The following lists events that happened during 1968 in New Zealand.

Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,773,000 * Increase since 31 December 1967: 28,000 (1.02%) * Males per 100 females: 99.8 – This was the first year (other than during a major war) in which the number of females exceeded the number of males.

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 – Sir Arthur Porritt Bt

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 ...

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 ...

CBE 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 35th Parliament of New Zealand continued, with the

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, c ...

government in power. *

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 ...

–

Roy Jack Sir Roy Emile Jack (12 January 1914 – 24 December 1977) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was a cabinet minister and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Biography Early life and career Jack was born in New Plym ...

.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", " ...

– Robert Muldoon. *

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 Richard Wild

Parliamentary opposition

* Leader of the Opposition –

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at a ...

(

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 ...

). * Leader of the Social Credit Party –

Vernon Cracknell Vernon Francis Cracknell (30 May 1912 – 4 June 1989) was a New Zealand politician. He served as the Social Credit Party's third leader (1963–1970). Early life Cracknell was born in Auckland on 30 May 1912. He was educated at Auckland Gram ...

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 ...

–

Roy McElroy Roy Granville McElroy (2 April 1907 – 16 May 1994) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician, who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1965 to 1968. Early life and career Born in Auckland on 2 April 1907, McElroy was the son of Herbert Thoma ...

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 –

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,

then

Mike Minogue Michael John Minogue (20 October 1923 – 27 November 2008) was a New Zealand National Party politician, lawyer and mayor. Biography Minogue was born on 20 October 1923. He attended Timaru Boys' High School, St. Patrick's College ...

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 then

Ron Guthrey Albert Ronald Guthrey (15 January 1916 – 8 September 2008) was a New Zealand local politician. He served as a Christchurch City Councillor for 22 years before being elected Mayor of Christchurch. He was a World War II veteran and he and his ...

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 ...

– Russell John Calvert then

Jim Barnes James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) to win three di ...

Events

* 10 April – Inter-Island ferry foundered off Wellington with the loss of 53 lives. * 24 May – 1968 Inangahua earthquake * 14 October – NAC commences scheduled

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

operations between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. * The ''Southland Daily News'', which had been acquired by its rival ''

The Southland Times ''The Southland Times'' is the regional daily paper for Southland, including Invercargill, and neighbouring parts of Otago, in New Zealand. It is now owned by media business Stuff Ltd, formerly the New Zealand division of Fairfax Media. Histo ...

'' in 1967, ceased publication and was replaced by an evening edition of ''The Times''. The paper was first published as ''Southern News and Foveaux Strait's Herald'' in 1861.

Arts and literature

Ruth Dallas Ruth Minnie Mumford (29 September 1919 – 18 March 2008), better known by her pen name Ruth Dallas, was a New Zealand poet and children's author. Biography Dallas was born in Invercargill, the daughter of Frank and Minnie Mumford. She became ...

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 1968 in art,

1968 in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1968. Events *January 1 – Cecil Day-Lewis is announced as the new Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. *March 28 – Glidrose Publications releases the James Bo ...

, :1968 books

Music

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

Loxene Golden Disc The Loxene Golden Disc was an annual New Zealand music award. It ran from 1965 to 1972. It was superseded by the Recording Arts Talent Awards (RATA). Background The awards launched in 1965 and is the forerunner of the New Zealand Music Awards. It ...

Allison Durbin Allison Ann Giles, who performed as Allison Ann Durbin (born 24 May 1950), is a former New Zealand Australian singer, known for her success in the late 1960s and 1970s as the " Queen of Pop". Durbin's visual trademark at that time was her lustrou ...

– ''I Have Loved Me A Man'' See: 1968 in music

Radio and television

*Wellington television crews win the World Newsfilm Award for their coverage of the ''Wahine'' disaster. See

1968 in television The year 1968 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1968. Events *January 20 – Houston defeats UCLA 71–69 at the Houston Astrodome on the TVS Television Network in what is billed as ...

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, :New Zealand television shows,

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: :1968 film awards,

1968 in film The year 1968 in film involved some significant events, with the release of Stanley Kubrick's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', as well as two highly successful musical films, '' Funny Girl'' and ''Oliver!'', the former earning Barbra Streisand the Ac ...

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 ...

, :1968 films

Sport

Athletics

* Jeff Julian wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:22:40 on 9 March in Whangarei.

Association football

* 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

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

of Auckland, who beat

Christchurch Technical Cashmere Technical is an association football club based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was formed in early 2012 from the merger of two of the city's premier teams, Cashmere Wanderers and Woolston Technical. The two clubs had agreed to work ...

2–0 in the final. * 1968 was the first year in which all three regional leagues operated, with the formation of the Southern League. * Northern League premier division (Thompson Shield) won by Mt Wellington.League tables 1968 – rsssf
/ref> * Central League won by

Western Suburbs FC Western Suburbs Football Club is an association football club in Porirua, New Zealand. They play their home matches at Endeavour Park in the Porirua suburb of Whitby and compete in the Central Premier League. Western Suburbs is in partnership ...

* Southern League First Division won by Christchurch City AFC

Chess

* The 75th National Chess Championship was held in Dunedin, and was won by B.R. Anderson of Christchurch.

Cricket

Indian cricket team in New Zealand in 1967–68 The India national cricket team toured New Zealand from 15 February to 12 March 1968 and played a four-match Test series against New Zealand. India won the series 3–1. Squads Indrajitsinhji, Sardesai and Saxena did not appear in any of th ...

. The first Test was India's first win away from home, and the second Test was New Zealand's first victory over India.

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 ...

: Humphrey *

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 ...

: Cardinal Garrison

Motorsport

* The

1968 Tasman Series The 1968 Tasman Championship for Drivers was a motor racing series contested over eight races during January, February and March 1968, with four races held in New Zealand and four in Australia.The Tasman Championship for Drivers - Season 1968, 19 ...

was won by Jim Clark * The 15th 1968 New Zealand Grand Prix was won by

Chris Amon Christopher Arthur Amon (20 July 1943 – 3 August 2016) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand ...

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics

* New Zealand sends a team of 52 competitors.

Winter Olympics

* New Zealand competes at the Winter Olympics for only the third time, with a team of six athletes.

Paralympic Games

Summer Paralympics

* New Zealand sends a team to the Paralympics for the first time.

Rugby league

* New Zealand competed in the

1968 Rugby League World Cup The 1968 Rugby League World Cup tournament was the fourth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and was held in Australia and New Zealand during May and June in 1968. Contested by the men's national rugby league football teams of the two host ...

, losing all its 3 games to finish in last place.

Rugby union

* The national team of France toured New Zealand, losing all three tests and one of their nine provincial matches.

Births

* 26 January: Chris Pringle, cricketer. * January:

Emma Paki Emma Paki (born January 1968 in Whakatane, New Zealand) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Musical career Her debut single "System Virtue" (produced by Jaz Coleman) won her best songwriter at the RIANZ 1993 New Zealand Music Awards The Ao ...

, singer/songwriter. * 29 February:

Gareth Farr Gareth Vincent Farr (born 29 February 1968) is a New Zealand composer and percussionist. He has released a number of classical CDs and composed a number of works performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) and Royal New Zealand Ball ...

, composer and percussionist. * 20 March:

Lawrence Makoare Lawrence Makoare (born 20 March 1968) is a New Zealand Māori actor. He is most known for his roles in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series as several prominent antagonists, including Lurtz the Uruk-Hai and the Witch King of Angmar. Career Ma ...

, actor. * 29 March:

Lucy Lawless Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', as D'Anna Biers on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' seri ...

, actress and singer. * 16 April (in England): Roger Twose, cricketer. * 10 May: Craig Russ, field hockey player. * 14 May (in Canada):

Richard Tapper Richard Lionel Tapper is a professor emeritus of the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. He is a social anthropologist who did ethnographic field research in Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. His publications have foc ...

, swimmer. * 25 May:

Kevin Iro Kevin Leslie Iro (born 24 May 1968), also known by the nickname of '"The Beast", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and coached in the 2000s. He played at representative level for New Zeala ...

, rugby league player. * 26 June: Scott Anderson, field hockey goalkeeper . * 8 July:

Shane Howarth Shane Paul Howarth (born 8 July 1968) is a former international rugby union player who gained four caps and scored 54 points for the All Blacks before later switching allegiance to Wales national rugby union team, Wales, attaining 19 Welsh caps ...

, rugby player. * 27 July:

Cliff Curtis Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born 27 July 1968) is a New Zealand actor. His film credits include '' Once Were Warriors'' (1994), ''Three Kings'' (1999), ''Training Day'' (2001), '' Whale Rider'' (2002), ''Collateral Damage'' (2002), '' Sunshin ...

, actor. * 31 July:

Jenny Duck Jennifer Susan Duck (born 31 July 1968 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a former field hockey player from New Zealand, who finished in sixth position with the women's national team, nicknamed ''Black Sticks'', at the Field hockey at the 2000 Summer ...

, field hockey player . * 4 November:

Lee Germon Lee Kenneth Germon (born 4 November 1968) is a former New Zealand cricketer, wicket-keeper and former captain. He played for the provinces of Canterbury and Otago and is the most successful Canterbury cricket captain of the modern era.Appleby, ...

, cricketer. * 21 August: Robbie Johnston, long-distance runner. * 27 August:

Matthew Ridge Matthew John Ridge (born 27 August 1968) is a New Zealand television presenter, and a former rugby union and rugby league footballer. A fullback in both codes, Ridge played rugby union for Auckland and became an All Black, but never won an in ...

, rugby league player, rugby union player and television presenter. * 24 October (in Papua New Guinea): Ross Anderson, swimmer. * 18 November:

Logan Edwards Samuel Logan Edwards (born 18 November 1968) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer. Domestic career Edwards played for the dominating Canterbury provincial side of the early 1990s alongside such talent as Quentin Pongia, Mike Dorre ...

, rugby league player. * 3 December: Toni Jeffs, swimmer. * 15 December: Kirsa Jensen, missing person.Kirsa Jensen on crime.co.nz
/ref> * 25 December: Jason Mackie, rugby league player. * Greg Johnson, musician. * Paul Moon, historian and biographer. *

Michael Parekowhai Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, sculptor. :1968 births

Deaths

* 4 June:

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 ...

, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand. * 19 September: Barrett Crumen, seaman and swagger. * 19 November: Vivian Potter, politician.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1968 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