1963 in New Zealand

← 1962 1961 1960 1963 in New Zealand → 1964 1965 1966
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	Other events of 1963 Timeline of New Zealand history

The following lists events that happened during 1963 in New Zealand.

Population[]

• Estimated Population as of 31 December: 2,566,900^[1]
• Increase since 31 December 1962: 51,100 (2.03%)
• Males per 100 Females: 100.8

Incumbents[]

Regal and Vice Regal[]

• Head of State – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Brigadier Sir Bernard Fergusson GCMG GCVO DSO OBE.^[2]

Government[]

The 33rd New Zealand Parliament concluded and a general election was held on 30 November. This saw the National Party returned with the loss of one seat to have a majority of 10 seats.

• Speaker of the House – Ronald Algie.^[3]
• Prime Minister – Keith Holyoake
• Deputy Prime Minister – Jack Marshall.^[3]
• Minister of Finance – Harry Lake.^[3]
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Keith Holyoake.^[3]
• Attorney-General – Ralph Hanan.^[3]
• Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough

Parliamentary opposition[]

• Leader of the Opposition – Walter Nash (Labour) until 31 March, then Arnold Nordmeyer (Labour).^[4]

Main centre leaders[]

• Mayor of Auckland – Dove-Myer Robinson
• Mayor of Hamilton – Dennis Rogers
• Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
• Mayor of Christchurch – George Manning
• Mayor of Dunedin – Stuart Sidey

Events[]

• 6 February: Elizabeth II arrives in New Zealand on the Royal Yacht Britannia for the 1963 Royal Tour of New Zealand.[1]
• 7 February: 15 people killed in a bus crash due to brake failure in the Brynderwyn Hills in Northland.[2]
• 17 April: Tauranga becomes a city.^[5]
• 3 July: New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 crashes into the Kaimai Ranges, killing all 23 aboard.^[6][7]
• 7 December: Two people are killed in the Bassett Road machine gun murders.^[8]

Arts and literature[]

• Maurice Shadbolt wins the Robert Burns Fellowship.

See 1963 in art, 1963 in literature, Category:1963 books

Music[]

See: 1963 in music

Radio and Television[]

• There are 80,000 television licences issued, and an estimated 300,000 television viewers in New Zealand. [3]
• Broadcast relay stations at Mount Te Aroha, Wharite Peak and Otahoua are commissioned, extending television coverage to Waikato, Tauranga, Manawatu and Wairarapa.^[9]

See: , 1963 in television, List of TVNZ television programming, Category:Television in New Zealand, Category:New Zealand television shows, Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film[]

See: Category:1963 film awards, 1963 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1963 films

Sport[]

Athletics[]

Jeff Julian wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:22:52 on 9 March in Hawera.

Chess[]

• The 70th National Chess Championship is held in Christchurch. The title is shared by Ortvin Sarapu and R.J. Sutton, both of Auckland.^[10]

Horse racing[]

Harness racing[]

• New Zealand Trotting Cup – Cardigan Bay^[11]
• Auckland Trotting Cup – Cardigan Bay (2nd win)^[12]

Lawn bowls[]

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.^[13]

• Men's singles champion – A. Govorko (Ngongotaha Bowling Club)
• Men's pair champions – S.W. Jolly, J.N.S. Flett (skip) (Point Chevalier Bowling Club)
• Men's fours champions – J.D. Scott, N. Cash, J. Coltman, Bill O'Neill (skip) (Carlton Bowling Club)

Soccer[]

• The Chatham Cup was won by North Shore United who beat Nomads of Christchurch 3–1 in the final.^[14]
• Provincial league champions:^[15]
  • Auckland: North Shore United
  • Bay of Plenty: Kahukura
  • Buller: Millerton Rangers
  • Canterbury: Nomads
  • Franklin: Manurewa AFC
  • Hawke's Bay: Napier Rovers
  • Manawatu: Thistle
  • Marlborough: Woodbourne
  • Nelson: Rangers
  • Northland: Otangarei United
  • Otago: King Edward Technical College OB
  • Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
  • South Canterbury: Northern Hearts
  • Southland: Invercargill Thistle
  • Taranaki: Moturoa
  • Waikato: Hamilton Wanderers
  • Wairarapa: Lansdowne United
  • Wanganui: Wanganui United
  • Wellington: Diamond
  • West Coast: Cobden-Kohinoor
• The second (and last) Rothmans Cup (see 1962) was won by North Shore United.^[16]

Births[]

• 10 January: Malcolm Dunford, footballer
• 21 February: Greg Turner, golfer.
• 16 March: Kevin Smith, actor.
• 4 June: Sean Fitzpatrick, rugby union player.
• 18 June: Paul Honiss, rugby referee.
• 20 July: Catherine Campbell, cricketer.
• 20 July: Mike Davidson, freestyle swimmer.
• 20 August: Ian Woodley, field hockey goalkeeper.
• 26 August: Christine Arthur, field hockey player.
• 9 September (in England): Sarah Illingworth, cricketer.
• 10 September: Jay Laga'aia, actor.
• 17 September: Warren Gatland, rugby player and coach.
• 11 December: Mark Greatbatch, cricketer.
• 24 December: David Grundy, field hockey player.
• Joanna Bourke, historian.
• Andrew Johnston, poet.
• (in Poland): Ralph Talmont, photographer.

Category:1963 births

Deaths[]

• 7 January: Tapihana Paraire Paikea, politician.
• 19 March: Fred Hackett, politician.
• 4 April: Hercules Wright, rugby union player.
• 16 May: Fintan Patrick Walsh, trade unionist.
• 18 June Albert Samuel, politician
• 4 July: (in England) Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, soldier, Governor-General of New Zealand.
• 14 July: Maud Basham (Aunt Daisy), radio personality.
• 19 August: Rosemary Frances Rees, writer and theatre producer.
• 19 September: Sir David Low, cartoonist (in London).

Category:1963 deaths

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

For world events and topics in 1963 not specifically related to New Zealand see: 1963

References[]

External links[]

Media related to 1963 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons