Population

• Estimated Population as of 31 December: 2,316,000
• Increase since 31 December 1957: 53,200 (2.35%)
• Males per 100 Females: 101.3

Regal and Vice Regal

• Head of State
  Head of State
  A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
  
   – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General
  Governor-General of New Zealand
  The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
  
   – The Viscount Cobham
  Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham
  Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, KG, GCMG, GCVO, TD, PC was the ninth Governor-General of New Zealand and an English cricketer.-Early life and family:...
  
  GCMG
  Order of St Michael and St George
  The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
  
   TD
  Territorial Decoration
  The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
  
  .

Government

• Speaker of the House
  Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives
  In New Zealand the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the individual who chairs the country's legislative body, the New Zealand House of Representatives...
  
   – Robert Macfarlane
  Robert Macfarlane (New Zealand)
  Sir Robert Mafeking Macfarlane, KCMG was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was a Member of Parliament, served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and was a Mayor of Christchurch.-Local body politics:...
  
  .
• Prime Minister
  Prime Minister of New Zealand
  The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
  
   – Walter Nash
  Walter Nash
  Sir Walter Nash, GCMG, CH served as the 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960, and was also highly influential in his role as Minister of Finance...
  
  .
• Deputy Prime Minister
  Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
  The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power....
  
   – Clarence Skinner
  Clarence Skinner (politician)
  Clarence Farrington Skinner, MC, was a Labour politician from New Zealand, former Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and a Minister 1943 – 1949 and 1957 – 1960 in the First and Second Labour governments.-Personal information:Skinner was in the New Zealand Army in the Middle East in World War...
  
  .
• Minister of Finance
  Minister of Finance (New Zealand)
  The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister....
  
   – Arnold Nordmeyer
  Arnold Nordmeyer
  Sir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer, ONZ, KCMG , born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, was a New Zealand politician. He was leader of the Labour Party for three years while it was in Opposition.-Early life:...
  
  .
• Minister of Foreign Affairs
  Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand)
  The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a major ministerial portfolio in the government of New Zealand.The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Murray McCully, who was National Party Spokeperson of Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs. There are also Associate Minister roles...
  
   – Walter Nash
  Walter Nash
  Sir Walter Nash, GCMG, CH served as the 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960, and was also highly influential in his role as Minister of Finance...
  
  .
• Attorney-General
  Attorney-General (New Zealand)
  The Attorney-General is a political office in New Zealand. It is simultaneously a ministerial position and an administrative office, and has responsibility for supervising New Zealand law and advising the government on legal matters...
  
   – Rex Mason
  Rex Mason
  Henry Greathead Rex Mason was a New Zealand politician. He served as Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Education, and Minister of Native Affairs, and had a significant influence on the direction of the Labour Party...
  
  .

Parliamentary opposition

• Leader of the Opposition
  Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand)
  The Leader of the Opposition in New Zealand is the politician who, at least in theory, commands the support of the non-government bloc of members in the New Zealand Parliament. In the debating chamber the Leader of the Opposition sits directly opposite the Prime Minister...
  
   – Keith Holyoake
  Keith Holyoake
  Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, KG, GCMG, CH, QSO, KStJ was a New Zealand politician. The only person to have been both Prime Minister and Governor-General of New Zealand, Holyoake was National Party Prime Minister from 20 September 1957 to 12 December 1957, then again from 12 December 1960 to 7...
  
  (National
  New Zealand National Party
  The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
  
  ).

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland
  Mayor of Auckland
  The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland region in New Zealand...
  
   – Keith Buttle
  Keith Buttle
  Keith Nicolson Buttle was a New Zealand businessman and Mayor of Auckland City from 1957 to 1959. He replaced Thomas Ashby in a by-election in November 1957; Ashby died part-way through his term....
  
  
• Mayor of Hamilton
  Mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand
  The Mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand is the head of the municipal government of Hamilton, New Zealand, and presides over the Hamilton City Council.In the 2010 Local Government elections, Julie Hardaker was elected as mayor, defeating incumbent Bob Simcock....
  
   – Roderick Braithwaite
• Mayor of Wellington
  Mayor of Wellington
  The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, New Zealand, and presides over the Wellington City Council. The Mayor of Wellington administers only Wellington City itself — other municipalities in adjacent areas of the Wellington Region such as Lower Hutt, Upper...
  
   – Frank Kitts
  Frank Kitts
  Sir Francis "Frank" Joseph Kitts was the longest-serving Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand, having held the post from 1956 to 1974. He was the Labour Member of Parliament for Wellington Central from 1954 to 1960, when he was defeated by the National candidate Dan Riddiford.Kitts was on the...
  
  
• Mayor of Christchurch
  Mayor of Christchurch
  The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system...
  
   – Robert Macfarlane
  Robert Macfarlane (New Zealand)
  Sir Robert Mafeking Macfarlane, KCMG was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was a Member of Parliament, served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and was a Mayor of Christchurch.-Local body politics:...
  
  then George Manning
  George Manning
  George Manning may refer to:* George Manning , Welsh footballer who played at the 1948 Summer Olympics* George Manning , British murderer, the husband and accomplice of Marie Manning...
  
  
• Mayor of Dunedin
  Mayor of Dunedin
  The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the municipal government of Dunedin, New Zealand, and presides over the Dunedin City Council. The Mayor is directly elected, using the Single Transferable Vote system in 2007....
  
   – Leonard Wright

Events

• 26 June: 'Black Budget
  Black Budget (New Zealand)
  In New Zealand, the term Black Budget refers to the government budget of 26 June 1958 in which Finance Minister Arnold Nordmeyer increased taxes on beer, tobacco, cars and petrol.The second Labour government took office in 1957, the 32nd Parliament...
  
  ', raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol and petrol, passed by second Labour government
  Second Labour Government of New Zealand
  The Second Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1957 to 1960. It was most notable for raising taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and petrol, a move which was probably responsible for the government lasting for only one term....
  
  .
• United States base for Operation Deep Freeze
  Operation Deep Freeze
  Operation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...
  
   is established at Christchurch Airport.
• 29 September: Emergency 1-1-1
  1-1-1
  111 is the emergency telephone number in New Zealand. It was first implemented in Masterton and Carterton on 29 September 1958, and was progressively rolled out nationwide with the last exchanges converting in 1988...
  
   number for fire, police and ambulance introduced; initially only in Masterton
  Masterton
  Masterton is a large town and local government district in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges...
  
   and Carterton
  Carterton, New Zealand
  Carterton is a small town in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and the seat of the Carterton District. It lies in a farming area of the Wairarapa in New Zealand's North Island. It is located southwest of Masterton and northeast of Wellington...
  
  .

Arts and literature

• The Robert Burns Fellowship
  Robert Burns Fellowship
  The Robert Burns Fellowship, established in 1958 as a bicentennial celebration, is claimed to be New Zealand's premier literary residency. The list of past fellows includes many of New Zealand's most notable writers....
  
   is established to honour the bicentennary of the poet
  Robert Burns
  Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
  
  's birth.

Film

Appointments and awards

• Archbishop of New Zealand
  Archbishop of New Zealand
  The Archbishop of New Zealand is the primate, or head, of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. However, since Whakahuihui Vercoe stepped down at the end of his two-year term as archbishop in 2006, the church has decided that three bishops shall share the position and style of...
  
  
• Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
  Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
  The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia is a church of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands...
  
   , see appointments to Diocese

Athletics

• Raymond Puckett wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:37:28 in Lower Hutt
  Lower Hutt
  Lower Hutt is a city in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its council has adopted the name Hutt City Council, but neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City. This alternative name can lead to confusion, as there are two cities in the...
  
  .

Chess

• The 65th National Chess Championship was held in Christchurch, and was won by J.R. Phillips of Auckland.

Commonwealth Games

• New Zealand at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
  New Zealand at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
  New Zealand sent a team of 63 competitors and 11 officials to the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, which were held in Cardiff, Wales. The flagbearer at the opening ceremony was javelin thrower Malcolm Hahn....
  
  : The New Zealand team of 63 athletes and 11 officials won four gold, six silver and nine bronze medals.

Harness racing

• New Zealand Trotting Cup
  New Zealand Trotting Cup
  The New Zealand Trotting Cup or New Zealand Cup is a Group One harness race held annually by the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is considered the country's most prestigious harness racing event. the prize was NZ$750,000, the largest prize for a...
  
  : False Step
  False Step
  False Step was a New Zealand Standardbred racehorse. He is notable in that he won three New Zealand Trotting Cupraces, the richest harness race, and sometimes the richest horse race in New Zealand...
  
  
• Auckland Trotting Cup
  Auckland Trotting Cup
  The Auckland Trotting Cup or Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in March in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of two major harness races, along with the New Zealand Cup, held in New Zealand each year. It is notable as it is a Group 1 championship race over...
  
  : Macklin

Rugby union

• The All Blacks
  All Blacks
  The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
  
   played three Test matches against the touring Australian
  Australia national rugby union team
  The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
  
   side, retaining the Bledisloe Cup
  Bledisloe Cup
  Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
  
  :
  • 23 August, Athletic Park (Wellington)
    Athletic Park (Wellington)
    Athletic Park was a well-known ground used mostly for rugby matches in Wellington, New Zealand. The ground was also the inaugural home of New Zealand's principal knockout football tournament, the Chatham Cup ....
    
    , Wellington: New Zealand 25 – 3 Australia
  • 6 September, Lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 3 – 6 Australia
  • 20 September, Epsom Showgrounds, Auckland: New Zealand 17 – 8 Australia

Soccer

• The national mens team played seven matches including five internationals:
  • 16 August, Wellington: NZ 2 – 3 Australia
  • 23 August, Auckland: NZ 2 – 2 Australia
  • 26 August, Hamilton: NZ 3 – 0 Waikato XI
  • 31 August, Nouméa: NZ 2 – 1 New Caledonia
  • 7 September, Nouméa: NZ 5 – 1 New Caledonia
  • 14 September, Nouméa: NZ 2 – 1 New Caledonia
  • 18 September, Auckland: NZ 1 – 1 Auckland
• The Chatham Cup
  Chatham Cup
  The Chatham Cup, currently known as the ASB Chatham Cup for sponsorship purposes, is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's football...
  
   was won by Seatoun
  Seatoun (soccer)
  Seatoun AFC is a football club in New Zealand, based in the Wellington suburb of Seatoun. One of the strongest clubs in the country during the 1950s, it won the national knockout Chatham Cup in 1957 and 1958...
  
   for the second consecutive year. They beat Christchurch city 7-1 in the final.
• Provincial league champions:
  • Auckland: Onehunga
    Onehunga-Mangere United
    Onehunga-Mangere United is an semi-professional association football club in Mangere Bridge, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1.-History:The club was formed in 1921...
    
    
  • Bay of Plenty: Rangers
  • Buller: Millerton Thistle
  • Canterbury: Western
    Western A.F.C.
    Western A.F.C. is a semi-professional association football club in Christchurch, New Zealand. They compete in the Robbie's Premier Football League.-1913–1920:...
    
    
  • Hawke's Bay: Napier Athletic
  • Manawatu: Kiwi United
  • Marlborough: Spartans
  • Nelson: Settlers
  • Northland: Marlin Rovers
  • Otago: Northern AFC
  • Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
    Gisborne City
    Gisborne City FC is a soccer club in Gisborne, New Zealand who play in the eastern league 1st division. Their home ground is Childers Road. They have won the National League, Air New Zealand cup, and the Chatham Cup....
    
    
  • South Canterbury: West End
  • Southland: Brigadiers
  • Taranaki: City
  • Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
  • Wairarapa: Masterton Athletic
  • Wanganui: Wanganui Athletic
  • Wellington: Seatoun AFC

Births

• 1 January: Lesley Shankland
  Lesley Murdoch
  Lesley Jean Murdoch is a former New Zealand cricketer. Between 1979 and 1990 she played in six women's Test matches and twenty-five women's one-day internationals as a batsman. Murdoch captained New Zealand in three Tests against Australia, drawing two and losing one...
  
  (later Murdoch), cricketer.
• 7 February: Simon Upton
  Simon Upton
  Simon David Upton, QSO is a former New Zealand politician and member of Parliament from 1981 to 2001, representing the National Party.-Early life:...
  
  , politician.
• 30 March: Peter Ellis
  Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis
  Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis is a former Christchurch child care worker who has been at the centre of one of New Zealand's most enduring judicial controversies. In June 1993 Ellis was found guilty in the High Court on 16 counts of sexual offences involving children in his care at the Christchurch...
  
  , convicted for child abuse.
• 15 April: John Bracewell
  John Bracewell
  John Garry Bracewell is a New Zealand cricketer and coach. He played 41 Test matches between 1979-80 and 1990, as well as 53 One Day Internationals. He has been the coach of the New Zealand cricket team since the autumn of 2003...
  
  , cricket player and coach.
• 16 May (in the U.S.A.): Thomas "Tab" Baldwin
  Tab Baldwin
  Thomas Anthony "Tab" Baldwin ONZM is an American-New Zealand basketball coach,-History:Baldwin was born in Florida and came from Jacksonville Beach to New Zealand in 1988 to coach the Otago Nuggets....
  
  , basketball coach.
• 27 May: Neil Finn
  Neil Finn
  Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...
  
  , singer, songwriter.
• 28 May: Dennis May, karate master.
• 14 September: Jeff Crowe
  Jeff Crowe
  Jeffrey John Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He is the son of Dave Crowe and elder brother of Martin Crowe. They are cousins of Oscar winning actor, Russell Crowe....
  
  , cricketer.
• 27 September: Mitch Shirra
  Mitch Shirra
  Mitchell Owen Shirra is a former motorcycle speedway rider who rode with the Coventry Bees, Reading Racers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches in the British League.-Career summary:...
  
  , motorcycle speedway rider.
• 17 November: Frank van Hattum
  Frank van Hattum
  Francesco van Hattum is a former New Zealand football player who was a goalkeeper during the country's first World Cup finals tournament in 1982...
  
  , soccer player.
• 23 November: Martin Snedden
  Martin Snedden
  Martin Colin Snedden played 25 Tests, between 1981 and 1990, and 93 One Day Internationals, between 1980 and 1990, for New Zealand...
  
  , cricketer and sports administrator.
• 30 November: Barry Cooper
  Barry Cooper (cricketer)
  Barry George Cooper in Whangarei) was a New Zealand cricketer who played 62 first-class matches for the Northern Districts Knights in the 1980s and in the 1990s and he played for Northland in the Hawke Cup....
  
  , cricketer.
• 3 December: Roger Sowry
  Roger Sowry
  Roger Morrison Sowry, ONZM is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and was the deputy leader from 2001 to 2003.-Early life:...
  
  , politician.
• 14 December (In Scotland): Alan Boath, footballer.

• Daryl Crimp
  Daryl Crimp
  Daryl Crimp is a New Zealand writer, illustrator and cartoonist.He specialises in books on fishing in New Zealand.-Bibliography:* Wacka Murphy * Wacka Murphy 2 * Fishing With Crimpy...
  
  , writer, illustrator and cartoonist.
• A J Hackett
  A J Hackett
  Alan John "A. J." Hackett is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the extreme sport of bungee jumping.-Early life:Hackett grew up on Auckland's North Shore. He attended Westlake Boys High School, but left at the age of sixteen, and served an apprenticeship as a carpenter. At this time, he...
  
  , extreme sports entrepreneur.
• (in Zambia): Vicky Jones
  V. M. Jones
  Victoria Mary Jones is a children's author. She was born in Zambia and educated in Zimbabwe. She completed a BA in English, Archaeology and Social Anthropology at the University of Cape Town...
  
  , children's author.
• Tuku Morgan
  Tuku Morgan
  Tukoroirangi Morgan is a New Zealand Māori politician. He was chair of Te Arataura, the Waikato-Tainui committee or tribal parliament, but his status and membership within that body remain undecided...
  
  , politician.
• Pio Terei
  Pio Terei
  Pio Terei is a Māori actor, singer and comedian on New Zealand TV.-Career:A former Auckland Toyota car salesman, he came to notice in 1995 when he headlined his own TV3 show Pete and Pio with fellow comedian Peter Rowley. After the success of Pete and Pio, Terei led his own show called Pio!,...
  
  , actor, singer and comedian.
• Jools and Lynda Topp (the Topp Twins
  Topp Twins
  The Topp Twins are the folk singing sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp.They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They are openly lesbian...
  
  , entertainers.
• Jane Wrightson
  Jane Wrightson
  Jane Wrightson was born in Hastings, New Zealand in 1958. She became New Zealand’s eighth Chief Censor, and first woman Chief Censor, in 1991, a position she held until the Films, Videos, and Publications Act was passed in 1993...
  
  , chief censor.