The following lists events that happened during 1977 in New Zealand.

Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 3,166,400. * Increase since 31 December 1976: 3000 (0.09%). * Males per 100 females: 99.4.

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 Denis Blundell

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 ...

KBE QSO, followed by The Rt Hon.

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

CH QSO.

Government

1977 was the second full year of the 38th Parliament. The Third National Government was 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 ...

– Robert Muldoon *

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 ...

–

Brian Talboys Sir Brian Edward Talboys (7 June 1921 – 3 June 2012) was a New Zealand politician who served as the seventh deputy prime minister of New Zealand for the first two terms of Robert Muldoon's premiership. If the abortive " Colonels' Coup" a ...

. *

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 ...

– Peter Wilkinson. * Chief Justice — Sir Richard Wild

Parliamentary opposition

* Leader of the Opposition – Bill Rowling (

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 –

Bruce Beetham Bruce Craig Beetham (16 February 1936 – 3 May 1997) was an academic and politician from New Zealand, whose career spanned the 1970s and early 1980s. A lecturer at Hamilton's University of Waikato and at the Hamilton Teachers' Training Colle ...

then Ross Jansen *

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 ...

– Michael Fowler *

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 ...

–

Hamish Hay Sir Hamish Grenfell Hay (8 December 1927 – 7 September 2008) was a New Zealand politician, who served as Mayor of Christchurch for fifteen years, from 1974 to 1989. He was Christchurch's longest-serving mayor. Early life and family Hay was one ...

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 ...

–

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 ...

then Clifford George (Cliff) Skeggs

Events

Queen Elizabeth II opening the Beehive, 1977 (32230497324)

* 5 January – Led by Joe Hawke, members of Ngati Whatua occupy Bastion Point reserve ( Takaparawha) to protest crown sales of land taken from Māori. * 6 February –

Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, ...

's accession as

Queen of New Zealand The monarchy of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, King Charles III, ascended the throne following the death of his mot ...

* 28 February – The new Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament, nicknamed the "Beehive" due to its shape, is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, despite not being fully complete yet. * 26 March –

1977 Mangere by-election The Mangere by-election of 1977 was a by-election for the electorate of Mangere on 26 March 1977 during the 38th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the resignation of the previous member Colin Moyle after accusations against ...

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...

(Labour) is elected to replace

Colin Moyle Colin James Moyle (born 18 July 1929) is a former politician of the New Zealand Labour Party who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1963 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1990. He was a Government minister in the Third Labour and Fourth ...

. * 21 November – ''

God Defend New Zealand "God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...

'' becomes the second official

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

of New Zealand, in conjunction with ''

God Save The Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

''. * 6 December – The meat pie-based fast food chain

Georgie Pie Georgie Pie was a fast food chain owned by retailer Progressive Enterprises specialising in meat pies that hoped to be "New Zealand’s own homegrown alternative to the global fast-food industry giants such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Burg ...

opens its first restaurant in

Kelston, Auckland Kelston is a residential suburb of West Auckland, New Zealand. Originally a ceramics manufacturing centre, the area is now mostly residential, including a number of schools. Kelston is located in, and its name has been given to, the Kelston par ...

. * 23 December – the Wild Animal Control Act 1977 passed into law * New Zealand proclaims an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles (370 km) – the seventh largest in the world at 4.3 million km² *

Mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

and

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

s are added to the

CPI A consumer price index (CPI) is a price index, the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Changes in measured CPI track changes in prices over time. Overview A CPI is a statistic ...

basket.

Arts and literature

Keri Hulme Keri Ann Ruhi Hulme (9 March 194727 December 2021) was a New Zealand novelist, poet and short-story writer. She also wrote under the pen name Kai Tainui. Her novel '' The Bone People'' won the Booker Prize in 1985; she was the first New Zealan ...

and Roger Hall win 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 1977 in art,

1977 in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1977. Events * February 20 – An episode of '' Doctor on the Go'', co-written by Douglas Adams and Graham Chapman, marks the beginning of Adams' career as a writer ...

Music

The

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 ...

were not held this year. * Waikino music festival at Bicknel's farm, Waitawheta Valley, between

Waihi Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby re ...

and

Waikino Waikino is a small settlement at the eastern end of a gorge in the North Island of New Zealand alongside the Ohinemuri River, between Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge. The Waikino district lies at the base of the ecologically sensitive Coromandel ...

. Attendance 5500. See:

1977 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1977. This year was the peak of vinyl sales in the United States, with sales declining year on year since then. __TOC__ Specific locations * 1977 in British music *1977 in N ...

Radio and television

*April: ''

Fair Go ''Fair Go'' is a New Zealand consumer affairs television programme hosted by Pippa Wetzell and Hadyn Jones. First aired in 1977, it is New Zealand's second longest-running local programme (after '' Country Calendar''). It is also highest-rate ...

'' airs for the first time. *June: Wellington's Radio Active 89FM first hits the airwaves *Feltex Television Awards: **Best Current Affairs: ''News at Ten'' **Best Documentary Series: ''Black Future'' **Best Light Entertainment: ''Blerta'' **Best Play: ''

The God Boy ''The God Boy'' is a novel written by Ian Cross, first published in 1957 and reprinted in 2003. Cross, who was a journalist, based the story on the real lives of juvenile delinquents he encountered in his work. The book was adapted as an op ...

'' **Best Drama: ''Moynihan'' **Best Speciality: '' Country Calendar'' **Best Actor:

Ian Mune Ian Barry Mune (born 1941) is a New Zealand character actor, director, and screenwriter. His screen acting career spans four decades and more than 50 roles. His work as a film director includes hit comedy ''Came a Hot Friday'', an adaptation of c ...

in ''Winners and Losers'' and ''Moynihan'' **Best Actress: Judy Douglas in ''The God Boy'' **Best Script: ''The God Boy'' **Best Personality: Roger Gascoigne

Performing arts

* Benny Award presented by the

Variety Artists Club of New Zealand The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc (VAC) is a non-for-profit organisation and show business club. It was founded in 1966 and became an incorporated society in 1972. The VAC was formed to promote goodwill within the New Zealand enterta ...

Max Cryer John Maxwell Cryer (10 December 1935 – 25 August 2021), generally known as Max Cryer, was a New Zealand television producer and presenter, radio broadcaster, entertainment producer, singer, cabaret performer and writer. Early life and educ ...

. * Roger Hall's '' Middle-Age Spread'' premiered at the Circa Theatre, Wellington

Television

See:

1977 in New Zealand television This is a list of New Zealand television-related events in 1977. Events *'' The Governor'', a six-part historical TV miniseries on Sir George Grey, screened in September and October. *A television series about sheepdog trials '' A Dog's Show'' ...

, 1977 in television,

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

Landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

* Off the Edge * Sleeping Dogs *

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

Wild Man The wild man, wild man of the woods, or woodwose/wodewose is a mythical figure that appears in the art and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to '' Silvanus'', the Roman god of the woodl ...

See: :1977 film awards, 1977 in film, 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 ...

, :1977 films

Sport

Athletics

* Terry Manners wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:20:40 in Hawera.

Association football

New Zealand National Soccer League The New Zealand National League is the name given to the current New Zealand top football competition. Originally set up as the New Zealand National Soccer League there has been many versions of the competition as well as many different names. Th ...

won by

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 l ...

* 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 Nelson United who beat Mount Wellington 1–0 in the final.

Chess

* The 84th

New Zealand Chess Championship The New Zealand Chess Championship was first conducted in 1879. Note: Up until 1934 foreign players were eligible for the title. The eligibility rules were changed in 1935 to preclude this; John Angus Erskine (twice champion in 1929 and 1935) was ...

is held in North Shore, and is won by

Ortvin Sarapu Ortvin Sarapu (born Ortvin Sarapuu; 22 January 1924 – 13 April 1999), known in New Zealand as "Mr Chess", was an Estonian-born chess player who emigrated to New Zealand and won or shared the New Zealand Chess Championship 20 times from 1 ...

of Auckland.

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 ...

: Sole Command * There was no 1977 running of the

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 ...

as the race was being rescheduled from December (1976) to February (1978)

Thoroughbred racing

Births

* 22 January:

Jono Gibbes Jonathan Brian Gibbes (born 22 January 1977) is a rugby union former player and coach. He is a former New Zealand rugby union player who captained , the Chiefs and the Māori All Blacks, and appeared in various All Blacks teams. He is the form ...

, rugby player * 25 February: Matthew Bell, cricketer * 25 March: Brooke Walker, cricketer * 16 May:

Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress widely known for her portrayals of complex women in several independent films and television shows and also known for her command of American dialects. Lynskey is the recipi ...

, actress * 20 May:

Raf de Gregorio Raf de Gregorio (born 20 May 1977 in Wellington) is a New Zealand former professional association football player. Club career De Gregorio began his senior club career with Wellington United in 1997 before spending time in Europe with Bohem ...

, soccer player * 25 May:

Michael Bevin Michael Bevin (born 25 May 1977 in Hastings, New Zealand) is a field hockey goalkeeper from New Zealand. He won a silver medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and ...

, field hockey goalkeeper * 14 June: Duncan Oughton, footballer * 9 July (in South Africa): Leana du Plooy, netball player' * 5 July: Dale Rasmussen, rugby player * 11 July:

Matai Smith Matai Rangi Smith (born 2 May 1977) is a New Zealand television presenter. Personal life Matai was born and raised in Gisborne, New Zealand and later moved to Auckland when he began working in Television. He speaks fluent Te Reo Maori and is ...

, television presenter * 13 July: Xavier Rush, rugby player * 5 September: Emily Gillam, field hockey player * 8 September:

Sheryl Scanlan Sheryl Scanlan (née Clarke; born 8 September 1977) is a New Zealand and Samoan international netball player. She played for the Northern Force in the National Bank Cup from 1998 until the conclusion in 2007, when the new ANZ Championship compe ...

, netball player * 9 September:

Caleb Ralph Caleb Stan Ralph (born 10 September 1977 in Rotorua) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. Ralph began his first-class career with Bay of Plenty, then moved to Auckland before heading to Canterbury. He started his Super Rugby career with the ...

, rugby player * 18 October: Ryan Nelsen, footballer * 13 November: Chanel Cole, musician * 28 November: Greg Somerville, rugby player * 15 December:

Dominic Bowden Dominic Joseph Bowden (born 15 December 1977) is a New Zealand television personality, host and voice actor. He is best known as the host of New Zealand reality series including ''New Zealand Idol, Dancing with the Stars New Zealand and The X ...

, television presenter * 21 December: Leon MacDonald, rugby player :1977 births

Deaths

* 22 January:

Toby Hill Toby Hill (5 November 1915 – 22 January 1977) was a Scottish trade unionist and watersider. Hill was born in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland on 5 November 1915. He was heavily involved in the 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute. He stood ...

, watersider and trade unionist * 18 February:

Ron Jarden Ronald Alexander Jarden (born 14 December 1929, Lower Hutt, New Zealand and died 18 February 1977, Lower Hutt), better known as Ron Jarden, was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, businessman, and sharebroker. Career Rugby career Jarden playe ...

, rugby player. * 7 June (in England): Sir

Rex Nan Kivell Sir Rex de Charembac Nan Kivell CMG (born Reginald Nankivell, 8 April 18987 June 1977) was a New Zealand-born British art collector, who was knighted on the recommendation of the government of Australia, a country he never visited, for the gift ...

, art collector. * 15 August:

Margaret Escott Cicely Margaret Escott (9 July 1908 – 15 August 1977) was a New Zealand novelist, playwright, poet and drama teacher. She was best-known for her novel ''Show Down'', published in 1936. The United States edition was titled ''I Told My Lo ...

, novelist and poet. * 24 December: Sir

, politician and 16th Speaker of the House of Representatives.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1977 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