# 1972 in New Zealand

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive
The following lists events that happened during 1972 in New Zealand.

## Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,959,700.
* Increase since 31 December 1971: 61,200 (2.11%).
* Males per 100 females: 99.7.

## Incumbents
### Regal and viceregal

* Head of State – Elizabeth II
* Governor-General – Sir Arthur Porritt Bt GCMG GCVO CBE, followed by Sir Denis Blundell GCMG GCVO KBE QSO.

### Government

The 36th Parliament of New Zealand concluded. A general election was held on 25 November and saw the second National government defeated by a large margin, with the Labour Party winning 55 of 87 seats in Parliament.
* Speaker of the House – Roy Jack until 8 December, then Alfred Allen.
* Prime Minister – Keith Holyoake then Jack Marshall then Norman Kirk
* Deputy Prime Minister – Jack Marshall then Robert Muldoon then Hugh Watt.
* Minister of Finance – Robert Muldoon then Bill Rowling.
* Minister of Foreign Affairs – Keith Holyoake then Jack Marshall then Norman Kirk.
* Attorney-General – Dan Riddiford until 9 February, then Roy Jack until 8 December, then Martyn Finlay.
* Chief Justice — Sir Richard Wild

### Parliamentary opposition

* Leader of the Opposition – Norman Kirk (Labour) until 8 December, then Jack Marshall (National).

### Main centre leaders

* Mayor of Auckland – Dove-Myer Robinson
* Mayor of Hamilton – Mike Minogue
* Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
* Mayor of Christchurch – Neville Pickering
* Mayor of Dunedin – Jim Barnes

## Events

* 7 February – Jack Marshall replaces Keith Holyoake as prime minister.
* 14 September – As a part of the Māori protest movement, activist group Ngā Tamatoa, the Te Reo Māori Society of Victoria University, and Te Huinga Rangatahi (the New Zealand Māori Students’ Association) presented a petition signed by over 33,000 people calling for te Reo Māori to be taught in schools, leading to the creation of te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) in 1975, and a revitalisation of Māori language.
* 20 October – Restrictions on the manufacture and sale of margarine in New Zealand are removed.
* 25 November – The 1972 general election is held. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, wins 55 of the 87 seats and forms the third Labour government.
* 3 December – Qantas commences the first Boeing 747 service in New Zealand, between Christchurch and Sydney.
* 8 December – Qantas commences Boeing 747 service between Auckland and Sydney.
* Chile and New Zealand establish embassies in each other's capitals.
* The Values Party is formed.
* Mount Ngauruhoe erupts.

## Arts and literature

* Ian Wedde wins the Robert Burns Fellowship.
See 1972 in art, 1972 in literature

### Music
#### New Zealand Music Awards

* Loxene Golden Disc Suzanne – Sunshine Through A Prism
* Loxene Golden Disc Creation – Carolina
See: 1972 in music

### Performing arts

* Benny Award presented by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand to Jon Zealando and Lou Clauson QSM.

### Radio and Television

* The Broadcasting Authority in March grants the right to broadcast a second television channel to the private consortium Independent Television Corporation. After the election of the Labour Government in November, Norman Kirk announces the second channel will be run by NZBC.
* In September, the first live broadcast of an All Black match takes place. The All Blacks played against Australia. Archived 22 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
* Feltex Television Awards:
** Best Programme: Charlie's Rock – Pukemanu
** Outstanding Performance: Peter Sinclair in Golden Disc Award
** Best Drama: Charlie's Rock – Pukemanu
See: 1972 in New Zealand television, 1972 in television, List of TVNZ television programming, Public broadcasting in New Zealand

### Film

* To Love a Māori
See: 1972 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand

## Sport
### Athletics

* Field events within New Zealand switch from imperial to metric measurements. Track events changed earlier in 1969.
* David McKenzie wins his fourth and last national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:14:11.2 on 11 March in Dunedin.

### Chess

* The 79th National Chess Championship is held in Hamilton, and is won by R.J. Sutton of Auckland (his third title).

### Horse racing
#### Harness racing

* New Zealand Trotting Cup: Globe Bay
* Auckland Trotting Cup: Royal Ascot

### Olympic Games
#### Summer Olympics

| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
* New Zealand sends a team of 89 competitors.

#### Winter Olympics

| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* New Zealand sends a team of two alpine skiers.

### Paralympic Games
#### Summer Paralympics

* New Zealand sends a team of 10 competitors.
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |

### Soccer

* New Zealand National Soccer League won by Mt. Wellington AFC
* The Chatham Cup is won by Christchurch United who met Mount Wellington.
** Final 4-4 after extra time
** First replay 1-1 after extra time
** Second replay 2-1

## Births

* 3 January: Shaun Longstaff, rugby player
* 9 January: Gary Stead, cricketer
* 3 March: Peter O'Leary, soccer referee
* 27 March: David Bain, originally served 12 years for murder of his family, conviction quashed by Privy Council and subsequently found not guilty at retrial.
* 29 March: Paul Kent, swimmer
* 12 April: Jenny Shepherd, field hockey player
* 17 April: Dylan Mika, All Black (died 20 March 2018)
* 16 May: Matthew Hart, cricketer
* 3 June: Robert Kennedy, cricketer
* 7 June: Karl Urban, actor
* 11 June: Stephen Kearney, rugby league player and coach
* 21 June (in South Africa): Irene van Dyk, netball player
* 4 July: Craig Spearman, cricketer
* 12 August: Tony Marsh, rugby player
* 6 October: Brooke Howard-Smith, broadcaster.
* 27 October: John Steel, swimmer
* 16 December: Angela Bloomfield, actress
* 18 December: Julian Arahanga, actor
* 20 December: Jonathan Wyatt, long-distance runner
* Veeshayne Armstrong, television presenter.
* (in Britain): Warwick Murray, academic.
* (in Hong Kong): Jack Yan, publisher, designer and businessman

## Deaths
### March

* 2 March – Billy Wallace, rugby player and All Black (born 1878)
* 4 March – Major-General Sir Harold Barrowclough, former chief justice (born 1894)

### April

* 14 April – Bert Hawthorne, motor racing driver (born 1943)

### July

* 10 July – Charles Bowden, politician (born 1886)

### August

* 8 August – Agnes Weston, politician (MLC) (born 1879)

### September

* 8 September – Harold Temple White, music teacher, conductor, organist and composer (born 1881)

### October

* 5 October – Jim Barclay, politician (born 1882)
* 8 October – Laurie Brownlie, rugby player and All Black (born 1899)
* 20 October – John Pascoe, photographer and mountaineer (born 1908)
* 22 October – James K. Baxter, poet (born 1926)

### December

* 11 December – John Mills, cricketer (born 1905)
* 26 December – Ronald Hugh Morrieson, writer (born 1922)