1976 in New Zealand

1976 in New Zealand
The following lists events that happened during 1976 in New Zealand.
Population
Estimated population as of 31 December: 3,163,400.
Increase since 31 December 1975: 19,700 (0.63%).
Males per 100 females: 99.5.
Incumbents
Regal and viceregal
Head of State – Elizabeth II
Governor-General – Sir Denis Blundell GCMG GCVO KBE QSO.
Government
Speaker of the House – Roy Jack.
Prime Minister – Robert Muldoon
Deputy Prime Minister – Brian Talboys.
Minister of Finance – Robert Muldoon.
Minister of Foreign Affairs – Brian Talboys.
Attorney-General – Peter Wilkinson.
Chief Justice — Sir Richard Wild
Parliamentary opposition
Leader of the Opposition – Bill Rowling (Labour).
Main centre leaders
Mayor of Auckland – Dove-Myer Robinson
Mayor of Hamilton – Mike Minogue then Bruce Beetham
Mayor of Wellington – Michael Fowler
Mayor of Christchurch – Hamish Hay
Mayor of Dunedin – Jim Barnes
Events
28 February – Nelson by-election – Mel Courtney (Labour) elected to replace the late Stan Whitehead.
1 April – The New Zealand Fire Service is formed, following the nationwide merger of urban fire boards and fire brigades brought about by the Fire Service Act 1975.
9 April – Upper Hutt becomes the first telephone exchange to implement subscriber toll dialling, allowing national calls to be made without operator assistance.
7 June – The nation's first McDonald's restaurant opens in central Porirua; a Big Mac initially cost 75c.
17 July – 1 August – New Zealand competes at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, despite 28 African nations boycotting the games over New Zealand's sporting ties with apartheid South Africa. The nation wins four medals: two gold, one silver and one bronze.
15 September – The Union Company's Lyttelton to Wellington ferry service is cancelled, having operated since 1895 and by the Ministry of Transport since 1974, facing increased competition from air travel and the Railways' Cook Strait ferry service.
1 November – The Waitangi Day Act 1976 commences, replacing the New Zealand Day public holiday with Waitangi Day on 6 February.
14 December – The Weights and Measures Amendment Act commences, officially completing metrication in New Zealand.
Arts and literature
Sam Hunt wins the Robert Burns Fellowship.
See 1976 in art, 1976 in literature
Music
New Zealand Music Awards
ALBUM OF THE YEAR NZSO – Symphony No. 2
RECORDING ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR Dr Tree
BEST NEW ARTIST Dr Tree
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR Alan Galbraith – Taking It All in Stride
ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Peter Hitchcock – Taking It All in Stride
ARRANGER OF THE YEAR David Frazer – Taking It All in Stride
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR John Hanlon – Night Life
See: 1976 in music
Performing arts
Benny Award presented by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand to Merv Smith and Rusty Greaves.
Radio and television
Television Two is renamed South Pacific Television.
All broadcasting services, including radio, are merged into the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand.
17–18 July: A power failure affecting the Blue Duck microwave station near Kaikoura causes both the TV One and TV Two networks to split into two. Most of the South Island misses the live opening ceremony of the 1976 Summer Olympics as a result.
Feltex Television Awards:
Best Programme: Pearse
Best Personality: John Clarke and Dougal Stevenson
Actor: Martyn Sanderson
Actress: Ilona Rodgers
Best Series: One Man's View
Best Script: Ian Mune and Peter Hansard: Winners And Losers: The Woman at the Store
See: 1976 in New Zealand television, 1976 in television, List of TVNZ television programming, :Category:Television in New Zealand, :Category:New Zealand television shows, Public broadcasting in New Zealand
Film
The God Boy
See: :Category:1976 film awards, 1976 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, :Category:1976 films
Sport
Athletics
UK-born Jack Foster wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:16:27 on 6 March in Auckland.
Chess
The 83rd National Chess Championship is held in Upper Hutt. There is a three-way tie for the title between Lev Aptekar, Murray Chandler, and Ortvin Sarapu .
Horse racing
Harness racing
New Zealand Trotting Cup: Stanley Rio
Auckland Trotting Cup: Bolton Byrd
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics
New Zealand sends a team of 80 competitors.
Winter Olympics
New Zealand sends a team of five alpine skiers.
Paralympic Games
Summer Paralympics
New Zealand sends a team of 12 competitors.
Soccer
New Zealand National Soccer League won by Wellington Diamond United
The Chatham Cup is won by Christchurch United who beat Eastern Suburbs (Auckland) 4–0 in the final.
Births
1 January – Karl Burnett, actor
13 January – Bic Runga, singer, songwriter
12 February – Christian Cullen, rugby union footballer
14 March – Sarah Ulmer, cyclist
31 March – Anna Rowberry, netball player
6 April – Bruce Reihana, rugby player
10 April – Jason Richards, motor racing driver (d. 2011)
7 May – Stacey Jones, rugby league footballer
14 May – Jason Reeves, broadcaster
3 June – Miriama Smith, actress
7 July – Ron Cribb, rugby union footballer
3 August – Rachel Sutherland, field hockey player
3 September – Ivan Vicelich, soccer player
13 September – Craig McMillan, cricketer
3 October – Simon Wills, motor racing driver
4 November – Troy Flavell, rugby union footballer
20 November – Doug Viney, K-1 fighter
3 December – Byron Kelleher, rugby union footballer
13 December – Mark Paston, soccer player
15 December – Joseph Yovich, cricketer
21 December – Mark Dickel, basketball player
:Category:1976 births
Deaths
9 January: Sir Stanley Whitehead, politician and 15th Speaker of the House of Representatives.
7 February (in Australia): Sir Cedric Stanton Hicks, nutrition scientist.
12 June: Herb Lilburne, All Black captain.
20 July: Tom Lowry, cricketer.
19 August: Ken Wadsworth, cricketer.
21 August: Ken James, cricketer.
12 November: Cliff Porter, All Black captain.
14 November: Ernest Toop, politician, deputy mayor of Wellington
See also
List of years in New Zealand
Timeline of New Zealand history
History of New Zealand
Military history of New Zealand
Timeline of the New Zealand environment
Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica
References
External links
New Zealand
Years of the 20th century in New Zealand