The following lists events that happened during 1931 in New Zealand .
Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,522,800.[ 1]
Increase since previous 31 December 1930: 16,000 (1.06%).[ 1]
Males per 100 females: 103.8.[ 1]
Regal and viceregal [ edit ]
Crowd on intersection of Willis and Mercer Streets, Wellington , outside the offices of the Evening Post , awaiting the results of the 1931 general election.
The 23rd New Zealand Parliament continued with the coalition of the United Party and the Labour Party with the Reform Party in opposition. During the year the agreement between United and Labour collapsed due to differing opinions on how to counter the Great Depression . The Reform Party, fearing that the Depression would give Labour a substantial boost, reluctantly agreed to form a coalition with United to avert elections. By forming a coalition, United and Reform were able to blunt Labour's advantage, ending the possibility of the anti-Labour vote being split and the general election in December saw the United–Reform Coalition winning a majority.
Parliamentary opposition [ edit ]
Main centre leaders [ edit ]
Damage to the Hastings Post Office inflicted by the Hawke's Bay earthquake
7 January – Australian aviator Guy Menzies makes the first solo flight across the Tasman sea, starting from Sydney and ending 11 hours 45 minutes later with a crash landing in a swamp near Harihari on the West Coast [ 4]
January – Chancellor Hut finishes construction.[ 5]
3 February – The Hawkes Bay earthquake , New Zealand's worst, kills 256 people, mainly in Napier and Hastings
8 February – A Desoutter aircraft of Dominion Airline crashed near Wairoa , killing all three people aboard. This is the first fatality on a scheduled air service in New Zealand.[ 6]
27 February – Oscar Garden lands his Gipsy Moth aircraft at Horseshoe Bay on Stewart Island / Rakiura , the first aircraft to land on the island.
Arts and literature [ edit ]
See 1931 in art , 1931 in literature , Category:1931 books
See: 1931 in music
See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand
See: Category:1931 film awards , 1931 in film , List of New Zealand feature films , Cinema of New Zealand , Category:1931 films
The 40th National Chess Championship was held in Rotorua, and was won by A.W. Gyles of Wellington.[ 7]
The 21st New Zealand Open championship was won by Andrew Shaw , his 4th win.[ 8]
The 35th National Amateur Championships were held in Christchurch [ 9]
Men: Rana Wagg (Hutt)
Women: Miss B. Gaisford
Thoroughbred racing [ edit ]
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Auckland.[ 13]
Men's singles champion – N.C. Bell (Hamilton Bowling Club)
Men's pair champions – H.G. Loveridge, R.N. Pilkington (skip) (Hamilton Bowling Club)
Men's fours champions – J.D. Best, A.J.H. Gregory, H. Gardiner, G.A. Deare (skip) (Dunedin Bowling Club)
New Zealand national rugby league team
Category:Rugby union in New Zealand , Category:All Blacks
1931 Chatham Cup won by Tramurewa (Auckland)
Provincial league champions: [ 14]
Auckland: Thistle
Canterbury: Rangers , Nomads (shared)
Hawke's Bay: National Tobacco
Nelson: Hospital
Otago: HSOB
Southland: Rangers
Taranaki: Hawera, Albion (shared)
Waikato: Rotowaro
Wanganui: KP's
Wellington: Petone
4 March – Don Jowett , athlete, rugby union player (died 2011)
5 March
9 March – Jack Lasenby , children's author (died 2019)
10 March – Colin Loader , rugby union player (died 2021)
11 March – Colin Jillings , Thoroughbred racehorse trainer (died 2022)
19 March – Cliff Skeggs , businessman, politician, mayor of Dunedin
31 March
3 April – Elspeth Kennedy , sharebroker, community leader (died 2017)
4 April
6 April – Ian Grey , rugby league player (died 2009)
7 April – John McDonald , cricketer
9 April
10 April – Neil Waters , chemist, university administrator (died 2018)
13 April – Doug Armstrong , cricketer, sports broadcaster, politician (died 2015)
14 April – Bruce Pairaudeau , cricketer (died 2022)
20 April – Bill Tolhurst , politician (died 2013)
23 April – John Williams , cricketer
2 July – Robin Gray , politician (died 2022)
6 July – John Spencer , boat designer (died 1996)
18 July – Peter Goddard , educationalist (died 2012)
21 July – Roy Meehan , wrestler (died 2011)
23 July – Te Atairangikaahu , 6th Māori monarch (died 2006)
24 July – Ray Laurent , rower (died 2010)
25 July – Murray Day , squash administrator (died 2022)
26 July – Jean Puketapu , Māori language activist, kōhanga reo pioneer (died 2012)
27 July – David Goldsmith , field hockey player (died 2017)
28 July – Peter Shirtcliffe , businessman
3 August
9 August
Mike Hinge , artist and illustrator (died 2003)
Ernie Leonard , television presenter, wrestling commentator, actor (died 1994)
10 August
11 August – Ralph Hotere , artist (died 2013)
13 August – Norman Read , racewalker (died 1994)
22 August – Maurice Gee , novelist, screenwriter
6 October – Michael Hardie Boys , jurist, 17th governor-general (died 2023)
9 October – Mark Otway , tennis player (died 2014)
14 October – Colin Dickinson , cyclist (died 2006)
16 October
17 October – Mazhar Krasniqi , Muslim community leader, human rights activist (died 2019)
23 October – James McNeish , novelist, playwright, biographer (died 2016)
25 October – Beverley Holloway , entomologist (died 2023)
29 October – Murray Loudon , field hockey player, dentist (died 2019)
30 October – Alma Johnson , television personality (died 2017)
13 April – Joseph Firth , cricketer, sports administrator, educator (born 1859)
18 April – Arthur Hall , politician (born 1880)
3 May – Hannah Dudley , Methodist mission sister (born 1864)
10 May – Anna Stout , social reformer (born 1858)
22 May – Bernard Chambers , viticulturist, winemaker (born 1859)
26 May – Richard Barton , pastoralist, author (born 1879)
6 June – William Baucke , linguist, ethnologist, journalist (born 1848)
10 June – May Moore , photographer (born 1881)
6 October – Robert Yates , cricketer (born 1845)
24 October
28 October – Edward Tregear , surveyor, public servant, linguist (born 1846)
30 October – Joseph Witheford , politician (born 1848)
31 October – Charles Gleeson , cricketer (born 1845)
5 November - Jane Stowe , New Zealand artist (born 1838)
28 November
7 December – Sir John Luke , politician, mayor of Wellington (born 1858)
23 December – Jack Stanaway , rugby league player (born 1873)
29 December – William Earnshaw , politician (born 1852)
Media related to 1931 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons
1931 in Oceania
Sovereign states Associated states of New Zealand