1961 in New Zealand

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

Population

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

Regal and viceregal

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

Government

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

Parliamentary opposition

 * Leader of the Opposition –  Walter Nash (Labour)

Main centre leaders

 * 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

January

 * The Ohakuri hydroelectric power plant starts operation.

April

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

June

 * 1 June – Television begin transmission in Christchurch

July

 * 1 July – Television begin transmission in Wellington.

October

 * 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.

Arts and literature

 * John Caselburg wins the Robert Burns Fellowship.

See 1961 in art, 1961 in literature

Music
See: 1961 in music

Radio and television

 * Auckland television is extended to seven nights a week, two and a half hours a night. On 4 April, Auckland television went commercial.
 * Television transmission began in Christchurch (a year later than Auckland) on 1 June. Wellington followed four weeks later, on 1 July.

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

Athletics

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

Chess

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

Cricket

 * New Zealand tours South Africa (spanning December 1961 – February 1962) and drew the 5-Test series 2-2:
 * 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)

Harness racing

 * New Zealand Trotting Cup – Invicta
 * Auckland Trotting Cup – Cardigan Bay

Lawn bowls
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Auckland.
 * 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

 * France tour New Zealand, losing all three Test matches:
 * 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

 * An English FA XI tours New Zealand, handing out two heavy defeats to the national men's team.
 * 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.
 * Provincial league champions:
 * 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
Category:1961 births
 * 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.

Deaths

 * 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.