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

Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,359,700 * Increase since 31 December 1958: 43,700 (1.89%) * Males per 100 females: 101.0

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

–

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

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 Cobham GCMG TD.

Government

The 32nd New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

government led by

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...

. *

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 ...

– Robert MacfarlaneLambert & Palenski: ''The New Zealand Almanac'', 1982. *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

–

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

–

Jerry Skinner Clarence Farrington Skinner (19 January 1900 – 26 April 1962), commonly known as Jerry or Gerry Skinner, was a Labour politician from New Zealand, the third deputy prime minister of New Zealand between 1957 and 1960, and a minister from 1943 ...

. *

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

– Arnold Nordmeyer. *

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

–

. * Attorney-General – Rex Mason. * Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough

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 ...

–

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

(

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Main centre leaders

Mayor of Auckland The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland Region in New Zealand, which it controls as a unitary authority. The position exists since October 2010 after the amalga ...

–

Keith Buttle Keith Nicholson Buttle (23 November 1900 – 15 December 1973) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He served as mayor of Auckland City from 1957 to 1959. Biography Born 23 November 1900 in Auckland, Buttle attended Auckland Grammar S ...

then

Dove-Myer Robinson Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office. He was a colourful character and became affectionately known across New ...

* Mayor of Hamilton –

Roderick Braithwaite Roderick Alastair Macdonnell Braithwaite MBE, (13 August 1901 – 3 April 1963) was a New Zealand politician. He was mayor of Hamilton from 1953 to 1959. Early life and family Braithwaite was born in Dunedin on 13 August 1901, one of the younge ...

then

Denis Rogers Denis Rogers (30 September 1917 – 7 December 1987) was a New Zealand doctor and local-body politician. Biography Rogers was born in Hamilton, New Zealand,

* Mayor of Wellington –

Frank Kitts Sir Francis Joseph Kitts (1 May 1912 – 16 March 1979) was a New Zealand politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Wellington, holding the post from 1956 to 1974. He was the Labour Member of Parliament for between and 1960. Early life ...

Mayor of Christchurch The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Phil ...

– George Manning *

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

– Leonard Morton Wright then

Stuart Sidey Thomas Kay Stuart Sidey (8 October 1908 – 28 October 2007) was a former New Zealand politician who served as Mayor of Dunedin. Biography Early life and career Born in 1908, he was brought up in Corstorphine House. He was the only child of S ...

Events

* 30 May: The Auckland Harbour Bridge is opened. * 24 November: The coastal trader MV ''Holmglen'' sinks near Timaru with the loss of 15 lives.

Arts and literature

Ian Cross Ian Robert Cross (6 November 1925 – 2 November 2019) was a New Zealand novelist, journalist and administrator, and contributed significantly to New Zealand letters. His first novel, ''The God Boy'', was released in 1957 to critical acclaim. ...

wins the first Robert Burns Fellowship. See

1959 in art Events from the year 1959 in art. Events * June 10 – National Museum of Western Art established in Tokyo. * André Breton asks Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Enrique Tábara and Eugenio Granell to represent Spain by exhibiting some of their works ...

1959 in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1959. Events *January 31 – Sandu Tudor begins a 40-year sentence at Jilava prison for "conspiracy against social order" and "intense activity against the working ...

Music

See:

1959 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1959. Specific locations * 1959 in British music * 1959 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1959 in country music *1959 in jazz Events *January 5 – The first sessions fo ...

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: :1959 film awards,

1959 in film The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with '' Ben-Hur'' winning a record 11 Academy Awards. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1959 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 23 ...

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 Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

, :1959 films

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 Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

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.

Horse racing

Harness racing

* New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step (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 ...

– Scottish Command

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington. * 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. ** 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 Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

, Auckland: New Zealand 6 – 9 British Isles

Soccer

* The national men's team played one match against a visiting

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

n club side: ** 6 June, Auckland: NZ 3 – 2 Deportivo Saprissa * The Chatham Cup was won by Dunedin team

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

who beat North Shore United 3–2 in the final. * Provincial league champions: ** Auckland:

North Shore United North Shore United Association Football Club is an amateur football club based in the North Shore, Auckland. They compete in the Northern League, where they last won the competition in 2019. Their home ground is Allen Hill Stadium, which is lo ...

** 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 Founded in 1888 Northern AFC is the oldest continually operating football club in the Southern Hemisphere. Based in North Dunedin, the club has 12 Senior teams playing in the Football South Federation region. The club also has a Junior footbal ...

** Poverty Bay:

Eastern Union Gisborne City AFC was an association football club in Gisborne, New Zealand. Founded in 1939 as Eastern Union, the club changed its name to Gisborne City after winning the Central Districts League at the first attempt in 1967. As Eastern Union, ...

** South Canterbury: West End ** Southland: Rovers ** Taranaki:

Moturoa Moturoa is a coastal suburb of New Plymouth, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the west of the city centre, bordering Port Taranaki and the Sugar Loaf Islands. One of the islands, Moturoa, the largest, shares it ...

** Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB ** Wairarapa: Douglas Villa ** Wanganui: New Settlers ** Wellington: Northern

Births

* 13 April:

Justin Boyle Justin Gregory Boyle (born 13 April 1959) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played for Wellington and Canterbury in the 1980s. He was born in Christchurch. He is the rector of St Bede's College, Christchurch St. Bede's College is a state ...

, cricketer. * 8 May: Ingrid Jagersma, cricketer. * 9 May: Andrew Jones , cricketer. * 16 May: Greg Johnston, rower. * 26 May:

Brett Austin Brett William Austin (26 May 1959 – 9 December 1989) was a breaststroke swimmer who represented New Zealand at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 ...

, breaststroke swimmer. * 28 May:

Eric Verdonk Eric Franciscus Maria Verdonk (28 May 1959 – 3 April 2020) was a New Zealand rower who won bronze medals in the single sculls events at the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1986 Commonwealth Games, and 1990 World Rowing Championships. Career Verdonk ...

, rower. * 17 June:

Vivienne Gapes Vivienne Gapes (formerly Vivienne Martin, born 17 June 1959) is a Paralympic medalist from New Zealand who competed in alpine skiing. She competed in the 1984 Winter Paralympics where she won a gold in giant slalom and a pair of silver medals i ...

, skier. * 20 August: David Howard, poet. * 4 September:

Robbie Deans Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans had ...

, rugby player and coach. * 14 September:

Brendon Bracewell Brendon Paul Bracewell (born 14 September 1959) is a former New Zealand Test cricketer. Born in Auckland, he is the younger brother of John Bracewell. He was educated at Tauranga Boys' College and was in the 1st XI from 1974 to 1978. He frequen ...

, cricketer. * 27 September:

Mark Inglis Mark Joseph Inglis (born 27 September 1959) is a New Zealand mountaineer, researcher, winemaker and motivational speaker. He holds a degree in Human Biochemistry from Lincoln University, New Zealand, and has conducted research on leukaemia. H ...

, mountaineer. * 3 November:

Vaughan Brown Vaughan Raymond Brown (born 3 November 1959) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in two Test matches and three One Day Internationals during the mid-1980s. Domestic career Brown was a left-handed middle order batsman and a right-arm o ...

, cricketer. * 12 December: George Keys, rower. *

Bianca van Rangelrooy Bianca van Rangelrooy (born April 1959) is a New Zealand artist. Life Van Rangelrooy was born in Wellington, New Zealand and received her BFA from the University of Canterbury. She is known for her public art in government buildings in New Zeal ...

, artist. *

Harry Sinclair Harry Alan Sinclair (born 1959) is a New Zealand film director, writer and actor. In his early career he was an actor and member of The Front Lawn, a musical theater duo. He went on to write and direct several short films, a TV series and thr ...

, 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 Walter William Massey (28 January 1882 – 8 November 1959) was a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party. He represented the Hauraki electorate from the 1931 by-election (after the death of Arthur Hall), to 1935 when he was defeate ...

, MP and politician * 6 December (in Scotland): Edward Hunter a.k.a. ''Billy Banjo'', trade unionist, politician and writer.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1959 in New Zealand Years of the 20th century in New Zealand