1959 in New Zealand

Population

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,359,700.
• Increase since 31 December 1958: 43,700.
• Males per 100 females: 101.0.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – The Viscount Cobham GCMG TD.

Government

• Speaker of the House – Robert Macfarlane
• Prime Minister – Walter Nash
• Deputy Prime Minister – Jerry Skinner.
• Minister of Finance – Arnold Nordmeyer.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Walter Nash.
• Attorney-General – Rex Mason.
• Chief Justice — Sir '''Harold Barrowclough'''

Parliamentary opposition

• Leader of the Opposition – Keith Holyoake.

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – Keith Buttle then Dove-Myer Robinson
• Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite then Denis Rogers
• Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
• Mayor of Christchurch – George Manning
• Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright then Stuart Sidey

Events

• 30 May –The Auckland Harbour Bridge is opened.
• 1 June – During exploratory oil drilling at Kapuni in South Taranaki, drillers appear to strike natural gas.
• 24 November – The coastal trader MV Holmglen sinks near Timaru with the loss of 15 lives.

Arts and literature

• Ian Cross wins the first Robert Burns Fellowship.

Music

Radio

Film

Sport

Chess

• The 66th National Chess Championship was held in Hamilton. The title was shared between F.A. Foulds and B.C. Menzies, both of Auckland.

Horse racing

Harness racing

• New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step
• Auckland Trotting Cup – Scottish Command

Lawn bowls

• Men's singles champion – W.R. Fleming Sr
• Men's pair champions – G. Bradley, H.J. Thompson
• Men's fours champions – T. Sunde, C. Hill, A. Sunde, M.A. Marinovich

Rugby union

• The British Lions team toured New Zealand, losing the Test series 3–1. They also lost two of their 21 provincial games, to Canterbury and Otago.
• * 18 July, Carisbrook, Dunedin: New Zealand 18 – 17 British Isles
• * 15 August, Athletic Park, Wellington: New Zealand 11 – 8 British Isles
• * 29 August, Lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 22 – 8 British Isles
• * 19 September, Eden Park, Auckland: New Zealand 6 – 9 British Isles

Soccer

• The national men's team played one match against a visiting Costa Rican club side:
• * 6 June, Auckland: NZ 3 – 2 Deportivo Saprissa
• The Chatham Cup was won by Dunedin team Northern who beat North Shore United 3–2 in the final.Provincial league champions:
• * Auckland: North Shore United
• * Bay of Plenty: Kahukura
• * Buller: Denniston Hotspurs
• * Canterbury: Western
• * Hawke's Bay: Napier Athletic
• * Manawatu: Kiwi United
• * Marlborough: Woodbourne
• * Nelson: Rangers
• * Northland: Otangarei United
• * Otago: Northern AFC
• * Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
• * South Canterbury: West End
• * Southland: Rovers
• * Taranaki: Moturoa
• * Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
• * Wairarapa: Douglas Villa
• * Wanganui: New Settlers
• * Wellington: Northern

Births

• 13 April: Justin Boyle , cricketer.
• 8 May: Ingrid Jagersma, cricketer.
• 9 May: Andrew Jones , cricketer.
• 16 May: Greg Johnston, rower.
• 26 May: Brett Austin , breaststroke swimmer.
• 28 May: Eric Verdonk, rower.
• 17 June: Vivienne Gapes, skier.
• 20 August: David Howard, poet.
• 4 September: Robbie Deans , rugby player and coach.
• 14 September: Brendon Bracewell , cricketer.
• 27 September: Mark Inglis , mountaineer.
• 3 November: Vaughan Brown , cricketer.
• 12 December: George Keys, rower.Bianca van Rangelrooy , artist.Harry Sinclair , actor, filmmaker and musician.

Deaths

• 23 February: Gordon Wilson, Government architect.
• 8 April: Sir Bill Jordan, politician and diplomat.
• 8 June: George Dash, politician
• 7 November: Archie Fisher, painter.
• 8 November: Walter William Massey, MP and politician
• 6 December : Edward Hunter a.k.a. Billy Banjo, trade unionist, politician and writer.