# 1960 in New Zealand

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive
The following lists events that happened during 1960 in New Zealand.

## Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,403,600.
* Increase since 31 December 1959: 43,900 (1.86%).
* 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 Second Labour government under Walter Nash. The general election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin, and replaced by the Second National government.
* Speaker of the House – Robert Macfarlane.
* Prime Minister – Walter Nash then Keith Holyoake
* Deputy Prime Minister – Jerry Skinner then Jack Marshall.
* Minister of Finance – Arnold Nordmeyer then Harry Lake.
* Minister of Foreign Affairs – Walter Nash then Keith Holyoake.
* Attorney-General – Rex Mason, then Ralph Hanan.
* Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough

### Parliamentary opposition

* Leader of the Opposition – Keith Holyoake (National) until 12 December, then 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

* Passing of the Waitangi Day Act 1960, first step towards a national day.
* 26 November: 1960 New Zealand general election

## Arts and literature

* Maurice Duggan wins the Robert Burns Fellowship.
See 1960 in art, 1960 in literature

### Music

See: 1960 in music

### Radio and television

* 1 June: At 7.30 pm New Zealand's first official television transmission begins. For the first six weeks programs are limited to two hours a night and two nights a week. In mid-July this is extended to four nights a week. A television licence fee of £4 per year is introduced in August.

### Film

See: Category:1960 film awards, 1960 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1960 films

## Sport

* See: 1960 in sports, Category:1960 in sports

### Athletics

* Ray Puckett wins his third national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:23:12.6 on 8 March in Invercargill.

### Chess

* The 67th National Chess Championship was held in Dunedin, and was won by Ortvin Sarapu of Auckland.

### Cricket

* The Australian team toured but games against the national side did not have Test status.
* Plunket Shield was won by Canterbury (1959-1960 season)

### Horse racing
#### Harness racing

* New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step (3rd win)
* Auckland Trotting Cup – Damian

### Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Dunedin.
* Men's singles champion – Stanley Snedden (Linwood Bowling Club)
* Men's pair champions – E.H. Taylor, Pete Skoglund (skip) (Carlton Bowling Club)
* Men's fours champions – H. Roy, J. Scott, B. Moore, Bill O'Neill (skip) (Carlton Bowling Club)

### Olympic Games
#### Summer Olympics

| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
* New Zealand enters 38 competitors in nine sports, winning two gold (Peter Snell – Athletics, Men's 800m, Murray Halberg – Athletics, Men's 5,000m) and one bronze (Barry Magee – Athletics, Men's Marathon) medals.

#### Winter Olympics

| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* New Zealand enters the Winter Olympics for the second time, with a team of four competitors.

### Rugby league

* New Zealand national rugby league team
* Rugby League World Cup

### Rugby union

* The All Blacks toured South Africa, losing the four-test series 2–1 with one game drawn.
** 25 June, Ellis Park, Johannesburg: New Zealand 0 – 13 South Africa
** 23 July, Newlands, Cape Town: New Zealand 11 – 3 South Africa
** 13 Aug, Free State Stadium, Blomfontein: New Zealand 11 – 11 South Africa
** 27 August, Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth: New Zealand 3 – 8 South
* Ranfurly Shield: Auckland managed successful defences against Thames Valley (22-6) and Counties (14-3) before losing to North Auckland, 17–11. North Auckland managed to defend the shield against Poverty Bay, (24-3) before losing 3–6 to Auckland. Auckland held the shield for the remainder of the season, beating Manawatu (31-8), Bay of Plenty (9-6), Wellington (22-9), Taranaki (25-6) and Canterbury (19-18).

### Soccer

* The national men's team made a short tour to Tahiti.
** 5 September, Papeete: NZ 5 – 1 Tahiti
** 8 September, Papeete: NZ 8 – 0 Tahiti Juniors
** 12 September, Papeete: NZ 2 – 1 Tahiti
* Chatham Cup won by North Shore United, who beat Technical Old Boys (of Christchurch) 5–3 in the final.
* Provincial league champions:
** Auckland: North Shore United
** Bay of Plenty: Kahukura
** Buller: Waimangaroa United
** Canterbury: Western
** Franklin: Papatoetoe
** Hawke's Bay: Napier Rovers
** Manawatu: Kiwi United
** Marlborough: Woodbourne
** Nelson: Athletic
** Northland: Otangarei United
** Otago: Northern AFC
** Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
** South Canterbury: Thistle
** Southland: Invercargill Thistle
** Taranaki: Moturoa
** Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
** Wairarapa: YMCA
** Wanganui: Blue Rovers
** Wellington: Railways
** West Coast: Cobden-Kohinoor

## Births

* 21 January: Phil Horne, cricketer
* 15 February: Michael James "Jock" Hobbs, rugby player and administrator
* 6 April: Richard Loe, rugby player
* 10 April – Rex Wilson, long-distance runner
* 2 May – Rhys Jones, New Zealand Army officer
* 14 May: Frank Nobilo, golfer
* 7 June: Lianne Dalziel, politician
* 15 July: Gary Robertson, cricketer
* 9 September: Chris White, rower
* 29 September: Tau Henare, politician
* 1 November: Jenny Bornholdt, poet
* 17 December: Steve Walsh, long jumper
* 26 December: Temuera Morrison, actor

## Deaths

* 17 January Andrew Kennaway Henderson, illustrator, cartoonist and pacifist. (b. 1879)
* 1 June Alfred Murdoch, politician. (b. 1877)
* 25 July Edgar Neale, politician. (b. 1889)
* 10 September: Sir Harold Gillies, plastic surgery pioneer (b. 1882)
* 8 October Sir William Polson, politician. (b. 1875)
* 29 November Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell, soldier. (b. 1868)