1939 in New Zealand

← 1938 1937 1936 1939 in New Zealand → 1940 1941 1942
Decades:	1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	History of New Zealand List of years in New Zealand Timeline of New Zealand history

The following lists events that happened during 1939 in New Zealand.

Population

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,641,600. ^[1]
• Increase since 31 December 1938: 23,300 (1.44%). ^[1]
• Males per 100 females: 103.0. ^[1]

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of state – George VI
• Governor-General – The Viscount Galway GCMG DSO OBE PC ^[2]

Government

The 26th New Zealand Parliament continued with the Labour Party in government.

• Speaker of the House – Bill Barnard (Labour Party)
• Prime Minister – Michael Joseph Savage
• Minister of Finance – Walter Nash
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Michael Joseph Savage
• Attorney-General – Rex Mason
• Chief Justice – Sir Michael Myers

Parliamentary opposition

• Leader of the Opposition – Adam Hamilton (National Party). ^[3]

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – Ernest Davis
• Mayor of Wellington – Thomas Hislop
• Mayor of Christchurch – Robert Macfarlane
• Mayor of Dunedin – Andrew Henson Allen

Events

• 29 January: (Sunday) Opening of St Peter's College, Auckland by Bishop J M Liston.
• 20 March: William Snodgrass, a New Zealand politician, disappeared from the interisland ferry Arahura while travelling overnight from Wellington to Nelson. ^[4]
• 3 September (backdated to 9.30 pm): New Zealand declares war on Germany at the same time as Britain (though delayed until confirmation by the Admiralty message to the fleet). ^[5]
• 31 October: The Strongman coal mine in Nine Mile Valley near Greymouth is officially opened by Minister of Mines, Paddy Webb. ^[6]
• 8 November: New Zealand Centennial Exhibition opened in Kilbirnie, Wellington
• 13 December: New Zealand warship HMS Achilles fought in the Battle of the River Plate against German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee .
• 17 December: The Graf Spee is scuttled off Montevideo harbour.
• The Poverty Bay Herald changes its name to The Gisborne Herald , ^[7] which continues to publish today ^[update] .

Arts and literature

See 1939 in art, 1939 in literature

Music

See: 1939 in music

Radio

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film

See: Category:1939 film awards, 1939 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1939 films

Sport

Athletics

• Clarrie Gibbons wins the national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:44:56.2 on 11 March 1939 in Napier.

Basketball

A second interprovincial championship is held even though there is still no national association. ^[8] (see 1938 and 1946)

• Interpovincial Champions: Men – Wellington

Chess

• The 48th National Chess Championship was held in Wanganui, and was won by John Dunlop of Dunedin (his 5th title). ^[9]

Horse racing

Harness racing

• New Zealand Trotting Cup – Lucky Jack (2nd win) ^[10]
• Auckland Trotting Cup – Marlene ^[11]

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Auckland. ^[12]

• Men's singles champion – W.C. Franks (Balmoral Bowling Club)
• Men's pair champions – J. Anchor, W.J. Robinson (skip) (Hamilton Bowling Club)
• Men's fours champions – C.F. Robertson, H. Franks, J.F. Benson, W.C. Franks (skip) (Balmoral Bowling Club)

Rugby union

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

• Ranfurly Shield

Rugby league

New Zealand national rugby league team

Shooting

• Ballinger Belt – William Masefield (Blenheim) ^[13]

Soccer

• The Chatham Cup is won by Waterside of Wellington who beat Western of Christchurch 4–2 in the final. ^[14]
• Provincial league champions: ^[15]
  • Auckland: Ponsonby AFC
  • Canterbury: Western
  • Hawke's Bay: Napier Utd
  • Nelson: YMCA
  • Otago: Mosgiel
  • South Canterbury: Old Boys
  • Southland: Mataura
  • Waikato: Rotowaro
  • Wanganui: Wanganui Athletic
  • Wellington: Petone Football Club

Births

• 20 January: Ken Comber , politician. (died 1998)
• 27 February: Don McKinnon , deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and Commonwealth Secretary-General.
• 10 April (in England): Michael Cox , politician.
• 24 April: Fergie McCormick , rugby union player. (died 2018)
• 16 September: Tony Davies , rugby union player. (died 2008)
• 23 September: Hugh Williams , High Court judge.
• 23 September: Pauline Stansfield , disability advocate. (died 2022)
• 25 September: David Walter , mayor of Stratford. (died 2020)
• 4 October: Ivan Mauger , motorcycle speedway champion. (died 2018)
• 29 October: Michael Smither , painter.
• 18 October: Peter Brown , politician.
• 24 November: Bob Jones , businessman.
• 27 December: Hugo Judd , diplomat and public servant (died 2017)
• Raymond Ching , painter.
• Philip Temple , writer.

Deaths

• 16 March: George Mitchell , soldier and politician.
• 25 March: Annie Cleland Millar , businesswoman. ^[16]
• 26 April: Ted Howard , politician.
• 26 July: Thomas William "Torpedo Billy" Murphy , boxer. ^[17]
• 17 July: Paddy the Wanderer, a dog in Wellington. ^[18]
• 27 July: Malcolm Champion , swimmer.
• 23 August: Robin Hyde , writer.
• 18 September: T. W. Ratana , prophet.
• 3 November: David McLaren , politician.

See also

• History of New Zealand
• List of years in New Zealand
• Military history of New Zealand
• Timeline of New Zealand history
• Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica
• Timeline of the New Zealand environment

References

1. "Historical population estimates tables". Statistics New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
2. Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
3. "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
4. "Lost Overboard". The New Zealand Herald – archived at PapersPast – paperspast.co.nz. 22 March 1939. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
5. Hensley, Gerald (2009). Beyond the Battlefield: New Zealand and its Allies 1939–45. Auckland: Penguin/Viking. p. 20. ISBN   9780670074044.
6. "Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd : Premium Export Coal : Export Coals of New Zealand : New Zealand Coal Mining". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
7. "Poverty Bay Herald". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
8. Todd, S. (1976) Sporting Records of New Zealand. Auckland: Moa Publications. ISBN   0-908570-00-7
9. List of New Zealand Chess Champions Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
10. "List of NZ Trotting cup winners". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
11. Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
12. McLintock, A.H., ed. (1966). "Bowls, men's outdoor—tournament winners". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
13. "Ballinger Belt". National Rifle Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
14. Chatham Cup records, nzsoccer.com Archived 14 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
15. "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.
16. Barlow, Maida. "Annie Cleland Millar". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 23 April 2017.
17. Torpedo Billy Murphy – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia
18. "Paddy the Wanderer, a dog well known on the Wellington wharves..." The Evening Post . 17 July 1939. Retrieved 15 December 2010.

External links

Media related to 1939 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons