1925 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1925 in New Zealand.

Regal and viceregal

 * Head of State – George V
 * Governor-General – Sir Charles Fergusson

Government
The 21st New Zealand Parliament concludes, with its final year marked by the death of premier William Massey. The Reform Party governs as a minority with the support of independents. Following the general election in November, the Reform Party holds a much stronger position with 55 of the 80 seats.
 * Speaker of the House – Charles Statham
 * Prime Minister – William Massey until 10 May, then Francis Bell from 14 to 30 May, then Gordon Coates
 * Minister of Finance – William Massey until 10 May, then William Nosworthy from 14 May
 * Minister of External Affairs – Francis Bell

Parliamentary opposition

 * Leader of the Opposition – Thomas Wilford (Liberal Party) until 13 August, then George Forbes (Liberal) until 4 November, then vacant (until June 1926)

Judiciary

 * Chief Justice – Sir Robert Stout

Main centre leaders

 * Mayor of Auckland – James Gunson, succeeded by George Baildon
 * Mayor of Wellington – Robert Wright, succeeded by Charles Norwood
 * Mayor of Christchurch – James Flesher, succeeded by John Archer
 * Mayor of Dunedin – Harold Tapley

Events

 * 1 January
 * National scheme for vehicle registration plates comes into force
 * Ernest Rutherford is appointed to the Order of Merit
 * 1 April – The Foodstuffs cooperative is registered
 * 21 April – Alfred Averill succeeds Churchill Julius as Archbishop of New Zealand
 * 10 May – Prime Minister William Massey dies in office
 * 31 May – Tahupotiki Wiremu Rātana announces his intention to form the Rātana Church
 * 17 June – The Franklin by-election, caused by the death of William Massey, is won by Ewen McLennan (Reform)
 * August – The U.S. Navy's Pacific battlefleet of 57 vessels including 12 battleships visits New Zealand during a goodwill tour of the South Pacific after manoeuvres off Hawaii.
 * September – A leopard escapes Auckland Zoo and remains loose for several weeks.
 * 3–4 November – The 1925 general election is held, with the Reform Party winning 55 of the 80 seats in the House of Representatives
 * 4 November – An Order in Council provides for the transfer of Tokelau from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony to New Zealand (formally gazetted 11 February 1926)
 * 17 November – The New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition opens at Logan Park, Dunedin
 * Undated – Lloyd Mandeno develops the single-wire earth return electrical distribution system

Arts and literature

 * See: 1925 in art, 1925 in literature, 


 * Allen Adair published by Jane Mander

Music

 * See: 1925 in music

Radio

 * See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand


 * The Radio Broadcasting Company (RBC) began broadcasts throughout New Zealand

Film

 * See: 1925 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1925 films


 * Rewi's Last Stand by Rudall Hayward
 * The Adventures of Algy
 * The Romance of Hinemoa

Chess

 * The 34th National Chess Championship is held in Nelson, and is won by C. J. S. Purdy of Sydney

Football

 * The Chatham Cup is won by YMCA (Wellington)
 * Provincial league champions:
 * Auckland – Thistle
 * Canterbury – Sunnyside
 * Hawke's Bay – Whakatu
 * Nelson – Thistle
 * Otago – Northern
 * South Canterbury – Rangers
 * Southland – Central
 * Taranaki – Manaia
 * Wanganui – Eastown Workshops
 * Wellington – YMCA

Golf

 * The 15th New Zealand Open championship is won by Ewen MacFarlane, an amateur, with an aggregate of 308
 * The 29th National Amateur Championships are held at Christchurch (men) and Miramar (women)
 * Men – Tom Horton (Masterton)
 * Women – Phyllis Dodgshun (Dunedin)

Harness racing

 * New Zealand Trotting Cup – Ahuriri
 * Auckland Trotting Cup – Nelson Derby

Thoroughbred racing

 * New Zealand Cup – The Banker
 * Avondale Gold Cup – Star Ranger
 * Auckland Cup – Rapine
 * Wellington Cup – Surveyor
 * New Zealand Derby – Runnymede

Lawn bowls
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.
 * Men's singles champion – J. D. Best (Dunedin Bowling Club)
 * Men's pair champions – C. W. Davis, J. W. Sexton (skip) (Newtown Bowling Club)
 * Men's fours champions – H. J. Wernham, F. T. Wilson, A. C. McIntyre, R. N. Pilkington (skip) (Hamilton Bowling Club)

Rugby union

 * The All Blacks tour New South Wales
 * The Auckland Rugby Union makes Eden Park its headquarters
 * defends he Ranfurly Shield for the third consecutive full season, defeating Wairarapa (22–3), (24–18),  (31–12),  (28–3),  (20–11) and  (34–14)

January

 * 4 January – Roger Drayton, politician
 * 12 January – Allan Burnett, anarchist activist
 * 13 January – Elwyn Welch, ornithologist
 * 22 January – Harata Solomon, Māori leader, entertainer
 * 25 January – Eric Dempster, cricketer
 * 26 January – Barbara Heslop, immunologist

February

 * 1 February – Assid Corban, politician
 * 2 February – Mirek Smíšek, potter
 * 3 February – Tay Wilson, sports administrator
 * 7 February
 * Ron Broom, cricketer
 * John Oakley, cricketer
 * 19 February – Trevor Martin, cricket umpire
 * 22 February – Alexander Grant, ballet dancer and teacher, dance company director
 * 23 February
 * Fraser Colman, politician
 * Ted McCoy, architect
 * 25 February – Campbell Smith, playwright, poet, engraver
 * 27 February – Joan Hastings, swimmer

March

 * 8 March – Leonard Mitchell, artist
 * 9 March
 * Johnny Borland, high jumper, athletics administrator
 * Aubrey Ritchie, cricketer
 * 13 March
 * John McCraw, pedologist, local historian
 * Rahera Windsor, Māori leader in the United Kingdom
 * 21 March – John Heslop, surgeon, cricket administrator
 * 25 March – O. E. Middleton, writer

April

 * 4 April – Harvey Kreyl, rugby league player
 * 5 April – Milan Mrkusich, artist
 * 17 April – Vern Clare, musician, cabaret owner
 * 19 April
 * Eva Rickard, Māori leader and activist
 * Maurie Robertson, rugby league player and coach
 * 23 April – Al Hobman, professional wrestler, trainer and promoter
 * 24 April – Dorothy Butler, children's author and bookseller, memoirist, reading advocate
 * 25 April – Neville Black, rugby union and rugby league player
 * 28 April – David Brokenshire, architect, potter

May

 * 2 May – Frances Porter, writer, historian
 * 14 May
 * Gordon Gostelow, actor
 * W. H. Oliver, poet, historian
 * 16 May – John Ziman, physicist, humanist
 * 20 May
 * Maurice Crow, weightlifter, rowing coxswain
 * Bert Potter, commune leader
 * 27 May – Arthur Campbell, chemist

June

 * 3 June – Trevor Barber, cricketer
 * 11 June – Tiny White, rugby union player and administrator, politician
 * 25 June – Alistair Campbell, poet, playwright, novelist
 * 27 June – Ben Couch, rugby union player, politician
 * 29 June – Doody Townley, harness-racing driver

July

 * 2 July – Philip Liner, radio broadcaster
 * 8 July – Elwyn Richardson, educationalist
 * 9 July – Rex Bergstrom, econometrician
 * 10 July – Dixie Cockerton, netball player and coach, cricketer, school principal
 * 15 July – Stuart Jones, golfer
 * 16 July – J. B. Trapp, historian
 * 18 July – Allan Elsom, rugby union player
 * 20 July – Eric Watson, cricketer
 * 26 July – Alister Atkinson, rugby league player
 * 31 July
 * John O'Brien, politician
 * Helen Ryburn, school principal, local-body politician

August

 * 3 August – John Robertson, public servant
 * 5 August – Bob Duff, rugby union player, local-body politician
 * 13 August – Peter Beaven, architect
 * 15 August – James Brown, public servant
 * 23 August – John Armitt, amateur wrestler
 * 28 August – Trevor Young, politician
 * 30 August – Joan Hart, athlete

September

 * 1 September – Te Aue Davis, tohunga raranga
 * 4 September
 * Phil Amos, politician
 * Bruce Stewart, television scriptwriter
 * 19 September – Lyn Forster, arachnologist

October

 * 7 October
 * Bryan Drake, opera singer
 * Bill Wolfgramm, musician
 * 9 October – Bill Schaefer, field hockey player
 * 19 October – David Gould, rower, businessman
 * 21 October – Ian Ballinger, sports shooter
 * 22 October – George Grindley, geologist
 * 23 October – Brian Nordgren, rugby league player
 * 25 October – Donald Brian, cricketer
 * 30 October
 * Audrey Eagle, botanical illustrator
 * Colin Kay, athlete, politician
 * 31 October – Ngaire Lane, swimmer

November

 * 6 November – Ian Cross, novelist, journalist, broadcasting and arts administrator
 * 12 November – Bill Toomath, architect
 * 20 November – Bill Subritzky, property developer, evangelist
 * 23 November – Tui Flower, food writer
 * 26 November – Ross Taylor, geochemist, planetary scientist
 * 27 November – Reginald Johansson, field hockey player
 * 29 November – Peter Jacobson, poet

December

 * 1 December
 * Noeline Gourley, field hockey player, athlete, woodturner
 * Thomas Thorp, jurist
 * 5 December – Jack Tynan, field hockey player, cricketer
 * 10 December – Betty Maker, cricketer
 * 23 December – Ellis Child, cricketer
 * 31 December – Ray Bell, rugby union player

Exact date unknown

 * Nightmarch, Thoroughbred racehorse

January–March

 * 3 January – John Endean, gold miner, hotel proprietor (born 1844)
 * 11 January – Oliver Samuel, politician (born 1849)
 * 13 February – Margaret McKenzie, pioneer (born c. 1839)

April–June

 * 14 April – Don Hamilton, rugby union player, cricketer (born 1883)
 * 27 April – George Williams, rugby union player (born 1856)
 * 10 May – William Massey, politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1912–1925) (born 1856)
 * 15 May – Stephen Boreham, trade unionist (born 1857)
 * 18 May – Sir Theophilus Cooper, jurist (born 1850)
 * 19 May
 * Andrew Cameron, Presbyterian minister, educationalist, community leader (born 1855)
 * Frances Wimperis, artist (born 1840)
 * 21 May – Samuel Kirkpatrick, businessman (born c. 1854)
 * 3 June – Frank Surman, rugby union player, athlete (born c. 1866)

July–September

 * 18 July – John Sinclair, carpenter, builder, harbourmaster (born 1843)
 * 19 July – James Cox, diarist (born 1846)
 * 22 July – William McCullough, politician (born 1843)
 * 5 August – Emily Harris, painter (born c. 1837)
 * 9 August – Catherine Adamson, diarist (born 1868)
 * 19 August – Harriet Morison, trade unionist, suffragist, public servant (born 1862)
 * 1 September – Donald Petrie, botanist (born 1846)
 * 7 September Thomas Ronayne, NZR General Manager (retired)  (born 1849)
 * 15 September – Charles Melvill, military leader (born 1878)
 * 18 September – Charles Hayward Izard, politician (born 1862)
 * 19 September – Henry Reynolds, butter manufacturer and exporter (born 1849)
 * 27 September – Thomas MacGibbon, politician (born 1839)

October–December

 * 2 October – Thomas Hislop, politician (born 1850)
 * 20 November – Charles Mackesy, military leader (born 1861)
 * 28 November – William Joseph Napier, politician (born 1857)
 * 10 December – John Liddell Kelly, journalist, poet (born 1850)
 * 13 December - Isa Outhwaite, watercolour artist, poet, social activist and philanthropist (born 1842)
 * 29 December – John Crewes, Bible Christian minister, social worker, journalist (born 1847)