1965 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1965 in New Zealand.

Population

 * Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,663,800.
 * Increase since 31 December 1964: 46,800 (1.79%).
 * Males per 100 females: 100.7.

Regal and viceregal

 * Head of State – Elizabeth II
 * Governor-General – Brigadier Sir Bernard Fergusson GCMG GCVO DSO OBE.

Government
The 34th Parliament of New Zealand continued, with the 2nd National government in power.
 * 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 –  Arnold Nordmeyer (Labour) until 16 December, then  Norman Kirk (Labour).

Main centre leaders

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

Events

 * 27 March – A Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) Lockheed L-188 Electra on a training flight crashes and catches fire on landing at Whenuapai Airport. All occupants escape with only one minor injury.
 * 1 April – TEAL is renamed Air New Zealand.
 * 11 April – Qantas launches the first trans-Tasman jet service, between Christchurch and Sydney using Boeing 707 aircraft.
 * 13 April – An explosion and fire at the General Plastics factory in Masterton kills four people and injures four others.
 * April – The HVDC Inter-Island link is completed, connecting the North Island's electricity network and the South Island's electricity network together.
 * 15 May – Benmore Dam is officially opened by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake.
 * 27 May – Vietnam War: Prime Minister Keith Holyoake announces New Zealand will send its first combat forces, an artillery battery, to South Vietnam.
 * 20 July – A 33-hour prison riot breaks out at Mount Eden Prison, Auckland, with inmates setting fire to large parts of the prison.
 * 10 August – New Zealand recognises Singapore as an independent sovereign state, one day after Singapore's expulsion from the Malaysian Federation.
 * 31 August – New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement signed.
 * 3 November – Riccarton Mall, the South Island's first indoor shopping mall, opens to shoppers.

Arts and literature

 * Janet Frame wins the Robert Burns Fellowship.

See 1965 in art, 1965 in literature

New Zealand Music Awards
Loxene Golden Disc Ray Columbus & The Invaders – Till We Kissed

See: 1965 in music

Radio and television

 * Television in the "four main centres" (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) is now broadcast seven nights a week. Broadcasting now totals 50 hours a week.
 * There are 300,000 television licences.
 * 28 August – Christchurch's CHTV-3 switches to the new Sugarloaf transmitter in the Port Hills.
 * The broadcast relay station at Mount Studholme is commissioned, extending television coverage to South Canterbury.
 * New Zealand Television Workshop awards:
 * Best Factual: Compass
 * Best Light Entertainment: In the Groove
 * Best Children's Series: Junior Magazine with Jasmine

See: 1965 in New Zealand television, 1965 in television, List of TVNZ television programming, Category:Television in New Zealand, Category:New Zealand television shows, Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film
See: Category:1965 film awards, 1965 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1965 films

Athletics

 * Ray Puckett wins his fifth national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:24:26.8 on 13 March in Dunedin.

Chess

 * The 72nd National Chess Championships are held in Wellington. The winner is J.R. Phillips of Wellington

Harness racing

 * New Zealand Trotting Cup – Gary Dillon
 * Auckland Trotting Cup – Robin Dundee

Lawn bowls
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Auckland.
 * Men's singles champion – Ron Buchan (Tui Park Bowling Club)
 * Men's pair champions – Norm Lash, C.D. McGarry (skip) (Carlton Bowling Club)
 * Men's fours champions – J. Miller, G. MacRae, A. Cotton, P. Jones (skip) (Otahuhu Railway Bowling Club)

Soccer

 * The Chatham Cup is won by Eastern Suburbs of Auckland who beat Saint Kilda 4–1 in the final.
 * Provincial league champions:
 * Bay of Plenty:	Rangers
 * Buller:	Granity Athletic
 * Canterbury:	Christchurch City
 * Hawke's Bay:	Napier Rovers
 * Manawatu:	Kiwi United
 * Marlborough:	Woodbourne
 * Nelson:	Rangers
 * Otago:	St Kilda
 * Poverty Bay:	Eastern Union
 * South Canterbury:	West End
 * Southland:	Invercargill Thistle
 * Taranaki:	Moturoa
 * Wairarapa:	Masterton Athletic
 * Wanganui:	Wanganui Athletic
 * Wellington:	Diamond
 * West Coast:	Cobden-Kohinoor
 * The Northern League is formed, incorporating top teams from Northland, Auckland, Franklin and Waikato. The first League champions are Eastern Suburbs of Auckland.

Births

 * 10 January: John Radovonich, field hockey player.
 * 11 February: Eric Rush, rugby union and rugby sevens player.
 * 14 February: Zinzan Brooke, rugby player.
 * 15 February: Jamie Smith, field hockey player.
 * 15 March: Robyn Malcolm actor
 * 4 April: Gail Jonson, swimmer.
 * 8 April: Michael Jones, rugby player.
 * 22 April: Carmel Clark, swimmer.
 * 28 May (in Britain): Alan Henderson, bobsleigh pilot
 * 28 June: Duane Mann, rugby league player.
 * 29 July: Paresh Patel, field hockey player.
 * 31 August: Willie Watson, cricketer.
 * 1 September: Tania Roxborogh, writer.
 * 7 September: Tea Ropati, rugby league player.
 * 21 September: Belinda Cordwell, tennis player.
 * 26 October: Ken Rutherford, cricketer.
 * 24 November: Nyla Carroll, long-distance runner.
 * 18 December: Anna Doig, freestyle and butterfly swimmer.
 * John Leigh, actor.
 * Se'e Solomona, rugby league player.
 * Hilary Timmins, television presenter.

Deaths

 * 21 June: Thomas Hislop, Jr., Mayor of Wellington 1931-45 (in Montreal, Canada).
 * 10 September: John Weeks, painter.
 * 10 September: Walter Broadfoot, politician.