1959 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1959 in New Zealand.

Population

 * Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,359,700.
 * Increase since 31 December 1958: 43,700 (1.89%).
 * Males per 100 females: 101.0.

Regal and viceregal

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

Government
The 32nd New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the 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 then Dove-Myer Robinson
 * Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite then Denis Rogers
 * Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
 * Mayor of Christchurch – George Manning
 * Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright then Stuart Sidey

Events

 * 30 May: The Auckland Harbour Bridge is opened.
 * 24 November: The coastal trader MV Holmglen sinks near Timaru with the loss of 15 lives.

Arts and literature

 * Ian Cross wins the first Robert Burns Fellowship.

See 1959 in art, 1959 in literature

Music
See: 1959 in music

Radio
See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film
See: Category:1959 film awards, 1959 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1959 films

Athletics

 * Ray Puckett wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:27:28.2 on 7 March in Palmerston North.

Chess

 * The 66th National Chess Championship was held in Hamilton. The title was shared between F.A. Foulds and B.C. Menzies, both of Auckland.

Harness racing

 * New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step (2nd win)
 * Auckland Trotting Cup – Scottish Command

Lawn bowls
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.
 * Men's singles champion – W.R. Fleming Sr (Tuakau Bowling Club)
 * Men's pair champions – G. Bradley, H.J. Thompson (skip) (Whitiora Bowling Club)
 * Men's fours champions – T. Sunde, C. Hill, A. Sunde, M.A. Marinovich (skip) (Oratia Bowling Club)

Rugby union

 * The British Lions team toured New Zealand, losing the Test series 3–1. They also lost two of their 21 provincial games, to Canterbury and Otago.
 * 18 July, Carisbrook, Dunedin: New Zealand 18 – 17 British Isles
 * 15 August, Athletic Park, Wellington: New Zealand 11 – 8 British Isles
 * 29 August, Lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 22 – 8 British Isles
 * 19 September, Eden Park, Auckland: New Zealand 6 – 9 British Isles

Soccer

 * The national men's team played one match against a visiting Costa Rican club side:
 * 6 June, Auckland: NZ 3 – 2 Deportivo Saprissa
 * The Chatham Cup was won by Dunedin team Northern who beat North Shore United 3–2 in the final.
 * Provincial league champions:
 * Auckland:	North Shore United
 * Bay of Plenty:	Kahukura
 * Buller:	Denniston Hotspurs
 * Canterbury:	Western
 * Hawke's Bay:	Napier Athletic
 * Manawatu:	Kiwi United
 * Marlborough:	Woodbourne
 * Nelson:	Rangers
 * Northland:	Otangarei United
 * Otago:	Northern AFC
 * Poverty Bay:	Eastern Union
 * South Canterbury:	West End
 * Southland:	Rovers
 * Taranaki:	Moturoa
 * Waikato:	Hamilton Technical OB
 * Wairarapa:	Douglas Villa
 * Wanganui:	New Settlers
 * Wellington:	Northern

Births

 * 13 April: Justin Boyle , cricketer.
 * 8 May: Ingrid Jagersma, cricketer.
 * 9 May: Andrew Jones , cricketer.
 * 16 May: Greg Johnston, rower.
 * 26 May: Brett Austin , breaststroke swimmer.
 * 28 May: Eric Verdonk, rower.
 * 17 June: Vivienne Gapes, skier.
 * 20 August: David Howard, poet.
 * 4 September: Robbie Deans , rugby player and coach.
 * 14 September: Brendon Bracewell , cricketer.
 * 27 September: Mark Inglis , mountaineer.
 * 3 November: Vaughan Brown , cricketer.
 * 12 December: George Keys, rower.
 * Bianca van Rangelrooy , artist.
 * Harry Sinclair , actor, filmmaker and musician.

Deaths

 * 23 February: Gordon Wilson, Government architect.
 * 8 April: Sir Bill Jordan, politician and diplomat.
 * 8 June: George Dash, politician
 * 7 November: Archie Fisher, painter.
 * 8 November: Walter William Massey, MP and politician
 * 6 December (in Scotland): Edward Hunter a.k.a. Billy Banjo, trade unionist, politician and writer.