1941 in New Zealand

← 1940 1939 1938 1941 in New Zealand → 1942 1943 1944
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s
See also:	Other events of 1941 Timeline of New Zealand history

Population

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,631,200 ^[1]
• Increase since 31/12/1940: -2400 (-0.15%)
• Males per 100 females: 96.1
• The scheduled census was not held due to World War II.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State - George VI
• Governor-General - The Viscount Galway GCMG DSO OBE PC, succeeded same year by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Cyril Newall GCB OM GCMG CBE AM ^[2]

Government

The 26th New Zealand Parliament continued with the Labour Party in government. 1941 should have been an election year, but the election was deferred due to World War II.

• Speaker of the House - Bill Barnard (Democratic Labour Party)
• Prime Minister - Peter Fraser
• Minister of Finance - Walter Nash
• Minister of Foreign Affairs - Frank Langstone
• Attorney-General - Rex Mason

Parliamentary opposition

• Leader of the Opposition - Sidney Holland (National Party).^[3]

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland - Ernest Davis then John Allum
• Mayor of Hamilton - Harold Caro
• Mayor of Wellington - Thomas Hislop
• Mayor of Christchurch - Robert M. Macfarlane then Ernest Andrews
• Mayor of Dunedin - Andrew Allen

Events

• 16 January: formation of the New Zealand Women's Auxiliary Air Force ^[4]
• March: 2NZEF deployed to northern Greece and were soon involved in the Battle of Greece.
• 24 April - 30 April: New Zealand forces evacuated from mainland Greece to Crete.
• 20 May - 1 June: Battle of Crete - New Zealand forces suffer heavy losses: 671 dead, 967 wounded, 2,180 captured. On the first day of the German invasion, Charles Upham wins the V.C
• 8 October: four police officers and three civilians are shot and killed at Kowhitirangi, near Hokitika, by Stanley Graham
• 7 December: Hawaii bombed in a surprise attack by Japanese carrier forces on the US Navy.
• 8 December: New Zealand declares war on Japan in response to Japanese attack on the United States.
• 10 December: British battlecruiser HMS Repulse and battleship HMS Prince of Wales sunk by Japanese torpedo planes, effectively taking Britain out of the sea war in the Pacific.
• 15 December: A RNZAF Lockheed Hudson bomber returning to Nelson from a coastal patrol hit the top of a limestone bluff near Collingwood in thick fog, killing all four crew.^[5]
• 19 December: New Zealand suffers its worst naval loss when 150 New Zealanders on board the HMS Neptune are killed after the ship strikes mines and sinks off the coast of Libya.^[6]

Arts and literature

See 1941 in art, 1941 in literature, Category:1941 books

Music

See: 1941 in music

Radio

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film

See: Category:1941 film awards, 1941 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1941 films

Sport

Most sporting events were on hold due to the war.

Chess

• The 50th National Chess Championship was held in Timaru, and was won by P. Allerhand of Wellington.^[7]

Horse racing

Harness racing

• New Zealand Trotting Cup: Josedale Grattan ^[8]
• Auckland Trotting Cup: Uenuku ^[9]

Rugby union

Category:Rugby union in New Zealand, Category:All Blacks

• Ranfurly Shield

Rugby league

New Zealand national rugby league team

Soccer

• Chatham Cup competition not held
• Provincial league champions: ^[10]
  • Auckland: Comrade
  • Canterbury: Western
  • Hawke's Bay: Napier HSOB
  • Nelson: No competition
  • Otago: Mosgiel
  • South Canterbury: No competition
  • Southland: No competition
  • Waikato: No competition
  • Wanganui: No competition
  • Wellington: Seatoun

Births

• 5 January: Bob Cunis, cricketer.
• 3 February: Gary Bartlett, cricketer.
• 11 February: Alan "A. K." Grant, writer, humourist.
• 12 February: Ross Morgan, cricketer.
• 12 February: Bruno Lawrence, actor.
• 26 February: Keith Thomson, cricketer.
• 8 April: Roderick Deane, economist, public sector reformer, and businessman.
• 7 May: Grahame Bilby, cricketer.
• 5 July: Lynley Dodd, children's author.
• 20 July: Pita Sharples, academic and politician.
• 12 September: Doug Kidd, politician.
• 29 October: Bryan Yuile, cricketer.
• 7 November: Jim Sutton, politician.
• 24 November: Bob Harvey, mayor of Waitakere City.
• Chin Wing Ho (Peter Chin), mayor of Dunedin.
• Gary Day, actor.
• Malcolm Douglas, politician.
• Allan Hawkey, cartoonist.
• (in England): Bernard Holman, artist.
• Owen Marshall, writer (Owen Marshall Jones).
• Jenny McLeod, composer and musician.
• Ian Mune, actor and director.
• Ian Peters, politician.

Category:1941 births

Deaths

• 2 May: Sir James Parr, politician.
• 26 May: William John Lyon, Labour MP, killed serving with 2NZEF on Crete.
• 27 July: Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, painter.
• 11 September: Albert Glover, politician.
• 4 October: George Troup, architect.
• 20 October: Stanley Graham, murderer (shot by police).
• 1 November: Gordon Hultquist, Labour MP, killed serving with 2NZEF in North Africa.
• 28 November: John Manchester Allen, National MP, killed serving with 2NZEF in Libya.
• 29 November: Arthur Nattle Grigg, National MP, killed serving with 2NZEF in Libya.

Category:1941 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

References

External links

Media related to 1941 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons