# 1959 in New Zealand

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive
The following lists events that happened during 1959 in New Zealand.

## Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,359,700.
* Increase since 31 December 1958: 43,700 (1.89%).
* Males per 100 females: 101.0.

## Incumbents
### Regal and viceregal

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

### Government

The 32nd New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the 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 then Dove-Myer Robinson
* Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite then Denis Rogers
* Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
* Mayor of Christchurch – George Manning
* Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright then Stuart Sidey

## Events

* 30 May: The Auckland Harbour Bridge is opened.
* 24 November: The coastal trader MV Holmglen sinks near Timaru with the loss of 15 lives.

## Arts and literature

* Ian Cross wins the first Robert Burns Fellowship.
See 1959 in art, 1959 in literature

### Music

See: 1959 in music

### Radio

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

### Film

See: Category:1959 film awards, 1959 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1959 films

## Sport
### Athletics

    Ray Puckett wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:27:28.2 on 7 March in Palmerston North.

### Chess

* The 66th National Chess Championship was held in Hamilton. The title was shared between F.A. Foulds and B.C. Menzies, both of Auckland.

### Horse racing
#### Harness racing

* New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step (2nd win)
* Auckland Trotting Cup – Scottish Command

### Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.
* Men's singles champion – W.R. Fleming Sr (Tuakau Bowling Club)
* Men's pair champions – G. Bradley, H.J. Thompson (skip) (Whitiora Bowling Club)
* Men's fours champions – T. Sunde, C. Hill, A. Sunde, M.A. Marinovich (skip) (Oratia Bowling Club)

### Rugby union

* The British Lions team toured New Zealand, losing the Test series 3–1. They also lost two of their 21 provincial games, to Canterbury and Otago.
** 18 July, Carisbrook, Dunedin: New Zealand 18 – 17 British Isles
** 15 August, Athletic Park, Wellington: New Zealand 11 – 8 British Isles
** 29 August, Lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 22 – 8 British Isles
** 19 September, Eden Park, Auckland: New Zealand 6 – 9 British Isles

### Soccer

* The national men's team played one match against a visiting Costa Rican club side:
** 6 June, Auckland: NZ 3 – 2 Deportivo Saprissa
* The Chatham Cup was won by Dunedin team Northern who beat North Shore United 3–2 in the final.
* Provincial league champions:
** Auckland: North Shore United
** Bay of Plenty: Kahukura
** Buller: Denniston Hotspurs
** Canterbury: Western
** Hawke's Bay: Napier Athletic
** Manawatu: Kiwi United
** Marlborough: Woodbourne
** Nelson: Rangers
** Northland: Otangarei United
** Otago: Northern AFC
** Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
** South Canterbury: West End
** Southland: Rovers
** Taranaki: Moturoa
** Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
** Wairarapa: Douglas Villa
** Wanganui: New Settlers
** Wellington: Northern

## Births

* 13 April: Justin Boyle , cricketer.
* 8 May: Ingrid Jagersma, cricketer.
* 9 May: Andrew Jones , cricketer.
* 16 May: Greg Johnston, rower.
* 26 May: Brett Austin , breaststroke swimmer.
* 28 May: Eric Verdonk, rower.
* 17 June: Vivienne Gapes, skier.
* 20 August: David Howard, poet.
* 4 September: Robbie Deans , rugby player and coach.
* 14 September: Brendon Bracewell , cricketer.
* 27 September: Mark Inglis , mountaineer.
* 3 November: Vaughan Brown , cricketer.
* 12 December: George Keys, rower.
* Bianca van Rangelrooy , artist.
* Harry Sinclair , actor, filmmaker and musician.

## Deaths

* 23 February: Gordon Wilson, Government architect.
* 8 April: Sir Bill Jordan, politician and diplomat.
* 8 June: George Dash, politician
* 7 November: Archie Fisher, painter.
* 8 November: Walter William Massey, MP and politician
* 6 December (in Scotland): Edward Hunter a.k.a. Billy Banjo, trade unionist, politician and writer.