The following lists events that happened during 1978 in New Zealand.

Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 3,165,200 * Decrease since 31 December 1977: 1,200 (0.04%) * Males per 100 females: 99.2 * This was the first year since 1941 in which New Zealand's population declined (due to emigration, largely to Australia).

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 Rt Hon.

Sir 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 ...

KG GCMG CH QSO.

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 ...

– Richard Harrison.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 is not ...

–

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

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", " ...

–

. *

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 – Peter Wilkinson until 13 December, then

Jim McLay Sir James Kenneth McLay (born 21 February 1945) is a New Zealand diplomat and former politician. He served as the ninth deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 15 March to 26 July 1984. McLay was also Leader of the National Party and Leader ...

. * Chief Justice — Sir Richard Wild (until 20 January), Sir Ronald Davison (starting 3 February)

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 ...

–

Bill Rowling Sir Wallace Edward Rowling (; 15 November 1927 – 31 October 1995), commonly known as Bill Rowling, was a New Zealand politician who was the 30th prime minister of New Zealand from 1974 to 1975. He held office as the parliamentary leader of t ...

(

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 ...

). * Social Credit Party – Bruce Beetham

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 ...

–

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 –

Ross Jansen Sir Ross Malcolm Jansen (6 September 1932 – 15 December 2010) was a New Zealand local-body politician. He served as mayor of Hamilton from 1977 to 1989. He was an expert in local government, held a variety of positions, was academically ackno ...

* Mayor of Wellington –

Michael Fowler Sir Edward Michael Coulson Fowler (19 December 1929 – 12 July 2022) was a New Zealand architect and author who served as mayor of Wellington from 1974 to 1983. Early life and family Fowler was born on 19 December 1929 in Marton, the son of ...

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 ...

– Hamish Hay *

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 ...

– Clifford George (Cliff) Skeggs

Events

* The Pureora Forest Park was established after a series of protests and tree sittings. * 18 February – The Rangitikei by-election was won by Bruce Beetham for Social Credit. * 1 April – Flag carriers Air New Zealand and the National Airways Corporation merge to form a single airline under the Air New Zealand name. * 12 September – Kaimai Rail Tunnel on the East Coast Main Trunk Railway, at 8896 m the longest tunnel in New Zealand, opened. * December –

Holy Name Seminary Holy Name Seminary was a Roman Catholic seminary staffed by the Society of Jesus established in New Zealand for the training of priests. It was first opened in 1947 in Christchurch and closed at the end of 1978. Establishment With Holy Cross Co ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

(Catholic) closed.

Arts and literature

* Roger Hall and Peter Olds win the Robert Burns Fellowship. See

1978 in art Events from the year 1978 in art. Events * 27 June – ''Stitching the Standard'' by Edmund Leighton is sold at Sotheby's in Belgravia to a private collector. Awards * Archibald Prize: Brett Whiteley – ''Art, Life and the other thing'' * John ...

1978 in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1978. Events *March 8 – Douglas Adams' comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' originates as a radio comedy broadcast on the U.K. BB ...

, :1978 books

January

Nambassa Nambassa was a series of hippie-conceived festivals held between 1976 and 1981 on large farms around Waihi and Waikino in New Zealand. They were music, arts and alternatives festivals that focused on peace, love, and an environmentally friendly ...

, three-day music, crafts and alternative lifestyles festival on Phil and Pat Hulses' farm in Golden Valley, north of Waihi. Attendance 25,000.

October

winter road show, toured the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

of NZ, promoting the 1979 festival.

Music

New Zealand Music Awards

Winners were as follows: *ALBUM OF THE YEAR Hello Sailor – Hello Sailor *SINGLE OF THE YEAR Golden Harvest – I Need Your Love *TOP MALE VOCALIST John Rowles *TOP GROUP Hello Sailor *TOP FEMALE VOCALIST

Sharon O’Neill Sharon Lea O'Neill (born 23 November 1952) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist, who had an Australasian hit single in 1983 with " Maxine" which reached No. 16 on both the Australian Kent Music Report and Recording Industry Associatio ...

*ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Ian Morris – Hello Sailor *PRODUCER OF THE YEAR Rob Aicken – Hello Sailor *MOST PROMISING GROUP Citizen Band *MOST PROMISING FEMALE VOCALIST

Kim Hart Kim Hart (born 9 May 1960) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter, who had an Australasian hit single in 1980 with "Love at First Night" which reached No.6 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Biography Kim Denise Hart was born in Auckland on 9 Ma ...

*MOST PROMISING MALE VOCALIST Dennis O’Brien See:

1978 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978. Specific locations * 1978 in British music *1978 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1978 in country music * 1978 in heavy metal music * 1978 in jazz Events Janua ...

Performing arts

Benny Award The Benny Award is bestowed on a New Zealand variety entertainer. It is presented annually by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, a non-for-profit organisation and showbusiness club, founded in 1966 and awarded to a variety performer who ha ...

presented by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand to George Tumahai.

Radio and television

*23 November – the

AM broadcast band AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...

moves from 10 kHz spacing to 9 kHz spacing. *Feltex Television Awards: **Best Current Affairs: ''Dateline Monday'' **Best Information: ''

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 ...

'' **Best Documentary: ''Birth with R.D. Laing'' **Best Light Entertainment: '' A Week of It'' **Best Drama: ''

The Governor A governor is an official, usually acting as the executive of a non-sovereign level of government. Governor may also refer to: Leadership * Governor (China), the head of government of a province * Governor (Japan), the highest ranking executive ...

'' **Best Speciality: ''Sport on One'' **Best Actor:

David McPhail David Alexander McPhail (11 April 1945 – 14 May 2021) was a New Zealand comedic actor and writer whose television career spanned four decades. McPhail first won fame on sketch comedy show ''A Week of It'', partly thanks to his impressions of ...

on '' A Week of It'' **Best Personality:

Roger Gascoigne Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

**Best Script: ''He Iwi Ko Tahi Tatou'': episode four of ''The Governor'' See:

1978 in New Zealand television Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

1978 in television For 1978 in television, see: *1978 in American television * 1978 in Australian television *1978 in Austrian television * 1978 in Belgian television * 1978 in Brazilian television *1978 in British television * 1978 in Canadian television * 1978 in ...

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

, :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

Angel Mine ''Angel Mine'' is a 1978 New Zealand fantasy fiction film. Synopsis Angel Mine is advertised as a drug for automatically solving marital problems. A young Auckland middle class suburban couple become entangled in this surrealistic world swit ...

* Skin Deep See: :1978 film awards,

1978 in film The year 1978 in film involved some significant events. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1978 released films by box office gross in the United States and Canada are as follows: Events * February 6 – David Begelman resigns as presi ...

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 * ...

, :1978 films

Sport

Athletics

Paul Ballinger Paul Ballinger (born 25 March 1953) is a retired long-distance runner from New Zealand, who won the 1982 edition of the Fukuoka Marathon, clocking 2:10:15 on 5 December 1982 setting the current national record. A year later he finished in 27th pla ...

wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:17:33 on 11 March in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

Chess

* The 85th

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 Wellington, and is won by Craig Laird of Tauranga.

Commonwealth Games

Cricket

* 15 February: After 48 years of trying, New Zealand beats

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in a Test match for the first time, winning the Test at the Basin Reserve.

Horse racing

Harness racing

* New Zealand Trotting Cup: Trusty Scot *

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 ...

: Sole Command. From 1978–86 the race was over 2700m and there was no handicapping.

Soccer

* New Zealand National Soccer League won by

Christchurch United Christchurch United is an amateur association football club in Christchurch, New Zealand. They compete in various Mainland Football competitions at Junior and Senior level. The club has won six National League titles and six Chatham Cup trophi ...

* The Chatham Cup is won by Manurewa who beat

Nelson United Nelson United was a New Zealand soccer club, based in the South Island city of Nelson. Their home ground was Guppy Park. The team was founded in 1968 through the amalgamation of Nelson Thistle (founded 1924) and Nelson Rangers (founded 1950 ...

1–0 in the final.

Births

* 2 January: Dan Ward-Smith, rugby union player * 5 January:

Adi Dick Adi Dick (born 5 January 1978 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a singer, songwriter and producer who has been involved in many projects within the New Zealand music scene. Dick was involved in a roots and blues trio called the Seven Suns (Formerl ...

, musician. * 21 January (in the United States): Mike Chappell, basketballer. * 3 February: Keith Cameron, rugby union player.Keith Cameron profile
* 26 February:

Rico Gear Rico Levi Gear (born 26 February 1978) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He was a specialist right wing but also covered midfield positions. He is the older brother of New Zealand winger Hosea Gear Club career Gear was educated at Gi ...

, rugby union player. * 8 April:

Nathan Mauger Nathan Keith Mauger (born 8 April 1978 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a rugby union player. He spent the entirety of his Super Rugby career with the Canterbury Crusaders. He played for the All Blacks in 2002 in which he played 2 games but neve ...

, rugby union player. * 29 April: Donna Loffhagen, netball and basketball player. * 19 May: Willie Walker, rugby union player. * 28 May: John Dennison, poet. * 1 June: Ben Lummis, singer and winner of

New Zealand Idol (season 1) The first season of '' New Zealand Idol'' was produced by Fremantle Media subsidiary Grundy Television in association with UK company 19TV, and was broadcast on TVNZ in the early half of 2004. The judges were Paul Ellis, Fiona McDonald and Fr ...

. * 11 June:

Daryl Tuffey Daryl Raymond Tuffey (born 11 June 1978) is a former New Zealand cricketer who represented New Zealand in all formats internationally. Tuffey was born in Milton, Otago, and played domestic first-class cricket for Northern Districts Knights. Tuf ...

, cricketer. * 4 July:

Bianca Russell Bianca Russell (born 4 July 1978) is a New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed for the New Zealand women's national field hockey team The New Zealand women's national field hockey team is also known as ...

, field hockey player. * 6 July:

Kevin Senio Kevin Senio (born July 6, 1978) is a former New Zealand rugby union professional who most recently played professionally for ASM Clermont Auvergne. He is currently the head coach of Ponsonby Rugby club, based in Auckland, New Zealand. Senio is ...

, rugby union player. * 12 July:

Claire Chitham Claire Chitham (born 12 July 1978, in Auckland) is a New Zealand television actress. Claire rose to fame as Waverley Harrison (née Wilson) in the New Zealand TV show ''Shortland Street'', from 1994–1995 and 1997–2005 and Aurora Bay in '' Out ...

, actor. * 26 July:

David Kosoof David William Kosoof (born 26 July 1978) is a New Zealand field hockey player, who was a member of the New Zealand men's national field hockey team (the ''Black Sticks Men'') between 2000 and 2009. Kosoof lives in Red Beach on the Hibiscus Co ...

, field hockey player. * 28 July:

Jacob Oram Jacob David Philip Oram (born 28 July 1978) is a former New Zealand international cricketer, who played all forms of the game for 10 years. He was a left-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. His ability with both bat and ball mad ...

, cricketer. * 14 August (in South Africa):

Greg Rawlinson Greg Rawlinson (born 14 August 1978 in Durban, South Africa) is a New Zealand All Blacks, international rugby union player. Rawlinson, who has made four appearances for the All Blacks, was born in South Africa and moved to New Zealand in 2002. ...

, rugby union player. * 5 September: ** Chris Hipkins, politician. ** Chris Jack, rugby union player. * 10 September: Nish Selvadurai, comedian. * 13 September: Andrew Hore, rugby union player. * 18 September:

Iain Lees-Galloway Iain Francis Lees-Galloway (born 18 September 1978), initially Iain Galloway, is a New Zealand former politician. He represented the Palmerston North electorate in Parliament for the Labour Party. He was the Minister for Workplace Relations, Im ...

, politician. * 21 September: Doug Howlett, rugby union player. * 10 October:

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

and

Georgina Evers-Swindell Georgina Emma Buchanan Earl (born 10 October 1978 in Hastings, New Zealand), better known under her maiden name Georgina Evers-Swindell, is a former New Zealand rower. She competed in the double sculls with her identical twin sister Caroline Ev ...

(twins), rowers, Olympic gold medallists (

2004 Athens The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and

2008 Beijing The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

) * 26 October:

Ricky Cockerill Ricky Cockerill (born 26 October 1978) is a New Zealand former competitive figure skater. He is a seven-time New Zealand national champion and competed in the free skate at five Four Continents Championships. Life and career Cockerill was born ...

, figure skater. * 6 November: Dean Kent, swimmer. * 11 November:

Lou Vincent Lou Vincent (born 11 November 1978) is a former New Zealand cricketer and opening batsman. He has represented New Zealand in Test match, One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket as well as playing for Auckland in New Zealand do ...

, cricketer. * 19 November (in Australia):

Mahé Drysdale Alexander Mahé Owens Drysdale (born 19 November 1978) is a retired New Zealand rower. Drysdale is a two-time Olympic champion and a five-time world champion in the single sculls. He is a seven-time New Zealand national champion and five-time ...

, rower, Olympic gold medallist ( 2012 London) * 21 November:

Paul Urlovic Paul-Mark Urlovic (born 21 November 1978) is a New Zealand former professional footballer who played as striker for Central United FC in the NRFL Premier Division. Urlovic previously played for Auckland City in the ASB Premiership and Oceania ...

, soccer player. *

William Dwane Bell William Dwane Bell (born 1978) is a New Zealand triple murderer. He committed a triple murder on 8 December 2001 at the Panmure RSA, after they fired him. He committed the murders while out on parole for a previous aggravated robbery in which h ...

, convicted murderer. *

Mok TzeMing Tze Ming Mok (; born 1978) is a fiction writer and sociopolitical commentator, and has been a prominent New Zealand Asian community advocate. Biography Mok was born in Auckland, New Zealand, growing up in the suburb of Mount Roskill. Her parent ...

, writer. :1978 births

Deaths

* 6 January: Burt Munro, record-setting motorcyclist * 30 March: Sir Charles William Hamilton (Bill Hamilton), inventor of the jetboat. * 13 May:

Alby Roberts Albert William Roberts (20 August 1909 – 13 May 1978) was a New Zealand Test cricketer who played in five Tests from 1930 to 1937. Career as a batsman Roberts made his first-class debut in 1927–28 at the age of 18 as a middle-order batsman ...

, cricketer. * 22 May: Sir Richard Wild, 9th Chief Justice of New Zealand. * 23 July: Sir

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 ...

, politician and former Speaker of the House of Representatives. * 18 August:

Ronald L. Meek Ronald Lindley Meek (27 July 1917 – 18 August 1978) was a Marxian economist and social scientist known especially for his scholarly studies of classical political economy and the labour theory of value. During the 1960s and 1970s, his writings ha ...

, economist. * John Hutton, glass engraver :1978 deaths

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 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