# 1958 in New Zealand

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive
The following lists events that happened during 1958 in New Zealand.

## Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,316,000.
* Increase since 31 December 1957: 53,200 (2.35%).
* Males per 100 females: 101.3.

## Incumbents
### Regal and viceregal

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

### Government

The 32nd New Zealand Parliament commenced. In power was the newly elected 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
* Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite
* Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
* Mayor of Christchurch – Robert Macfarlane then George Manning
* Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright

## Events

* 26 June – 'Black Budget', raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol and petrol, passed by second Labour government.
* June – New Zealand's first supermarket, Foodtown, opens at Ōtāhuhu.
* 3 September – Brian Barratt-Boyes performs New Zealand's first open heart surgery at Auckland's Green Lane Hospital.
* 29 September – The emergency number 111 for fire, police and ambulance is introduced; initially only in Masterton and Carterton.
* 19 October - A march of over six thousand people is held in Paraparaumu to mark the construction of the Our Lady of Lourdes statue.
* 15 November - The Wairakei Power Station is commissioned. It is New Zealand's first geothermal power station, and only the second large-scale geothermal power station in the world.
* United States base for Operation Deep Freeze is established at Christchurch Airport.

## Arts and literature

* The Robert Burns Fellowship is established to honour the bicentenary of the poet's birth.
See 1958 in art, 1958 in literature, Robert Burns Fellowship, Category:1958 books

### Music

See: 1958 in music

### Radio

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

### Film

See: Category:1958 film awards, 1958 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1958 films

## Sport
### Athletics

* Ray Puckett wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:37:28 in Lower Hutt.

### British Empire and Commonwealth Games

| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 4 | 6 | 9 | 19 |

### Chess

* The 65th National Chess Championship was held in Christchurch, and was won by J.R. Phillips of Auckland.

### Horse racing
#### Harness racing

* New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step
* Auckland Trotting Cup – Macklin

### Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Christchurch.
* Men's singles champion – Phil Skoglund (Northern Bowling Club)
* Men's pair champions – C.J. Rogers, James Pirret (skip) (Tuakau Bowling Club)
* Men's fours champions – W.H. Woods, L.G. Donaldson, A. Connew, Pete Skoglund (skip) (Carlton Bowling Club)

### Rugby union

* The All Blacks played three Test matches against the touring Australian side, retaining the Bledisloe Cup:
** 23 August, Athletic Park (Wellington), Wellington: New Zealand 25 – 3 Australia
** 6 September, Lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 3 – 6 Australia
** 20 September, Epsom Showgrounds, Auckland: New Zealand 17 – 8 Australia

### Soccer

* The national men's team played seven matches including five internationals:
** 16 August, Wellington: NZ 2 – 3 Australia
** 23 August, Auckland: NZ 2 – 2 Australia
** 26 August, Hamilton: NZ 3 – 0 Waikato XI
** 31 August, Nouméa: NZ 2 – 1 New Caledonia
** 7 September, Nouméa: NZ 5 – 1 New Caledonia
** 14 September, Nouméa: NZ 2 – 1 New Caledonia
** 18 September, Auckland: NZ 1 – 1 Auckland
* The Chatham Cup was won by Seatoun for the second consecutive year. They beat Christchurch city 7–1 in the final.
* Provincial league champions:
** Auckland: Onehunga
** Bay of Plenty: Rangers
** Buller: Millerton Thistle
** Canterbury: Western
** Hawke's Bay: Napier Athletic
** Manawatu: Kiwi United
** Marlborough: Spartans
** Nelson: Settlers
** Northland: Marlin Rovers
** Otago: Northern AFC
** Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
** South Canterbury: West End
** Southland: Brigadiers
** Taranaki: City
** Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
** Wairarapa: Masterton Athletic
** Wanganui: Wanganui Athletic
** Wellington: Seatoun AFC

## Births

* 1 January: Lesley Murdoch, cricketer
* 7 February: Simon Upton, politician
* 30 March: Peter Ellis, convicted for child abuse
* 15 April: John Bracewell, cricket player and coach
* 16 May (in the U.S.A.): Thomas "Tab" Baldwin, basketball coach
* 27 May: Neil Finn, singer, songwriter
* 13 September: Philippa Werry, writer
* 14 September: Jeff Crowe, cricketer
* 27 September: Mitch Shirra, motorcycle speedway rider
* 17 November:
** Frank van Hattum, soccer player
** Glenn Dods, soccer player
* 23 November: Martin Snedden, cricketer and sports administrator
* 30 November: Barry Cooper, cricketer
* 2 December: Roger Sowry, politician
* A J Hackett, extreme sports entrepreneur
* (in Zambia): Vicky Jones, children's author
* Pio Terei, actor, singer and comedian
* Jools and Lynda Topp (the Topp Twins), entertainers
* Jane Wrightson, chief censor
Category:1958 births

## Deaths

* 12 March – Bill Barnard, politician, 10th Speaker of the House of Representatives
* 1 June – Fred Baker, soldier
* 2 June – Robert William Smith, politician
* 17 July – William Taverner, MP and mayor of Dunedin
* 27 July – William Montgomery Jr., politician
* 9 October – Merton Hodge, playwright
* 25 October – James Chapman-Taylor, architect
Category:1958 deaths