1947 in New Zealand

* 1946
* 1945
* 1944
*   *

|  | 1947

New Zealand |

* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
*   *

|
|
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Decades:|

* 1920s
* 1930s
* 1940s
* 1950s
* 1960s

See also:|

* History of New Zealand
* List of years in New Zealand
* Timeline of New Zealand history

The following lists events that happened during 1947 in New Zealand.

## Population

[edit]

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,817,500.[1]
* Increase since 31 December 1946: 36,300 (2.04%).[1]
* Males per 100 females: 100.3.[1]

## Incumbents

[edit]

### Regal and viceregal

[edit]

* Head of State – George VI
* Governor-General – Lieutenant-General The Lord Freyberg VC GCMG KCB KBE DSO[2]

### Government

[edit]

The 28th New Zealand Parliament continued, with the Labour Party in government.

* Speaker of the House – Robert McKeen (Labour)
* Prime Minister – Peter Fraser
* Minister of Finance – Walter Nash
* Minister of Foreign Affairs – Peter Fraser
* Attorney-General – Rex Mason
* Chief Justice – Sir Humphrey O'Leary

### Parliamentary opposition

[edit]

* Leader of the Opposition – Sidney Holland (National Party).[3]

### Main centre leaders

[edit]

* Mayor of Auckland – John Allum
* Mayor of Hamilton – Harold Caro
* Mayor of Wellington – Will Appleton
* Mayor of Christchurch – Ernest Andrews
* Mayor of Dunedin – Donald Cameron

## Events

[edit]

* 19 January –The TSMV Wanganella, completing her first trans-tasman crossing since World War II, runs aground on Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington Harbour. All 400 passengers are safely evacuated. The ship is refloated on 6 February but is out of service for a further 22 months.[4]
* 6 February – First annual Waitangi Day ceremony held by New Zealand Navy in grounds of Treaty house, Waitangi.
* 6 March – The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra performs for the first time
* 26 March – A magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes east of Gisborne, causing a tsunami with a maximum run-up height of 10 metres.
* 1–29 April – A series of non-violent mutinies occur aboard ships and bases of the Royal New Zealand Navy
* 4 April – Horahora Power Station is decommissioned as the filling of Lake Karapiro floods the station.
* 21 April – The first generator at Karapiro Power Station is commissioned.
* 26 March – Another magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes east of Gisborne, causing a tsunami with a maximum run-up height of 6 metres.
* 18 November – 41 people die in a fire in the Ballantyne's department store in Christchurch.

* 25 November – The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 was passed making New Zealand politically independent from the United Kingdom
* 1 December – Clothing rationing, introduced in May 1942, is abolished.[5]

## Arts and literature

[edit]

See 1947 in art, 1947 in literature

### Music

[edit]

See: 1947 in music

### Radio

[edit]

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

### Film

[edit]

See: Category:1947 film awards, 1947 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1947 films

## Sport

[edit]

### Archery

[edit]

National Champions (Postal Shoot)[6]

* Open Men – W. Burton (Gisborne)
* Open Women – G. Norris (Dunedin)

### Athletics

[edit]

* George Bromley wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:58:54 in Auckland.

### Basketball

[edit]

The first interprovincial championship for women is held.[7]

#### Interprovincial champions

[edit]

* Men – Auckland
* Women – Wellington

### Chess

[edit]

* The 54th National Chess Championship was held in Palmerston North, and was won by T. Lepviikman of Wellington (his 2nd win).[8]

### Cricket

[edit]

### Horse racing

[edit]

#### Harness racing

[edit]

* New Zealand Trotting Cup – Highland Fling[9]
* Auckland Trotting Cup – Single Direct[10]

### Lawn bowls

[edit]

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.[11]

* Men's singles champion – S. Vella (Onehunga Bowling Club)
* Men's pair champions – W.R. Hawkins, Phil Exelby (skip) (Frankton Bowling Club)
* Men's fours champions – E.H. Crowley, E. Crowley, V.F. Hurlstone, G.A. Crowley (skip) (Tolaga Bay Bowling Club)

### Rugby

[edit]

### Rugby league

[edit]

* New Zealand national rugby league team beat Wales 28-20

### Soccer

[edit]

* A South African team visited New Zealand and played four internationals:[12]
* 28 June, Christchurch: NZ 5–6 South Africa
* 5 July, Dunedin: NZ 0–6 South Africa
* 12 July, Wellington: NZ 3–8 South Africa
* 19 July, Auckland: NZ 1–4 South Africa
* The Chatham Cup is won by Waterside of Wellington who beat Technical Old Boys of Christchurch 2–1 in the final.[13]
* Provincial league champions:[14]
* Auckland: North Shore United
* Canterbury: Western
* Hawke's Bay: Napier HSOB
* Nelson: Nelson United
* Otago: Mosgiel AFC
* South Canterbury: Northern Hearts
* Southland: Invercargill Thistle
* Taranaki: Albion
* Waikato: Claudelands Rovers
* Wanganui: Technical College Old Boys
* Wellington: Wellington Marist

## Births

[edit]

* 8 January: Luke Williams, wrestler
* 16 January: Gavan Herlihy, politician.
* 19 February: Tim Shadbolt, politician.
* 9 March
* Keri Hulme, writer. (died 2021)
* John Lister, golfer.
* 6 May: Alan Dale, actor.
* 6 May (in United Kingdom): Carl Doy, musician and composer.
* 6 May: Andrew Roberts, cricketer.
* 20 May: Margaret Wilson, politician.
* 27 May: Glenn Turner, cricketer.
* 1 June: Gaylene Preston, filmmaker
* 6 June: Patrick Power, tenor.
* 22 June: Murray Webb, cricketer and caricature artist.
* 27 August: John Morrison, cricketer.
* 2 September: Jim Richards, motor racing driver.
* 13 September: Annette King, politician.
* 14 September: Sam Neill, actor
* 22 September: David Trist, cricket player and coach.
* 11 December (in United Kingdom): David McGee, lawyer and public servant
* 18 December: Marian Hobbs, politician.

* Bill Hammond, painter.
* Michael Wintringham, public servant.

Category:1947 births

## Deaths

[edit]

* 17 January: Kahupāke Rongonui, tribal leader.[15]
* 10 February: Winter Hall, silent movie actor.
* 11 March: Duncan McGregor, rugby player.
* 24 April: Patrick O'Regan, lawyer, politician and judge.
* 13 May: Frances Hodgkins, painter.
* 17 May: George Forbes, 22nd Prime minister of New Zealand.
* 30 June: Robert Frederick Way, trade unionist and activist.
* 21 July: Agnes Fabish, domestic servant, farmer and homemaker.[16]
* 4 December: Margaret Butler, sculptor and artist.
* 6 December: Robert Wright, mayor of Wellington and politician.

## See also

[edit]

* History of New Zealand
* List of years in New Zealand
* Military history of New Zealand
* Timeline of New Zealand history
* Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica
* Timeline of the New Zealand environment

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Historical population estimates tables". Statistics New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
2. ^ Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
3. ^ "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
4. ^ nzhistory.net.nz
5. ^ "RATIONING ENDS - ALL CLOTHING". Gisborne Herald. 1 December 1947. p. 6.
6. ^ In a postal shoot clubs compete on specified dates and the results are posted to the Association.
7. ^ Todd, S. (1976) Sporting Records of New Zealand. Auckland: Moa Publications. ISBN 0-908570-00-7
8. ^ List of New Zealand Chess Champions Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
9. ^ "List of NZ Trotting cup winners". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
10. ^ Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
11. ^ McLintock, A.H., ed. (1966). "Bowls, men's outdoor—tournament winners". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
12. ^ List of New Zealand national soccer matches
13. ^ Chatham Cup records, nzsoccer.com Archived 14 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
14. ^ "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.
15. ^ Taua, Te Warena. "Kahupake Rongonui". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
16. ^ Fabish, Rod. "Agnes Fabish". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 November 2016.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to 1947 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons

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1947 in Oceania

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