1931 in New Zealand

1931 in New Zealand
The following lists events that happened during 1931 in New Zealand.
Population
Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,522,800.
Increase since previous 31 December 1930: 16,000 (1.06%).
Males per 100 females: 103.8.
Incumbents
Regal and viceregal
Head of state - George V
Governor-General - The Lord Bledisloe GCMG KBE PC
Government
The 23rd New Zealand Parliament continued with the coalition of the United Party and the Labour Party with the Reform Party in opposition. During the year the agreement between United and Labour collapsed due to differing opinions on how to counter the Great Depression. The Reform Party, fearing that the Depression would give Labour a substantial boost, reluctantly agreed to form a coalition with United to avert elections. By forming a coalition, United and Reform were able to blunt Labour's advantage, ending the possibility of the anti-Labour vote being split and the general election in December saw the United–Reform Coalition winning a majority.
Speaker of the House - Charles Statham (Independent)
Prime Minister - George Forbes
Minister of Finance - George Forbes (United) until 22 September, then William Downie Stewart (Reform)
Minister of Foreign Affairs - George Forbes
Attor - Thomas Sidey until 22 September, then William Downie Stewart
Chief Justice — Sir Michael Myers
Parliamentary opposition
Leader of the Opposition - Gordon Coates (Reform) until 22 September, then Harry Holland (Labour).
Main centre leaders
Mayor of Auckland - George Baildon, succeeded by George Hutchison
Mayor of Wellington - George Troup, succeeded by Thomas Hislop
Mayor of Christchurch - John Archer, succeeded by Dan Sullivan
Mayor of Dunedin - Robert Black
Events
7 January – Australian aviator Guy Menzies makes the first solo flight across the Tasman sea, starting from Sydney and ending 11 hours 45 minutes later with a crash landing in a swamp near Harihari on the West Coast
January – Chancellor Hut finishes construction.
3 February – The Hawkes Bay earthquake, New Zealand's worst, kills 256 people, mainly in Napier and Hastings
8 February – A Desoutter aircraft of Dominion Airline crashed near Wairoa, killing all three people aboard. This is the first fatality on a scheduled air service in New Zealand.
27 February – Oscar Garden lands his Gipsy Moth aircraft at Horseshoe Bay on Stewart Island/Rakiura, the first aircraft to land on the island.
Arts and literature
See 1931 in art, 1931 in literature, :Category:1931 books
Music
See: 1931 in music
Radio
See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand
Film
See: :Category:1931 film awards, 1931 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, :Category:1931 films
Sport
Chess
The 40th National Chess Championship was held in Rotorua, and was won by A.W. Gyles of Wellington.
Golf
The 21st New Zealand Open championship was won by Andrew Shaw, his 4th win.
The 35th National Amateur Championships were held in Christchurch
Men: Rana Wagg (Hutt)
Women: Miss B. Gaisford
Horse racing
Harness racing
New Zealand Trotting Cup – Harold Logan
Auckland Trotting Cup – Royal Silk
Thoroughbred racing
New Zealand Cup – Spearful
Avondale Gold Cup – Little Doubt
Auckland Cup – Admiral Drake
Wellington Cup – Stanchion
New Zealand Derby – Bronze Eagle
Lawn bowls
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Auckland.
Men's singles champion – N.C. Bell (Hamilton Bowling Club)
Men's pair champions – H.G. Loveridge, R.N. Pilkington (skip) (Hamilton Bowling Club)
Men's fours champions – J.D. Best, A.J.H. Gregory, H. Gardiner, G.A. Deare (skip) (Dunedin Bowling Club)
Rugby league
New Zealand national rugby league team
Rugby Union
:Category:Rugby union in New Zealand, :Category:All Blacks
Ranfurly Shield
Soccer
1931 Chatham Cup won by Tramurewa (Auckland)
Provincial league champions:
Auckland: Thistle
Canterbury: Rangers, Nomads (shared)
Hawke's Bay: National Tobacco
Nelson: Hospital
Otago: HSOB
Southland: Rangers
Taranaki: Hawera, Albion (shared)
Waikato: Rotowaro
Wanganui: KP's
Wellington: Petone
Births
January
1 January – Inez Kingi, health advocate
2 January – Ritchie Johnston, cyclist
12 January – Bert Ormond, association footballer
14 January – Norm Wilson, cricketer
19 January – Pat Hunt, politician
20 January – Allan Tong, rower
23 January – Gordon McLauchlan, author
30 January – Doug Wilson, rugby union player
February
1 February – Nicholas Tarling, historian
10 February – Keith Bagley, rugby union player
14 February – Peter Wardle, botanist
15 February – Lloyd Ashby, rugby union player
21 February
Warren Dibble, poet, playwright
Te Paekiomeka Joy Ruha, Māori leader
22 February – Bryce Postles, cricketer
March
4 March – Don Jowett, athlete, rugby union player
5 March
Ian Clarke, rugby union player
Brian Fitzpatrick, rugby union player
9 March – Jack Lasenby, children's author
10 March – Colin Loader, rugby union player
11 March – Colin Jillings, Thoroughbred racehorse trainer
19 March – Cliff Skeggs, businessman, politician, mayor of Dunedin
31 March – Shirley Murray, hymn lyricist
April
3 April – Elspeth Kennedy, sharebroker, community leader (died 2017)
4 April
Eric Anderson, rugby union player and coach
Catherine Tizard, politician, mayor of Auckland, 16th governor-general (died 2021)
6 April – Ian Grey, rugby league player
7 April – John McDonald, cricketer
9 April – Ruth Castle, weaver
10 April – Neil Waters, chemist, university administrator
13 April – Doug Armstrong, cricketer, sports broadcaster, politician
14 April – Bruce Pairaudeau, cricketer
20 April – Bill Tolhurst, politician
23 April – John Williams, cricketer
May
3 May – Malcolm Hahn, javelin thrower
12 May – Murray Ashby, rower
17 May – Thomas Eichelbaum, jurist
20 May – Barry Brown, boxer
22 May – Buddy Lucas, swimmer, surf livesaver
23 May – Rex Austin, politician
June
2 June – Joyce Waters, inorganic chemist
18 June – Jane Soons, geomorphologist
19 June – Heather Nicholson geologist, writer
26 June
George Martin, rugby league player, field athlete
John Scott, medical researcher
July
2 July – Robin Gray, politician
6 July – John Spencer, boat designer
18 July – Peter Goddard, educationalist
21 July – Roy Meehan, wrestler
23 July – Te Atairangikaahu, 6th Māori monarch
24 July – Ray Laurent, rower
25 July – Murray Day, squash administrator
26 July – Jean Puketapu, Māori language activist, kōhanga reo pioneer
27 July – David Goldsmith, field hockey player
28 July – Peter Shirtcliffe, businessman
August
3 August
Rod Bieleski, plant physiologist
Lee Grant, actress, singer
9 August
Mike Hinge, artist and illustrator
Ernie Leonard, television presenter, wrestling commentator, actor
10 August
Richard Atkins, diplomat
Bruce Slane, public servant, lawyer
11 August – Ralph Hotere, artist
13 August – Norman Read, racewalker
22 August – Maurice Gee, novelist, screenwriter
September
4 September – Bill Skelton, jockey
5 September
Bill Bell, cricketer
Stew Nairn, sports shooter
12 September – John Ogilvie, cricketer
15 September
Brian Henderson, radio and television personality
Lincoln Hurring, swimmer and swimming coach
Harold Marshall, acoustician
28 September – Noel Pope, local-body politician
30 September – Geoffrey Chisholm, urologist
October
6 October – Michael Hardie Boys, jurist, 17th governor-general
9 October – Mark Otway, tennis player
14 October – Colin Dickinson, cyclist
16 October
Peter Bush, sports photographer
Kristin Jacobi, swimmer
Ian Quigley, politician
17 October – Mazhar Krasniqi, Muslim community leader, human rights activist
23 October – James McNeish, novelist, playwright, biographer
29 October – Murray Loudon, field hockey player, dentist
30 October – Alma Johnson, television personality
November
2 November – Steve Kuzmicich, statistician
9 November – Eion Scarrow, gardening personality, broadcaster and author
12 November – Jeanne Macaskill, artist
21 November – Bruce Townshend, politician
27 November – Keith Allen, politician
30 November – Vivian Lynn, artist
December
8 December – David Crooks, air force officer
11 December – Bryce Harland, diplomat
17 December – Frank Devine, journalist, newspaper editor
18 December – Noel McGregor, cricketer
Exact date unknown
Nola Barron, potter
Con Cambie, natural products chemist
Beverley Holloway, entomologist
Pat Moore, cricketer
Patrick Murray, priest, editor, ecumenicist
Bruce Papas, fashion designer
Beverley Randell, children's author
Deaths
January–March
12 January – Peter Cheal, surveyor (born 1846)
18 January
Daldy MacWilliams, goldminer, businessman, sportsman (born 1860)
Owen Merton, painter (born 1887)
20 January – Shailer Weston, politician (born 1868)
31 January – Job Osborne, farm contractor, well-sinker (born 1842)
21 February – Rhona Haszard, artist (born 1901)
27 February – Edith Searle Grossmann, novelist, journalist, feminist (born 1863)
15 March – William Beattie, photographer (born 1864)
April–June
13 April – Joseph Firth, cricketer, sports administrator, educator (born 1859)
18 April – Arthur Hall, politician (born 1880)
3 May – Hannah Dudley, Methodist mission sister (born 1864)
10 May – Anna Stout, social reformer (born 1858)
22 May – Bernard Chambers, viticulturist, winemaker (born 1859)
26 May – Richard Barton, pastoralist, author (born 1879)
6 June – William Baucke, linguist, ethnologist, journalist (born 1848)
10 June – May Moore, photographer (born 1881)
July–September
5 July – Henry Winkelmann, photographer (born 1860)
12 July – Noel Brodrick, surveyor (born 1855)
1 August – Dick Stewart, rugby union player (born 1871)
12 August – Lizzie Rattray, journalist, suffragist (born 1855)
28 August – Tene Waitere, carver (born 1853)
9 September – Elsdon Best, ethnographer (born 1856)
10 September – Pratt Kempthorne, Anglican clergyman (born 1849)
October–December
6 October – Robert Yates, cricketer (born 1845)
24 October
Alfred Eckhold, rugby union player, cricketer (born 1885)
John Potter, stonemason, builder (born 1834)
28 October – Edward Tregear, surveyor, public servant, linguist (born 1846)
30 October – Joseph Witheford, politician (born 1848)
31 October – Charles Gleeson, cricketer (born 1845)
28 November
John Stalker, rugby union player (born 1881)
Heathcote Williams, cricket player and administrator (born 1859)
7 December – Sir John Luke, politician, mayor of Wellington (born 1858)
23 December – Jack Stanaway, rugby league player (born 1873)
29 December – William Earnshaw, politician (born 1852)
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
Years of the 20th century in New Zealand