1926 in New Zealand

Population

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State – George V
• Governor-General – Sir Charles Fergusson

Government

• Speaker of the House – Charles Statham
• Prime Minister – Gordon Coates
• Minister of Finance – William Nosworthy until 24 May, then William Downie Stewart
• Minister of External Affairs – Francis Bell until 18 January, then from 24 May William Nosworthy

Parliamentary opposition

• Leader of the Opposition – vacant until 26 June, then Harry Holland

Judiciary

• Chief Justice – Sir Robert Stout, then Charles Skerrett from 1 February

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – George Baildon
• Mayor of Wellington – Charles Norwood
• Mayor of Christchurch – John Archer
• Mayor of Dunedin – Harold Tapley

Events

• 15 April – The Eden by-election is won by Rex Mason. As a result, Labour became the dominant party in opposition, with 12 seats compared to the Liberals' 11.
• 15 November – The Balfour Declaration asserts the right of New Zealand and other dominions to exist as independent countries
• 3 December – Nine miners die in an explosion in the Dobson coal mine near Brunner
• Undated
• * Writer and adventurer Zane Grey first visits New Zealand, helping to popularise big-game fishing
• * Department of Scientific and Industrial Research is established
• * Pavlova reportedly created by a Wellington hotel chef in honour of the visit of Anna Pavlova
• * Ash eruption of Red Crater, Mount Tongariro
• * Leonard Cockayne publishes the first part of Monograph on New Zealand beech forests, which argues that the forests could be managed with a rotation of 80–120 years, but warns about overgrazing by deer

Arts and literature

Music

Radio

Film

Sport

Chess

• The 35th National Chess Championship is held in Dunedin, and is won by S. Crakanthorp of Sydney, his second title

Cricket

• New Zealand, along with India and the West Indies, is admitted to the Imperial Cricket Conference, increasing the number of test playing nations to six

Football

• The Chatham Cup is won by Sunnyside
• Provincial league champions:
• * Auckland – Tramways
• * Canterbury – Sunnyside
• * Hawke's Bay – Whakatu
• * Nelson – Athletic
• * Otago – HSOB
• * South Canterbury – Colmoco
• * Southland – Ohai
• * Taranaki – Auroa
• * Waikato – Huntly Thistle
• * Wanganui – Woollen Mills
• * Wellington – Hospital

Golf

• The 16th New Zealand Open championship is won by Andrew Shaw after a playoff with Ernie Moss.
• The 8th National Amateur Championships are held at Miramar and Balmacewan
• * Men – Arthur Duncan
• * Women – Louisa Kerr

Horse racing

Harness racing

• New Zealand Trotting Cup – Ahuriri
• Auckland Trotting Cup – Talaro

Thoroughbred racing

• New Zealand Cup – Count Cavour
• Avondale Gold Cup – Beacon Light
• Auckland Cup – Tanadees
• Wellington Cup – Enthusiasm
• New Zealand Derby – Commendation

Lawn bowls

• Men's singles champion – W. Foster
• Men's pair champions – W. R. Todd, E. Tamlyn
• Men's fours champions – J. D. Best, H. G. Siedeberg, F. McCullough, E. Harraway

Rugby league

• The New Zealand national rugby league team tours Britain, losing all three tests against Great Britain and one test against Wales
• The NZRFU takes legal action to prevent the NZRL from using the name "All Blacks" for the national rugby league team

Rugby union

• 1926 New Zealand rugby union tour of New South Wales
• 1926–27 New Zealand Māori rugby union tour
• Ranfurly Shield – held by Hawkes Bay for the full season

Births

January

• 3 January
• * Marie Clay, literacy researcher
• * David Spence, mathematician
• 6 January – Pat Vincent, rugby union player, coach and administrator
• 10 January – Jim Eyles, archaeologist
• 11 January – Mary Rouse, cricketer
• 19 January – Peter Cape, musician
• 20 January – Tui Uru, broadcaster, singer
• 29 January – Dennis McEldowney, writer, publisher

February

• 3 February – Guy Ngan, artist
• 7 February – Graham Latimer, Māori leader
• 13 February – Lloyd Berrell, actor
• 14 February – Sheila Natusch, naturalist, writer, illustrator
• 20 February – Ted Meuli, cricketer
• 26 February – Edwin Norton, weightlifter

March

• 5 March – Joan Mattingley, clinical chemist
• 13 March – June Litman, journalist
• 19 March – Noel Bowden, rugby union player
• 22 March – Helen Young, radio manager, arts advocate
• 24 March
• * Betty Clegg, watercolour artist
• * Rowena Jackson, ballet dancer
• 27 March – Harry Tapping, cricketer

April

• 2 April – Maurie Gordon, sport shooter
• 6 April – Don Bacon, microbiologist
• 11 April – Vivienne Boyd, community leader
• 12 April – Hoani Waititi, Māori community leader
• 14 April – Barbara Anderson, writer
• 18 April – Peter Henderson, rugby union and rugby league player, sprinter
• 22 April – Arthur Eustace, track and field athlete, coach and administrator

May

• 6 May – Colin Webster-Watson, sculptor, poet
• 9 May – Robin Cooke, jurist
• 15 May – Lyall Barry, swimmer, schoolteacher, local historian
• 19 May – Nancy Adams, botanist, botanical artist, museum curator
• 23 May – John Hollywood, cricketer
• 27 May – Gordon Leggat, cricket player and administrator

June

• 7 June – John Kennedy, Roman Catholic journalist
• 11 June – Louise Sutherland, cyclist
• 17 June – Don Rowlands, rower, rowing administrator, businessman
• 18 June – Joe Walding, politician, diplomat
• 19 June
• * Rod Coleman, motorcycle racer
• * Barrie Hutchinson, water polo player, rugby union player and administrator, politician
• 23 June – Jim Barnden, boxer
• 24 June – Graham Liggins, medical scientist
• 25 June – June Schoch, athlete
• 29 June – James K. Baxter, poet

July

• 4 July – Arnold Heine, Antarctic scientist, tramper, conservationist
• 5 July – Trevor Davey, politician
• 14 July – Patricia Woodroffe, fencer
• 18 July – Bernard Diederich, writer, journalist, historian
• 22 July – Ron Russell, politician
• 23 July – Tom O'Donnell, medical practitioner and academic
• 31 July – Don Donnithorne, architect

August

• 10 August – Edwin Carr, composer
• 17 August – Solomon Faine, microbiologist

September

• 10 September – Jack Somerville, lawn bowls player
• 11 September – Joe Schneider, rower
• 17 September – Bert Lunn, rugby union player
• 22 September – Denzil Meuli, writer, newspaper editor, Roman Catholic priest
• 29 September – Vivienne Cassie Cooper, planktologist, botanist

October

• 4 October – Phar Lap, Thoroughbred racehorse
• 10 October – Noeleen Scott, lawn bowls player
• 13 October
• * George Gair, politician, diplomat
• * Bill James, rower
• 16 October – Peter Arnold, cricket player and administrator
• 26 October – John Myles, athlete
• 28 October
• * Doug Anderson, rugby league player
• * Merv Norrish, diplomat, public servant
• 30 October – Nan Kinross, nurse and nursing academic
• 31 October – Stanley Dallas, recording engineer, radio technician

November

• 3 November – Edward Gaines, Roman Catholic bishop
• 7 November – Graeme Allwright, singer-songwriter
• 14 November – Fritz Eisenhofer, architect
• 20 November – Tom Newnham, political activist

December

• 1 December – Barry Dallas, politician
• 5 December – Derek Turnbull, athlete
• 7 December – Jack Kelly, rugby union player, schoolteacher
• 12 December
• * Maida Bryant, politician, community leader
• * Laurie Davidson, yacht designer
• 13 December – Dave Batten, athlete
• 14 December – Alan Rowe, actor
• 15 December – Ron Bailey, politician
• 18 December – Jock Aird, association footballer
• 20 December – John Holland, athlete
• 21 December – Alan Hellaby, businessman
• 23 December – Peter Iles, cricketer
• 24 December – Jimmy Edwards, rugby league player
• 25 December – Colin Chambers, swimmer
• 30 December – Richard Farrell, pianist
• 31 December – Pauline Yearbury, artist

Exact date unknown

• George Johnson, artist
• Maurice K. Smith, architect, architectural academic

Deaths

January–March

• 19 January – Helen Stace, school matron
• 8 February – John Graham, politician
• 14 February – Ellen Hewett, writer
• 27 February – James Palmer Campbell, politician
• 1 March – John Barton Roy, politician
• 13 March – Mere Rikiriki, Māori prophet
• 15 March – Charles Blomfield, artist
• 22 March – Louisa Baker, journalist, novelist

April–June

• 14 April – Hans Madsen Ries, Lutheran pastor, politician
• 17 April – Andrew Graham, politician
• 26 April – Bobby Leach, thrillseeker
• 1 May
• * William Geddis, journalist, politician
• * Isabella May, temperance worker, suffragist, dress reformer
• 24 May – William Morley, Methodist minister, historian
• 28 May – Frederick Liggins, cricketer
• 5 June – Elizabeth Gard'ner, home science teacher and administrator, writer
• 8 June – David Goldie, politician, mayor of Auckland
• 13 June – Gottfried Lindauer, painter
• 15 June – William Belcher, trade union leader
• 24 June – G. P. Nerli, painter

July–September

• 18 July – Archibald Cargill, cricketer
• 1 August – Sophia Anstice, dressmaker, draper, businesswoman
• 13 August – Te Mete Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui leader, assessor
• 18 August – Grace Neill, nurse, social reformer
• 3 September – John McCombie, gold prospector, mine manager
• 8 September – Hugh Lusk, politician

October–December

• 1 October – Suzanne Aubert, missionary nun
• 9 October – Sir Arthur Myers, politician, mayor of Auckland
• 18 October – Sir James Carroll, politician
• 26 October – Frederick Pirani, politician
• 7 November – Henry Baker, cricketer
• 7 December – Charles Purnell, journalist, newspaper editor, writer
• 12 December – Jane Preshaw, nurse, midwife, hospital matron
• 22 December – Mina Arndt, painter
• 23 December – Joseph Frear, builder
• 28 December – Robert William Felkin, medical missionary, explorer, ceremonial magician