The following lists events that happened during 1962 in New Zealand.

Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,515,800. * Increase since 31 December 1961: 54,500 (2.21%). * 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 – The Viscount Cobham

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

TD, followed by Brigadier Sir Bernard Fergusson

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

DSO OBE.

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 ...

–

Ronald Algie Sir Ronald Macmillan Algie (22 October 1888 – 23 July 1978) was a New Zealand politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives for six years in the 1960s. He described himself as "a Tory in the old tradition". Early life Alg ...

.Lambert & 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 i ...

–

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 ...

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 ...

–

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

. *

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", " ...

–

Harry Lake Harry Robson Lake (29 September 1911 – 21 February 1967) was a New Zealand politician who served as Minister of Finance for six years in the second National government in the 1960s. He died of a heart attack when only 55 years old. Biograph ...

. *

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 co ...

–

. *

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

–

Ralph Hanan Josiah Ralph Hanan (13 June 1909 – 24 July 1969), known as Ralph Hanan, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was Mayor of Invercargill and then represented the electorate in Parliament, following in his uncle Josiah Hanan's ...

. * Chief Justice — Sir

Harold Barrowclough Major General Sir Harold Eric Barrowclough & Bar, (23 June 1894 – 4 March 1972) was a New Zealand military leader, lawyer and Chief Justice from 1953 to 1966. Born in Masterton, Barrowclough commenced legal studies in 1913 and joined the ...

Parliamentary opposition

* Leader of the Opposition –

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 ...

(

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 ...

)

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 amal ...

–

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 –

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 The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representat ...

–

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 lif ...

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, Ph ...

– 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 ...

– Stuart Sidey

Events

*The

Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

was established

January

* 1 January: Samoa (then called

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

) attains full independence, becoming the first independent Polynesian territory.

February

* 5 February: Dunedin lawyer James Patrick Ward was killed by a letter bomb sent to his office in what police described as "one of the most callous murders in the history of New Zealand crime".

March

April

June

July

August

*11 August: New Zealand Railways's Cook Strait ferry service began, using the .

September

October

November

* 12 December: The Flag of Wellington is adopted.

December

Arts and literature

R.A.K. Mason Ronald Allison Kells Mason (10 January 1905 – 13 July 1971) was a New Zealand poet. Described by Allen Curnow as New Zealand's "first wholly original, unmistakably gifted poet", he was born in Penrose, Auckland on 10 January 1905. He wa ...

wins the

Robert Burns Fellowship The Robert Burns Fellowship is a New Zealand literary residency. Established in 1958 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations of the birth of Robert Burns, it is often claimed to be New Zealand's premier literary residency. The list of past ...

. See 1962 in art,

1962 in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1962. Events * January 7 – In an article in ''The New York Times Book Review'', Gore Vidal calls Evelyn Waugh "our time's first satirist". *February 17 – Arthu ...

, :1962 books

Music

See:

1962 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1962. Specific locations *1962 in British music *1962 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1962 in country music * 1962 in jazz Events * January 1 – The Beatles and Bri ...

Radio and television

*New Zealand Broadcasting Service (NZBS) is restructured on 1 April to form

New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...

. *An outside broadcast van is in use in Auckland, and similar vans are ordered for Wellington and Christchurch. *Dunedin gets television service with the launch of

DNTV2 DNTV2 was a television station in Dunedin, New Zealand established by the then New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation in 1962. Its base, and studio complex operated from the historic Garrison Hall in Dowling Street. Until 2010 Garrison Hall was ...

on 31 July. *There are 23,343 licensed television sets in New Zealand. See: 1962 in New Zealand television,

1962 in television The year 1962 involved some significant events in television. Below is a list of notable events of that year. Events *January 1 ** The 1962 Rose Bowl game on NBC is the first coast-to-coast color television broadcast of a college football game ...

List of TVNZ television programming This is an incomplete list of television programmes, past and present, screened on TVNZ, Television New Zealand that were made in New Zealand. Programmes Regular shows (screened throughout the year) Seasonal shows One-off series Shows tha ...

, :Television in New Zealand,

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: :1962 film awards,

1962 in film The year 1962 in film involved some very significant events, with ''Lawrence of Arabia'' winning seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1962 released films by box office gross in No ...

, List of New Zealand feature films,

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 ...

, :1962 films

Sport

Athletics

* 27 January: Peter Snell sets a new world record for the mile of 3m 54.4s, running at Cook's Gardens,

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

. *

Barry Magee Arthur Barry Magee (born 6 February 1934) is a retired New Zealand long-distance runner. He won a bronze medal in the marathon at the 1960 Olympics and in the 10,000 m event placed 26th at the 1960 and 23rd at the 1964 games.

wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:24:55.4 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

British Empire and Commonwealth Games

Chess

* The 69th National Chess Championship was held in Auckland, and was won by G.G. Haase of Dunedin.

Horse racing

Harness racing

New Zealand Trotting Cup The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Chri ...

–

Lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

defeats

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geo ...

in a rain-affected race *

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 ...

– Dandy Briar

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Christchurch. * Men's singles champion – Jeff Barron (Miramar Bowling Club) * Men's pair champions – Frank Livingstone, Bob McDonald (skip) (Onehunga Bowling Club) * Men's fours champions – W. Humphreys, S. Barlow, H.W. Todd, R. Brown (skip) (Marlborough Bowling Club)

Soccer

* The

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auck ...

is won by

Hamilton Technical Old Boys Melville United AFC is an amateur football club in Melville, Hamilton, New Zealand. It competes in the Northern League. History The club was formed in 1996 from the merger of Melville AFC (founded 1972) and Waikato United (founded 1988). The t ...

who beat Northern of Dunedin 4–1 in the final. * Provincial league champions: ** Auckland:

Eastern Suburbs AFC Eastern Suburbs Association Football Club is a professional Association football club based in the suburb of Kohimarama in Auckland, New Zealand. The club competes in the Northern League (New Zealand), Northern League. Club history Eastern Sub ...

** Bay of Plenty: Rangers ** Buller: Waimangaroa Utd ** Canterbury:

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

** Franklin:

Manurewa AFC Manurewa AFC is an amateur football (soccer) club in Manurewa, Auckland, New Zealand. They will compete in Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 with newly appointed head coach Marty Rodwell History Manurewa AFC was formed by the merger of Tramways ...

** Hawke's Bay: Napier Rovers ** Manawatu: Thistle ** 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 ** South Canterbury: Thistle ** Southland: Invercargill Thistle ** Taranaki: Moturoa ** Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB ** Wairarapa: Lansdowne United ** Wanganui: Wanganui Athletic ** Wellington: Northern ** West Coast: Runanga * The inaugural Rothmans Cup was played between the champion clubs from Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago as a de facto national championship. The final was won by

of Dunedin 3-2 on aggregate.Rothmans Cup
/ref>

Births

* 12 January (in England):

Terry Wiles Terrence 'Terry' Wiles (born 12 January 1962) was one of the most disabled thalidomide babies born in the UK. He has since become known internationally through the Emmy Award winning Frank Bunce Frank Eneri Bunce (born 4 February 1962) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player and coach. He played international rugby for both Western Samoa and New Zealand in the 1990s, appearing in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups. He played in four int ...

, rugby union player. * 17 February:

Tony Blain Tony Elston Blain (born 17 February 1962) was a cricketer who played for the New Zealand national cricket team in 11 Test matches and 38 One Day Internationals. He was primarily an understudy to Ian Smith and Adam Parore in the New Zealand s ...

, cricketer. * 1 March:

Russell Coutts Sir Russell Coutts (born 1 March 1962) is a world champion New Zealand yachtsman. Early and personal life Coutts was educated at Otago Boys' High School (1975–1979) and is a Life Member of Paremata Boating Club, where he learnt to sail in ...

, yachtsman. * 4 March:

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

, composer. * 15 March: Trevor Franklin, cricketer. * 6 June:

Grant Fox Grant James Fox (born 16 June 1962) is a former rugby union player from New Zealand. He was a member of the All Blacks team that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. He is also the father of professional golfer, Ryan Fox. Playing career ...

, rugby player. * 8 June: John Cutler, yachtsman. * 16 June

Jonathan Temm Jonathan Paul Temm (16 June 1962 – 3 March 2021) was a New Zealand barrister. He served as president of the New Zealand Law Society from 2010 until 2013. Personal Temm was born in Auckland. He was educated at St Peter's College. Temm has s ...

, lawyer. * 22 July:

Rena Owen Renas may refer to: Places *Rena, Badajoz, a municipality in Extremadura, Spain *Rena, Norway, a village in Innlandet county, Norway *Rena, Washington, a community in Clallam County, Washington, United States People *Rena (given name), list of pe ...

, actress. * 5 August:

Richard de Groen Richard Paul de Groen (born 5 August 1962) is a former New Zealand international cricketer. He played five Test matches and 12 One Day Internationals for New Zealand in 1993 and 1994.Brian Fowler, cyclist. * 21 September:

Kelly Evernden Kelly Graeme Evernden (born 21 September 1961) is a former professional tennis player from New Zealand. Evernden turned professional in 1985 and won his first tour doubles title in 1986 at Cologne. His first top-level singles title came in 198 ...

, tennis player. * 22 September:

Martin Crowe Martin David Crowe (22 September 1962 – 3 March 2016) was a New Zealand cricketer, Test and ODI captain as well as a commentator. He played for the New Zealand national cricket team between 1982 and 1995, and is regarded as one of the count ...

, cricketer. * 27 September: Gavin Larsen, cricketer. * 9 October:

Paul Radisich Paul Radisich (born 9 October 1962, in Auckland) is a retired New Zealand racing driver and businessman of Croat origin. He has competed in saloon cars for many years — both European-style tourers and the V8 Supercars of Australia and New ...

, racing driver. * 12 October: Mark S. Olsen, painter. * 7 November:

Debbie Hockley Deborah Ann Hockley (born 7 November 1962) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and right-arm medium bowler. Hockley was the first woman to become President of New Zealand Cricket. Domestic career Hockley pl ...

, cricketer. * 29 December:

Wynton Rufer Wynton Alan Whai Rufer (born 29 December 1962) is a New Zealand retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent more than a decade of his professional career in Switzerland and Germany, achieving his greatest success at Werd ...

, soccer player. * Tim Chadwick, artist and writer. *

Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known for his work with Noiseworks and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Biography 1980–1986: career beginnings and ''Jezebel'' Stevens was born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and is ...

, singer. :1962 births

Deaths

* 26 April:

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 ...

, Labour politician. * 20 June John Houston, historian and writer. * 14 July: Janet Mackenzie, New Zealand teacher * 18 July: G. H. Cunningham, mycologist and plant pathologist. * 18 September: Clyde Carr, Labour politician. * 8 October: Donald Charles Cameron, Mayor of Dunedin * 20 October: Cora Louisa Burrell, politician (MLC). * 28 October:

Bill Schramm Frederick William Schramm (28 March 1886 – 28 October 1962) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was the eleventh Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1944 to 1946. Biography Early life Schramm was born in Hokitika ...

, Labour politician and 11th Speaker of the House of Representatives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1962 in New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Years of the 20th century in New Zealand