# 1961 in New Zealand

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive
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.

## Incumbents
### 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

## Events
### 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.

### December
## 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. Archived 15 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
* 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

## Sport
### 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)

### Horse racing
#### 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

* 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.
Category:1961 births

## 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.