1954 in New Zealand
The following lists events that happened during 1954 in New Zealand.
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Population
- Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,118,400[1]
- Increase since 31 December 1953: 43,700 (2.11%)
- Males per 100 females: 101.2
Incumbents
Regal and viceregal
- Head of State – Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, from 6 February 1952
- Governor-General – Lieutenant-General The Lord Norrie GCMG GCVO CB DSO MC, from 1952–1957[2]
Government
The 30th New Zealand Parliament expired this year. The National Party was elected to a third term in office under Sidney Holland on 13 November.
- Speaker of the House – Matthew Oram from 1950 to 1957
- Prime Minister – Sidney Holland from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957.
- Deputy Prime Minister – Keith Holyoake from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957.
- Minister of Finance – Sidney Holland until November, followed by Jack Watts
- Minister of Foreign Affairs – Clifton Webb from 19 September 1951 to 26 November 1954, followed by Tom Macdonald
- Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough
Parliamentary opposition
Main centre leaders
- Mayor of Auckland – John Luxford from 1953–1956
- Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite from 1953–1959
- Mayor of Wellington – Robert Macalister from 1950–1956
- Mayor of Christchurch – Robert M. Macfarlane from 1938–1941 and again from 1950–1958
- Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright from 1950–1959
Events
- 12 January: 50,000 people mass in Wellington as Elizabeth II attends the state opening of Parliament.[4]
- 30 January: The Royal tour by Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh concludes at Bluff as they depart on the SS Gothic[5]
- 23 June – Teenagers Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme are arrested for the murder of Parker's mother.
- 20 September – the Mazengarb Report on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents is presented to Parliament.
- 8 November – eighteen-year-old golf amateur Bob Charles causes a sensation by beating a top international field to win the New Zealand Golf Open
- 13 November – the National Party wins re-election at a general election
- Hastings becomes the first town in New Zealand to fluoridate its water supply.[6]
Arts and literature
See 1954 in art, 1954 in literature, Category:1954 books
Music
See: 1954 in music
Radio
- 2 January – First radio episode of It's in the Bag, hosted by Selwyn Toogood[7]
Film
See: Category:1954 film awards, 1954 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1954 films
Sport
Athletics
- 20 February: Yvette Williams breaks the world long jump record by jumping 20 feet 7½ inches (6.28 metres) at Gisborne.[8]
- Edwin Rye wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:35:45 on 6 March in Hamilton, New Zealand.
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
 Gold |  Silver |  Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 7 | 5 | 19 |
Chess
- The 61st National Chess Championship is held in Wellington, and is won by Ortvin Sarapu of Auckland (his third successive title).[9]
Harness racing
Lawn bowls
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Christchurch.[12]
- Men's singles champion – Robin Andrew (Onehunga Bowling Club)
- Men's pair champions – N.A. McNabb, C.L. Spearman (skip) (Christchurch RSA Bowling Club)
- Men's fours champions – J. Rothwell, H.L. Rule, W. O'Neill, Pete Skoglund (skip) (Otahuhu Bowling Club)
Rugby union
- The All Blacks played four Test Matches on a tour of Europe:[13]
- 9 January, Lansdowne Road, Dublin: New Zealand 14 – 3 Ireland
- 30 January, Twickenham, London: New Zealand 5 – 0 England
- 13 February, Murrayfield, Edinburgh New Zealand 3 – 0 Scotland
- 27 February, Stade Colombes, Paris: New Zealand 0 – 3 France
Soccer
- The national men's team undertook a 10-match tour of Australia, which included 3 internationals. They played one warm-up match prior to the tour.[14]
- 31 July, Wellington: NZ 6 – 0 Wellington
- 3 August, Adelaide: NZ 3 – 2 South Australia
- 7 August, Adelaide: NZ 3 – 1 Australian XI
- 11 August, Melbourne: NZ 1 – 2 Victoria
- 14 August, Melbourne: NZ 2 – 1 Australia
- 18 August, Granville: NZ 0 – 3 Granville
- 21 August, Sydney: NZ 4 – 1 New South Wales Benge (2), Charlton, Olley
- 25 August, Brisbane: NZ 2 – 2 Queensland Smith, Steele
- 28 August, Brisbane: NZ 1 – 4 Australia'
- 29 August, Newcastle: NZ 1 – 1 Northern Districts Smith
- 4 September, Sydney: NZ 1 – 4 Australia
- 5 September, Bulli: NZ 4 – 4 South Coast
- The Chatham Cup is won by Onehunga who beat Western of Christchurch 1–0 in the final.[15]
- Provincial league champions:[16]
- Auckland: North Shore United
- Bay of Plenty: Mangakino Utd
- Buller: Millerton Thistle
- Canterbury: Western
- Hawke's Bay: Hastings Wanderers
- Manawatu: Palmerston North United
- Nelson: Settlers
- Northland: Otangarei United
- Otago: Northern
- Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
- South Canterbury: Northern Hearts
- Southland: Brigadiers
- Taranaki: Old Boys
- Waikato: Huntly Thistle
- Wanganui: New Settlers
- Wellington: Stop Out
Births
- 17 March: Peter Dunne, politician
- 30 April: Jane Campion, film director.
- 11 May: Murray Haszard, technology entrepreneur.
- 15 June: Larry Ross, motorcycle speedway rider.
- 17 June: Trevor Mallard, politician
- 5 July: John Wright, cricket player and coach
- 24 October: Tu Wyllie, politician
- 18 November: Evan Gray, cricketer
- 24 December: Graham Sligo, field hockey player
Category:1954 births
Deaths
- 7 May: Cyril Brownlie, rugby union player.
- 26 May: Frederick Doidge, former cabinet minister and New Zealand High Commissioner (London)
- 1 June: Charles E. Major, politician.
- 5 June: Alexander Stuart, politician
- 1 August: Arthur Stallworthy, politician.
- 7 December: George William Smith, athlete, rugby union and league player.
- John Buckland Wright, engraver.
Category:1954 deaths
See also
- List of years in New Zealand
- Timeline of New Zealand history
- History of New Zealand
- Military history of New Zealand
- Timeline of the New Zealand environment
- Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica
For world events and topics in 1954 not specifically related to New Zealand see: 1954
References
- "Historical population estimates tables". Statistics New Zealand.
- Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
- "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
- Today in History | NZHistory
- NZHistory.net - includes video
- (Ministry of Health) Archived 23 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- nzhistory.net.nz
- List of New Zealand Chess Champions Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- "List of NZ Trotting cup winners". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
- Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- McLintock, A.H., ed. (1966). "Bowls, men's outdoor—tournament winners". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- Pick and Go Rugby Tests database
- List of New Zealand national soccer matches
- Chatham Cup records, nzsoccer.com Archived 14 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.
External links
Media related to 1954 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons
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