1961 in New Zealand

* 1960
* 1959
* 1958
*   *

|  | 1961

New Zealand |

* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
*   *

|
|
|

Decades:|

* 1940s
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s

See also:|

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

The following lists events that happened during  1961 in New Zealand.

## Population

[edit]

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,461,300.[1]
* Increase since 31 December 1960: 57,700 (2.40%).[1]
* Males per 100 females: 101.2.[1]

## Incumbents

[edit]

### Regal and viceregal

[edit]

* Head of State – Elizabeth II
* Governor-General – The Viscount Cobham GCMG TD.[2]

### Government

[edit]

* Speaker of the House – Ronald Algie.[3]
* Prime Minister – Keith Holyoake
* Deputy Prime Minister – Jack Marshall.[3]
* Minister of Finance – Harry Lake.[3]
* Minister of Foreign Affairs – Keith Holyoake.[3]
* Attorney-General – Ralph Hanan.[3]
* Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough

### Parliamentary opposition

[edit]

* Leader of the Opposition – Walter Nash (Labour)[4]

### Main centre leaders

[edit]

* Mayor of Auckland – Dove-Myer Robinson
* Mayor of Hamilton – Denis Rogers
* Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
* Mayor of Christchurch – George Manning
* Mayor of Dunedin – Stuart Sidey

## Events

[edit]

### January

[edit]

* The Ohakuri hydroelectric power plant starts operation.

### February

[edit]

### March

[edit]

### April

[edit]

* 23 April – Emergency number 111 is introduced in Wellington.[5]

### June

[edit]

* 1 June – Television begin transmission in Christchurch

### July

[edit]

* 1 July – Television begin transmission in Wellington.

### August

[edit]

### September

[edit]

### October

[edit]

* 12 October – Ten National MPs voted with the Opposition to remove capital punishment for murder from the Crimes Bill that the Second National Government had introduced, by a vote of 41 to 30.

### November

[edit]

### December

[edit]

## Arts and literature

[edit]

* John Caselburg wins the Robert Burns Fellowship.

See 1961 in art, 1961 in literature

### Music

[edit]

See: 1961 in music

### Radio and television

[edit]

* Auckland television is extended to seven nights a week, two and a half hours a night. On 4 April, Auckland television went commercial. [1] Archived 15 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
* Television transmission began in Christchurch (a year later than Auckland) on 1 June. Wellington followed four weeks later, on 1 July. [2]

See: 1961 in New Zealand television, 1961 in television, List of TVNZ television programming, Public broadcasting in New Zealand & Category:Television in New Zealand.

### Film

[edit]

See: Category:1961 film awards, 1961 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1961 films

## Sport

[edit]

### Athletics

[edit]

* Barry Magee wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:18:54.2 on 4 March in Christchurch.

### Chess

[edit]

* The 68th National Chess Championship was held in Auckland, and was won by Ortvin Sarapu of Auckland (his 6th title).[6]

### Cricket

[edit]

* New Zealand tours South Africa (spanning December 1961 – February 1962) and drew the 5-Test series 2-2:[7]
* 8–12 December 1961, Durban: 1st Test. SA won by 30 runs (SA 292 + 149, NZ 245 and 166)
* 26–29 December 1961, Johannesburg: 2nd Test Drawn (SA 322 + 178/6 decl, NZ 223 + 165/4)
* 1–4 January 1962, Cape Town: 3rd Test. NZ won by 72 runs (NZ 385 + 212/9 decl., SA 190 + 335)
* 2–5 February 1962, Johannesburg: 4th test. SA won by innings & 51 runs (NZ 164 + 249, SA 464)
* 16–20 February 1962, Port Elizabeth: 5th Test: NZ won by 40 runs (NZ 275 + 228, SA 190 + 273)

### Horse racing

[edit]

#### Harness racing

[edit]

* New Zealand Trotting Cup – Invicta[8]
* Auckland Trotting Cup – Cardigan Bay[9]

### Lawn bowls

[edit]

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Auckland.[10]

* Men's singles champion – J.H. Rabone (Auckland Bowling Club)
* Men's pair champions – N. Posa, M. Vulinovich (skip) (Oratia Bowling Club)
* Men's fours champions – J. Hammersley, L.N. Harris, R.S. Eves, M.J. Squire (skip) (West End Bowling Club, New Plymouth)

### Rugby union

[edit]

* France tour New Zealand, losing all three Test matches:[11]
* 22 July, Eden Park, Auckland: New Zealand 13 – 6 France
* 5 August, Athletic Park, Wellington: New Zealand 5 – 3 France
* 19 August, lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 32 – 3 France

### Soccer

[edit]

* An English FA XI tours New Zealand, handing out two heavy defeats to the national men's team.[12]
* 5 June, Wellington: NZ 0 – 8 English FA XI
* 10 June, Auckland: NZ 1 – 6 English FA XI
* The Chatham Cup was won by Dunedin team Northern who beat North Shore United 2 – 0 in the final.[13]
* Provincial league champions:[14]
* Auckland: North Shore United
* Bay of Plenty: Kawerau Town
* Buller: Waimangaroa United
* Canterbury: Technical OB
* Franklin: Manurewa AFC
* Hawke's Bay: Napier Rovers
* Manawatu: Ohakea
* Marlborough: Spartans
* Nelson: Rangers
* Northland: Kamo Swifts
* Otago: Northern AFC
* Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
* South Canterbury: Thistle
* Southland: Invercargill Thistle
* Taranaki: Moturoa
* Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
* Wairarapa: YMCA
* Wanganui: New Settlers
* Wellington: Northern
* West Coast: Grey United

## Births

[edit]

* 10 May: Blyth Tait, equestrian.
* 26 June: David White, cricketer.
* 9 August: John Key, politician, 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand (2008–2016)
* 12 August: Mark Priest, cricketer.
* 5 October: David Kirk, rugby player and business executive.
* 5 October: Derek Stirling, cricketer.
* 10 October: Gary Hurring, swimmer.
* 31 October: Peter Jackson, filmmaker.
* 15 November: Hugh McGahan, rugby league footballer.
* 28 November: Bruce Derlin, tennis player.
* 9 December: Ian Wright, rower.
* 30 December: Bill English, politician, 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand (2016–2017)
* Michael Hight, painter.
* Willie Jackson, politician and broadcaster.
* Grant Lingard, artist.
* Anthony McCarten, playwright and novelist.

Category:1961 births

## Deaths

[edit]

* 25 June: Jack Lamason, cricketer.
* 19 July: Mary Dreaver, politician.
* 5 August: Sidney Holland, 25th Prime Minister of New Zealand.
* 8 November: Frederick Vincent Ellis, artist.
* 14 December: William Duncan, rugby union player.

## 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. ^ a b c d e Lambert & Palenski: The New Zealand Almanac, 1982. ISBN 0-908570-55-4
4. ^ "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
5. ^ "EMERGENCY SERVICE HAS FALSE CALLS". The Press. 24 April 1961. p. 10.
6. ^ List of New Zealand Chess Champions Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ Cricinfo Archive
8. ^ "List of NZ Trotting cup winners". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
9. ^ Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ Pick and Go rugby results database
12. ^ List of New Zealand national soccer matches
13. ^ Chatham Cup: nzsoccer.com Archived 14 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
14. ^ "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.

## See also

[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

Years in New Zealand

17th and 18th century

* Prior to 1800
* 1800

19th century

* 1801
* 1802
* 1803
* 1804
* 1805
* 1806
* 1807
* 1808
* 1809
* 1810
* 1811
* 1812
* 1813
* 1814
* 1815
* 1816
* 1817
* 1818
* 1819
* 1820
* 1821
* 1822
* 1823
* 1824
* 1825
* 1826
* 1827
* 1828
* 1829
* 1830
* 1831
* 1832
* 1833
* 1834
* 1835
* 1836
* 1837
* 1838
* 1839
* 1840
* 1841
* 1842
* 1843
* 1844
* 1845
* 1846
* 1847
* 1848
* 1849
* 1850
* 1851
* 1852
* 1853
* 1854
* 1855
* 1856
* 1857
* 1858
* 1859
* 1860
* 1861
* 1862
* 1863
* 1864
* 1865
* 1866
* 1867
* 1868
* 1869
* 1870
* 1871
* 1872
* 1873
* 1874
* 1875
* 1876
* 1877
* 1878
* 1879
* 1880
* 1881
* 1882
* 1883
* 1884
* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900

20th century

* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000

21st century

* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Timeline of New Zealand history

* v
* t
* e

1961 in Oceania

Sovereign states|

* Australia
*   *   *   *   *   *   *   * New Zealand
*   *   *   *   *   *   *

Associated states
of New Zealand

*   *

Dependencies, colonies
and other territories

* American Samoa
*   * Christmas Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Cook Islands
* French Polynesia
* Fiji
* Gilbert and Ellice Islands
* Guam
* Hawaii
* Marshall Islands
* Nauru
* New Caledonia
* New Hebrides
*   * Niue
*   * Northern Mariana Islands
* Papua New Guinea
* Pitcairn Islands
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
*   * Tokelau
* Tonga
* Wallis and Futuna

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template