1956 in New Zealand
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 1956 in New Zealand: |
| Other years in New Zealand |
| 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 |
Contents |
[edit] Population
- Estimated Population as of 31 December: 2,209,200 [1]
- Increase since 31/12/1955: 44,400 (2.05%)
- Males per 100 Females: 101.2
[edit] Incumbents
[edit] Regal and Vice Regal
- Head of State - Queen Elizabeth II
- Governor-General - Lieutenant-General The Lord Norrie GCMG GCVO CB DSO MC. [2]
[edit] Government
The 31st New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the National government under Sidney Holland.
- Speaker of the House - Mathew Oram [3]
- Prime Minister - Sidney Holland.
- Deputy Prime Minister - Keith Holyoake. [3]
- Minister of Finance - Jack Watts.[3]
- Minister of Foreign Affairs - Thomas MacDonald.[3]
- Attorney-General - Jack Marshall.[3]
[edit] Parliamentary opposition
[edit] Main centre leaders
- Mayor of Auckland - John Luxford.followed by Thomas Ashby from 1956-57
- Mayor of Hamilton - Roderick Alastair MacDonald Braithwaite
- Mayor of Wellington - Robert Macalister, followed by Frank Kitts.
- Mayor of Christchurch - Robert M. Macfarlane.
- Mayor of Dunedin - Leonard Morton Wright.
[edit] Events
- March 8: Opo the friendly Dolphin dies in the Hokianga.
- March 13 - After 26 years playing international cricket the New Zealand wins its first ever test victory against the West Indies at Eden Park.
- New Zealand troops are sent to Malaya
- the Roxburgh Dam is opened
[edit] Arts and literature
See 1956 in art, 1956 in literature, Category:1956 books
[edit] Music
See: 1956 in music
[edit] Radio
See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand
[edit] Film
See: Category:1956 film awards , 1956 in film , List of New Zealand feature films , Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1956 films
[edit] Appointments and awards
See: New Zealand Order of Merit , Order of New Zealand
- Archbishop of New Zealand
- Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia , see appointments to Diocese
[edit] Sport
[edit] Athletics
- Albert Richards wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:31:46 in Christchurch.
- See: 1956 in sports , Category:1956 in sports , Summer Olympic Games
- Rugby: Category:Rugby union in New Zealand , Category:All Blacks , Bledisloe Cup , Ranfurly Shield
- Cricket: Various Tours, New Zealand cricket team
- Golf: New Zealand Open , Check Category:New Zealand golfers in overseas tourniments.
- Horse racing: See Category:New Zealand horse races, list winners.
- Rugby league New Zealand national rugby league team
[edit] Births
- 3 January: Judith Tizard, politician.
- January 6: Stephen Cox, cyclist.
- 16 January: Mark Burton, politician.
- 1 March: Mark Todd, equestrian eventer.
- 3 March: John F. Reid, cricketer.
- 13 April: Peter 'Possum' Bourne, rally driver.
- 26 April: Tinks Pottinger, equestrian eventer.
- 8 May: Richard Wilson, soccer player.
- 10 May: Chris Kuggeleijn, cricket player and coach.
- 23 May: Mark Shaw, rugby union footballer and selector. [5]
- 18 August: Andrew Bennie, equestrian eventer.
- 8 November: Richard Curtis, screenwriter.
- 23 November: Bruce Edgar, cricketer.
- 12 December: Barry Pickering, soccer player.
- 16 December: Rodney Hide, politician.
- James Belich, historian.
- Gerry Brownlee, politician.
- (in Paris, France) Christopher Marshall, composer.
- Jenny Morris, singer.
- Vincent Ward, film director.
- Douglas Wright, dancer and choreographer.
[edit] Deaths
- George Gillett, rugby player.
- Bernard Martin, politician.
- James Thorn, labour leader and politician. [6]
- James Alexander Young, politician.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.stats.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/24107FC8-E7B5-4CF2-B17C-15E31CCA7D05/0/HistoricalPop.xls
- ^ Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
- ^ a b c d e Lambert & Palenski: The New Zealand Almanac, 1982. ISBN 0908570554
- ^ Elections NZ - Leaders of the Opposition. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
- ^ Mark Shaw, allblacks.com
- ^ Te Ara
[edit] See also
- List of years in New Zealand
- Timeline of New Zealand history
- History of New Zealand
- Military history of New Zealand
- Timeline of environmental history of New Zealand
- Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica
For world events and topics in 1956 not specifically related to New Zealand see: 1956
