1955 in New Zealand

Decades:	1930s; 1940s; 1950s; 1960s; 1970s;
See also:	History of New Zealand; List of years in New Zealand; Timeline of New Zealand history;

The following lists events that happened during 1955 in New Zealand.

Population

Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,164,800.^[1]
Increase since 31 December 1954: 46,400 (2.19%).^[1]
Males per 100 females: 101.2.^[1]

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State – Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, from 6 February 1952
Governor-General – Lieutenant-General The Lord Norrie GCMG GCVO CB DSO MC, from 1952 to 1957^[2]

Government

The 31st New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the National government under Sidney Holland.

Speaker of the House – Mathew Oram from 1950 to 1957
Prime Minister – Sidney Holland from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957.
Deputy Prime Minister – Keith Holyoake from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957.
Minister of Finance – Jack Watts from November 1954 until 20 September 1957
Minister of Foreign Affairs – Tom Macdonald from 26 November 1954 until 12 December 1957
Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough

Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition – Walter Nash (Labour).^[3]

Main centre leaders

Mayor of Auckland – John Luxford from 1953 to 1956
Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite from 1953 to 1959
Mayor of Wellington – Robert Macalister from 1950 to 1956
Mayor of Christchurch – Robert M. Macfarlane from 1938 to 1941 and again from 1950 to 1958
Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright from 1950 to 1959

Events

A pulp and paper mill opens at Kawerau
The Rimutaka rail tunnel opened
The Marriage Act 1955 is passed

Arts and literature

See 1955 in art, 1955 in literature

Sport

Athletics

Arthur Lydiard wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:42:34 in Auckland.

Chess

The 62nd National Chess Championship was held in Auckland, and was won by Ortvin Sarapu of Auckland (his 4th successive title).^[4]

Horse racing

Harness racing

New Zealand Trotting Cup – Our Roger^[5]
Auckland Trotting Cup – Prince Polka^[6]

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.^[7]

Men's singles champion – J.H. Rabone (Northern Bowling Club)
Men's pair champions – W.R. Hawkins, M.G. Borich (skip) (Hamilton Bowling Club)
Men's fours champions – J. Whitehead, E.A. Horan, A. Robinson, I.B. Evans (skip) (Omarunui Bowling Club)

Soccer

The Chatham Cup is won by Western of Christchurch who beat Eastern Suburbs of Auckland 6–2 in the final.^[8]
New Zealand played 3 matches against South China Athletic^[9]
- 18 June, Christchurch – 1–1 draw
- 2 July, Wellington – NZ win 7-4
- 9 July, Auckland – NZ lose 3-5
Provincial league champions:^[10]
- Auckland: Mount Albert GSOB
- Bay of Plenty: Mangakino Utd
- Buller: Millerton Thistle
- Canterbury: Western
- Hawke's Bay: Napier Rovers
- Manawatu: Kiwi United
- Nelson: Motueka
- Northland: Otangarei United
- Otago: King Edward Technical College OB
- Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
- South Canterbury: West End
- Southland: Invercargill Thistle
- Taranaki: Old Boys
- Waikato: Huntly Thistle
- Wanganui: Wanganui Athletic
- Wellington: Stop Out

Births

16 January: Steve Wooddin, soccer player^[11]
14 February: Margaret Knighton, equestrian eventer^[12]
31 March: Robert Vance, cricketer
2 April: Steve Sumner, soccer player
21 April: Tūheitia Paki, Māori King
27 May: Graham 'Jock' Edwards, cricketer
1 June: Lorraine Moller, long-distance athlete
19 June: Mary O'Connor, long-distance runner
16 September: Peter Verhoek, cricketer
29 September: Mark Graham, rugby league footballer and coach
1 November: Anne Audain, middle and long-distance athlete
12 November: Roger Sumich, cyclist
26 November: Barbara Tilden, field hockey player
2 December: Mark Gosche, politician
7 December: Te Ururoa Flavell, politician
David Hamilton, composer

Deaths

31 January: Bob Semple, trade union leader and politician.
7 May: Melville Lyons, politician
24 May: Louis Hekenui Bidois, policeman^[13]
5 June (in England): George Skellerup, industrialist
7 September: Henry Braddon, rugby union player.
14 December: William Stewart, politician.^[14]
Undated: John Guthrie (at sea) journalist and novelist.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Historical population estimates tables". Statistics New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
^ Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
^ "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
^ List of New Zealand Chess Champions Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ List of NZ Trotting cup winners Archived 22 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ 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.
^ Chatham Cup records, nzsoccer.com Archived 14 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ All whites record Archived 29 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
^ "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.
^ Steve Woodin FIFA profile Archived 10 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Marges Knighton". SR/Olympic Sports. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
^ Rorke, Jinty. "Louis Hekenui Bidois". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.