1958 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1958 in New Zealand.

Population

 * Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,316,000.
 * Increase since 31 December 1957: 53,200 (2.35%).
 * Males per 100 females: 101.3.

Regal and viceregal

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

Government
The 32nd New Zealand Parliament commenced. In power was the newly elected Labour government led by Walter Nash.


 * Speaker of the House – Robert Macfarlane.
 * Prime Minister – Walter Nash.
 * Deputy Prime Minister – Jerry Skinner.
 * Minister of Finance – Arnold Nordmeyer.
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs – Walter Nash.
 * Attorney-General – Rex Mason.
 * Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough

Parliamentary opposition

 * Leader of the Opposition –  Keith Holyoake (National).

Main centre leaders

 * Mayor of Auckland – Keith Buttle
 * Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite
 * Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
 * Mayor of Christchurch – Robert Macfarlane then George Manning
 * Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright

Events

 * 26 June – 'Black Budget', raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol and petrol, passed by second Labour government.
 * June – New Zealand's first supermarket, Foodtown, opens at Ōtāhuhu.
 * 3 September – Brian Barratt-Boyes performs New Zealand's first open heart surgery at Auckland's Green Lane Hospital.
 * 29 September – The emergency number 111 for fire, police and ambulance is introduced; initially only in Masterton and Carterton.
 * 19 October - A march of over six thousand people is held in Paraparaumu to mark the construction of the Our Lady of Lourdes statue.
 * 15 November - The Wairakei Power Station is commissioned. It is New Zealand's first geothermal power station, and only the second large-scale geothermal power station in the world.
 * United States base for Operation Deep Freeze is established at Christchurch Airport.

Arts and literature

 * The Robert Burns Fellowship is established to honour the bicentenary of the poet's birth.

See 1958 in art, 1958 in literature, Robert Burns Fellowship, Category:1958 books

Music
See: 1958 in music

Radio
See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film
See: Category:1958 film awards, 1958 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1958 films

Athletics

 * Ray Puckett wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:37:28 in Lower Hutt.

Chess

 * The 65th National Chess Championship was held in Christchurch, and was won by J.R. Phillips of Auckland.

Harness racing

 * New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step
 * Auckland Trotting Cup – Macklin

Lawn bowls
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Christchurch.
 * Men's singles champion – Phil Skoglund (Northern Bowling Club)
 * Men's pair champions – C.J. Rogers, James Pirret (skip) (Tuakau Bowling Club)
 * Men's fours champions – W.H. Woods, L.G. Donaldson, A. Connew, Pete Skoglund (skip) (Carlton Bowling Club)

Rugby union

 * The All Blacks played three Test matches against the touring Australian side, retaining the Bledisloe Cup:
 * 23 August, Athletic Park (Wellington), Wellington: New Zealand 25 – 3 Australia
 * 6 September, Lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 3 – 6 Australia
 * 20 September, Epsom Showgrounds, Auckland: New Zealand 17 – 8 Australia

Soccer

 * The national men's team played seven matches including five internationals:
 * 16 August, Wellington: NZ 2 – 3 Australia
 * 23 August, Auckland: NZ 2 – 2 Australia
 * 26 August, Hamilton: NZ 3 – 0 Waikato XI
 * 31 August, Nouméa: NZ 2 – 1 New Caledonia
 * 7 September, Nouméa: NZ 5 – 1 New Caledonia
 * 14 September, Nouméa: NZ 2 – 1 New Caledonia
 * 18 September, Auckland: NZ 1 – 1 Auckland
 * The Chatham Cup was won by Seatoun for the second consecutive year. They beat Christchurch city 7–1 in the final.
 * Provincial league champions:
 * Auckland:	Onehunga
 * Bay of Plenty:	Rangers
 * Buller:	Millerton Thistle
 * Canterbury:	Western
 * Hawke's Bay:	Napier Athletic
 * Manawatu:	Kiwi United
 * Marlborough:	Spartans
 * Nelson:	Settlers
 * Northland:	Marlin Rovers
 * Otago:	Northern AFC
 * Poverty Bay:	Eastern Union
 * South Canterbury:	West End
 * Southland:	Brigadiers
 * Taranaki:	City
 * Waikato:	Hamilton Technical OB
 * Wairarapa:	Masterton Athletic
 * Wanganui:	Wanganui Athletic
 * Wellington:	Seatoun AFC

Births
Category:1958 births
 * 1 January: Lesley Murdoch, cricketer
 * 7 February: Simon Upton, politician
 * 30 March: Peter Ellis, convicted for child abuse
 * 15 April: John Bracewell, cricket player and coach
 * 16 May (in the U.S.A.): Thomas "Tab" Baldwin, basketball coach
 * 27 May: Neil Finn, singer, songwriter
 * 13 September: Philippa Werry, writer
 * 14 September: Jeff Crowe, cricketer
 * 27 September: Mitch Shirra, motorcycle speedway rider
 * 17 November:
 * Frank van Hattum, soccer player
 * Glenn Dods, soccer player
 * 23 November: Martin Snedden, cricketer and sports administrator
 * 30 November: Barry Cooper, cricketer
 * 2 December: Roger Sowry, politician
 * A J Hackett, extreme sports entrepreneur
 * (in Zambia): Vicky Jones, children's author
 * Pio Terei, actor, singer and comedian
 * Jools and Lynda Topp (the Topp Twins), entertainers
 * Jane Wrightson, chief censor

Deaths
Category:1958 deaths
 * 12 March – Bill Barnard, politician, 10th Speaker of the House of Representatives
 * 1 June – Fred Baker, soldier
 * 2 June – Robert William Smith, politician
 * 17 July – William Taverner, MP and mayor of Dunedin
 * 27 July – William Montgomery Jr., politician
 * 9 October – Merton Hodge, playwright
 * 25 October – James Chapman-Taylor, architect