 January: Ken Comber, politician. (died

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

) * 27 February: Don McKinnon, deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and Commonwealth Secretary-General. * 10 April (in England): Michael Cox, politician. * 24 April:

Fergie McCormick William Fergus McCormick (24 April 1939 – 10 April 2018) was a New Zealand rugby union footballer who played for the All Blacks and Canterbury. McCormick first played representative rugby for Canterbury in 1958 when he played first five-eighth ...

, rugby union player. (died

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

) * 16 September:

Tony Davies William Anthony Davies (16 September 1939 – 6 April 2008) was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, who played 17 games for the All Blacks in 1960 and 1962 as a full-back or centre. Davies was nominated for the All Blacks while playing for th ...

, rugby union player. (died

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

) * 23 September:

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Anth ...

, High Court judge. * 23 September: Pauline Stansfield, disability advocate. (died

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

) * 25 September: David Walter, mayor of Stratford. (died

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

) * 4 October: Ivan Mauger, motorcycle speedway champion. (died

) * 29 October:

Michael Smither Michael Duncan Smither (born 29 October 1939) is a New Zealand painter and composer. Background Smither was born in New Plymouth and was educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School and Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland. While studying he wor ...

, painter. * 18 October: Peter Brown, politician. * 24 November: Bob Jones, businessman. * 27 December:

Hugo Judd Neville Hugo Sale Judd (27 December 1939 – 2 May 2017) was a New Zealand diplomat and public servant. Early life and family Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on 27 December 1939, Judd was the son of Edwin Judd and Violet Judd (née ...

, diplomat and public servant (died

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) *

Raymond Ching Raymond Ching (born 1939), also known as Raymond Harris-Ching and Ray Ching, is a New Zealand painter. Ching is known for his contemporary bird and wildlife paintings. His ornithological illustrations have appeared in books such as ''The Reader ...

, painter. *

Philip Temple Robert Philip Temple (born 1939 in Yorkshire, England) is a Dunedin-based New Zealand author of novels, children's stories, and non-fiction. His work is characterised by a strong association with the outdoors and New Zealand ecology. Career ...

, writer.

Deaths

* 16 March: George Mitchell, soldier and politician. * 25 March: Annie Cleland Millar, businesswoman. * 26 April:

Ted Howard Ted or Teddy Howard may refer to: * Ted Howard (author) (born 1950), US social entrepreneur and author * Ted Howard (conservationist), New Zealand conservationist and local politician * Ted Howard (politician) (1868–1939), New Zealand politician ...

, politician. * 26 July: Thomas William "Torpedo Billy" Murphy, boxer. * 17 July:

Paddy the Wanderer Paddy the Wanderer was an Airedale Terrier who roamed the streets of Wellington, New Zealand, during the Great Depression. He was a friend of cabbies, workers, and seamen alike, who took turns at paying his dog licence every year. Paddy was kn ...

, a dog in Wellington. * 27 July:

Malcolm Champion Malcolm Eadie Champion (10 November 1882 – 26 July 1939) was New Zealand's first Olympic gold medallist, and the first swimmer to represent New Zealand at an Olympic Games. He won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 1912 Sum ...

, swimmer. * 23 August: Robin Hyde, writer. * 18 September:

T. W. Ratana Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana (25 January 1873? – 18 September 1939) was the founder of the Rātana religion in the early 20th century in New Zealand. He rose to prominence as a faith healer. Beginnings Rātana was of the Ngati Apa and Ngā Wair ...

, prophet. * 3 November: David McLaren, politician.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1939 in New Zealand Years of the 20th century in New Zealand