my-server
← Wiki

1931 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1931 in New Zealand.

Population

  • Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,522,800.
  • Increase since previous 31 December 1930: 16,000 (1.06%).
  • Males per 100 females: 103.8.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Government

The 23rd New Zealand Parliament continued with the coalition of the United Party and the Labour Party with the Reform Party in opposition. During the year the agreement between United and Labour collapsed due to differing opinions on how to counter the Great Depression. The Reform Party, fearing that the Depression would give Labour a substantial boost, reluctantly agreed to form a coalition with United to avert elections. By forming a coalition, United and Reform were able to blunt Labour's advantage, ending the possibility of the anti-Labour vote being split and the general election in December saw the United–Reform Coalition winning a majority.

Parliamentary opposition

Main centre leaders

Events

  • 7 January – Australian aviator Guy Menzies makes the first solo flight across the Tasman sea, starting from Sydney and ending 11 hours 45 minutes later with a crash landing in a swamp near Harihari on the West Coast
  • 3 February – The Hawkes Bay earthquake, New Zealand's worst, kills 256 people, mainly in Napier and Hastings
  • 8 February – A Desoutter aircraft of Dominion Airline crashed near Wairoa, killing all three people aboard. This is the first fatality on a scheduled air service in New Zealand.
  • 27 February – Oscar Garden lands his Gipsy Moth aircraft at Horseshoe Bay on Stewart Island / Rakiura, the first aircraft to land on the island.

Arts and literature

See 1931 in art, 1931 in literature,

Music

See: 1931 in music

Radio

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film

See: , 1931 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand,

Sport

Chess

  • The 40th National Chess Championship was held in Rotorua, and was won by A.W. Gyles of Wellington.

Golf

  • The 21st New Zealand Open championship was won by Andrew Shaw, his 4th win.
  • The 35th National Amateur Championships were held in Christchurch
  • Men: Rana Wagg (Hutt)
  • Women: Miss B. Gaisford

Horse racing

Harness racing

Thoroughbred racing

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Auckland.

  • Men's singles champion – N.C. Bell (Hamilton Bowling Club)
  • Men's pair champions – H.G. Loveridge, R.N. Pilkington (skip) (Hamilton Bowling Club)
  • Men's fours champions – J.D. Best, A.J.H. Gregory, H. Gardiner, G.A. Deare (skip) (Dunedin Bowling Club)

Rugby league

New Zealand national rugby league team

Rugby Union

,

Soccer

  • 1931 Chatham Cup won by Tramurewa (Auckland)
  • Provincial league champions:
  • Auckland: Thistle
  • Canterbury: Rangers, Nomads (shared)
  • Hawke's Bay: National Tobacco
  • Nelson: Hospital
  • Otago: HSOB
  • Southland: Rangers
  • Taranaki: Hawera, Albion (shared)
  • Waikato: Rotowaro
  • Wanganui: KP's
  • Wellington: Petone

Births

January

  • 1 January – Inez Kingi, health advocate (died 2022)
  • 2 January – Ritchie Johnston, cyclist (died 2001)
  • 12 January – Bert Ormond, association footballer (died 2017)
  • 14 January – Norm Wilson, cricketer (died 2018)
  • 19 January – Pat Hunt, politician (died 2023)
  • 20 January – Allan Tong, rower
  • 23 January – Gordon McLauchlan, author (died 2020)
  • 30 January – Doug Wilson, rugby union player (died 2019)

February

March

April

May

June

July

  • 2 July – Robin Gray, politician (died 2022)
  • 6 July – John Spencer, boat designer (died 1996)
  • 18 July – Peter Goddard, educationalist (died 2012)
  • 21 July – Roy Meehan, wrestler (died 2011)
  • 23 July – Te Atairangikaahu, 6th Māori monarch (died 2006)
  • 24 July – Ray Laurent, rower (died 2010)
  • 25 July – Murray Day, squash administrator (died 2022)
  • 26 July – Jean Puketapu, Māori language activist, kōhanga reo pioneer (died 2012)
  • 27 July – David Goldsmith, field hockey player (died 2017)
  • 28 July – Peter Shirtcliffe, businessman

August

September

October

November

  • 2 November – Steve Kuzmicich, statistician (died 2018)
  • 9 November – Eion Scarrow, gardening personality, broadcaster and author (died 2013)
  • 12 November – Jeanne Macaskill, artist (died 2014)
  • 21 November – Bruce Townshend, politician (died 1987)
  • 27 November – Keith Allen, politician (died 1984)
  • 30 November – Vivian Lynn, artist (died 2018)

December

  • 8 December – David Crooks, air force officer (died 2022)
  • 10 December – John Bond, rugby league player (died 2024)
  • 11 December – Bryce Harland, diplomat (died 2006)
  • 17 December – Frank Devine, journalist, newspaper editor (died 2009)
  • 18 December – Noel McGregor, cricketer (died 2007)

Exact date unknown

Deaths

January–March

April–June

  • 13 April – Joseph Firth, cricketer, sports administrator, educator (born 1859)
  • 18 April – Arthur Hall, politician (born 1880)
  • 3 May – Hannah Dudley, Methodist mission sister (born 1864)
  • 10 May – Anna Stout, social reformer (born 1858)
  • 22 May – Bernard Chambers, viticulturist, winemaker (born 1859)
  • 26 May – Richard Barton, pastoralist, author (born 1879)
  • 6 June – William Baucke, linguist, ethnologist, journalist (born 1848)
  • 10 June – May Moore, photographer (born 1881)

July–September

October–December

See also

References

External links