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1925
in
New Zealand

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Decades:

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State – George V
Governor-General – Sir Charles Fergusson^[1]

George V
Sir Charles Fergusson

Government

The 21st New Zealand Parliament concludes, with its final year marked by the death of premier William Massey. The Reform Party governs as a minority with the support of independents. Following the general election in November, the Reform Party holds a much stronger position with 55 of the 80 seats.

Speaker of the House – Charles Statham
Prime Minister – William Massey until 10 May, then Francis Bell from 14 to 30 May, then Gordon Coates
Minister of Finance – William Massey until 10 May, then William Nosworthy from 14 May
Minister of External Affairs – Francis Bell

Charles Statham
William Massey
Francis Bell
Gordon Coates
William Nosworthy

Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition – Thomas Wilford (Liberal Party) until 13 August, then George Forbes (Liberal) until 4 November, then vacant (until June 1926)^[2]

Thomas Wilford
George Forbes

Judiciary

Chief Justice – Sir Robert Stout

Robert Stout

Main centre leaders

Mayor of Auckland – James Gunson, succeeded by George Baildon
Mayor of Wellington – Robert Wright, succeeded by Charles Norwood
Mayor of Christchurch – James Flesher, succeeded by John Archer
Mayor of Dunedin – Harold Tapley

James Gunson
George Baildon
Robert Wright
Charles Norwood
James Flesher
John Archer
Harold Tapley

Events

1 January
- National scheme for vehicle registration plates comes into force^[3]
- Ernest Rutherford is appointed to the Order of Merit^[4]
1 April – The Foodstuffs cooperative is registered^[5]
21 April – Alfred Averill succeeds Churchill Julius as Archbishop of New Zealand^[6]
10 May – Prime Minister William Massey dies in office^[7]
31 May – Tahupotiki Wiremu Rātana announces his intention to form the Rātana Church^[8]
17 June – The Franklin by-election, caused by the death of William Massey, is won by Ewen McLennan (Reform)^[9]
August – The U.S. Navy's Pacific battlefleet of 57 vessels including 12 battleships visits New Zealand during a goodwill tour of the South Pacific after manoeuvres off Hawaii.^[10]
September – A leopard escapes Auckland Zoo and remains loose for several weeks.^[11]
3–4 November – The 1925 general election is held, with the Reform Party winning 55 of the 80 seats in the House of Representatives
4 November – An Order in Council provides for the transfer of Tokelau from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony to New Zealand (formally gazetted 11 February 1926)^[12]^[13]
17 November – The New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition opens at Logan Park, Dunedin^[14]
Undated – Lloyd Mandeno develops the single-wire earth return electrical distribution system

Arts and literature

See: 1925 in art, 1925 in literature, Category:1925 books

Allen Adair published by Jane Mander

Music

See: 1925 in music

Radio

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

The Radio Broadcasting Company (RBC) began broadcasts throughout New Zealand

Film

See: 1925 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1925 films

Sport

Chess

The 34th National Chess Championship is held in Nelson, and is won by C. J. S. Purdy of Sydney^[15]

Football

The Chatham Cup is won by YMCA (Wellington)
Provincial league champions:^[16]
- Auckland – Thistle
- Canterbury – Sunnyside
- Hawke's Bay – Whakatu
- Nelson – Thistle
- Otago – Northern
- South Canterbury – Rangers
- Southland – Central
- Taranaki – Manaia
- Wanganui – Eastown Workshops
- Wellington – YMCA

Golf

The 15th New Zealand Open championship is won by Ewen MacFarlane, an amateur, with an aggregate of 308^[17]
The 29th National Amateur Championships are held at Christchurch (men) and Miramar (women)^[18]^[19]
- Men – Tom Horton (Masterton)
- Women – Phyllis Dodgshun (Dunedin)

Horse racing

Harness racing

New Zealand Trotting Cup – Ahuriri^[20]
Auckland Trotting Cup – Nelson Derby^[21]

Thoroughbred racing

New Zealand Cup – The Banker^[22]
Avondale Gold Cup – Star Ranger^[22]
Auckland Cup – Rapine^[22]
Wellington Cup – Surveyor^[22]
New Zealand Derby – Runnymede^[22]

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.^[23]

Men's singles champion – J. D. Best (Dunedin Bowling Club)
Men's pair champions – C. W. Davis, J. W. Sexton (skip) (Newtown Bowling Club)
Men's fours champions – H. J. Wernham, F. T. Wilson, A. C. McIntyre, R. N. Pilkington (skip) (Hamilton Bowling Club)

Rugby union

The All Blacks tour New South Wales
The Auckland Rugby Union makes Eden Park its headquarters
Hawke's Bay defends he Ranfurly Shield for the third consecutive full season, defeating Wairarapa (22–3), Canterbury (24–18), Southland (31–12), Taranaki (28–3), Wellington (20–11) and Otago (34–14)^[24]

Births

January[edit]

4 January – Roger Drayton, politician
12 January – Allan Burnett, anarchist activist
13 January – Elwyn Welch, ornithologist
22 January – Harata Solomon, Māori leader, entertainer
25 January – Eric Dempster, cricketer
26 January – Barbara Heslop, immunologist

February[edit]

1 February – Assid Corban, politician
2 February – Mirek Smíšek, potter
3 February – Tay Wilson, sports administrator
7 February
- Ron Broom, cricketer
- John Oakley, cricketer
19 February – Trevor Martin, cricket umpire
22 February – Alexander Grant, ballet dancer and teacher, dance company director
23 February
- Fraser Colman, politician
- Ted McCoy, architect
25 February – Campbell Smith, playwright, poet, engraver
27 February – Joan Hastings, swimmer

March[edit]

8 March – Leonard Mitchell, artist
9 March
- Johnny Borland, high jumper, athletics administrator
- Aubrey Ritchie, cricketer
13 March
- John McCraw, pedologist, local historian
- Rahera Windsor, Māori leader in the United Kingdom
21 March – John Heslop, surgeon, cricket administrator
25 March – O. E. Middleton, writer

April[edit]

4 April – Harvey Kreyl, rugby league player
5 April – Milan Mrkusich, artist
17 April – Vern Clare, musician, cabaret owner
19 April
- Eva Rickard, Māori leader and activist
- Maurie Robertson, rugby league player and coach
23 April – Al Hobman, professional wrestler, trainer and promoter
24 April – Dorothy Butler, children's author and bookseller, memoirist, reading advocate
25 April – Neville Black, rugby union and rugby league player
28 April – David Brokenshire, architect, potter

May[edit]

2 May – Frances Porter, writer, historian
14 May
- Gordon Gostelow, actor
- W. H. Oliver, poet, historian
16 May – John Ziman, physicist, humanist
20 May
- Maurice Crow, weightlifter, rowing coxswain
- Bert Potter, commune leader
27 May – Arthur Campbell, chemist

June[edit]

3 June – Trevor Barber, cricketer
11 June – Tiny White, rugby union player and administrator, politician
25 June – Alistair Campbell, poet, playwright, novelist
27 June – Ben Couch, rugby union player, politician
29 June – Doody Townley, harness-racing driver

July[edit]

2 July – Philip Liner, radio broadcaster
8 July – Elwyn Richardson, educationalist
9 July – Rex Bergstrom, econometrician
10 July – Dixie Cockerton, netball player and coach, cricketer, school principal
15 July – Stuart Jones, golfer
16 July – J. B. Trapp, historian
18 July – Allan Elsom, rugby union player
20 July – Eric Watson, cricketer
26 July – Alister Atkinson, rugby league player
31 July
- John O'Brien, politician
- Helen Ryburn, school principal, local-body politician^[25]

August[edit]

3 August – John Robertson, public servant
5 August – Bob Duff, rugby union player, local-body politician
13 August – Peter Beaven, architect
15 August – James Brown, public servant
23 August – John Armitt, amateur wrestler
28 August – Trevor Young, politician
30 August – Joan Hart, athlete

September[edit]

1 September – Te Aue Davis, tohunga raranga
4 September
- Phil Amos, politician
- Bruce Stewart, television scriptwriter
19 September – Lyn Forster, arachnologist

October[edit]

7 October
- Bryan Drake, opera singer
- Bill Wolfgramm, musician
9 October – Bill Schaefer, field hockey player
19 October – David Gould, rower, businessman
21 October – Ian Ballinger, sports shooter
22 October – George Grindley, geologist
23 October – Brian Nordgren, rugby league player
25 October – Donald Brian, cricketer
30 October
- Audrey Eagle, botanical illustrator
- Colin Kay, athlete, politician
31 October – Ngaire Lane, swimmer

November[edit]

6 November – Ian Cross, novelist, journalist, broadcasting and arts administrator
12 November – Bill Toomath, architect
20 November – Bill Subritzky, property developer, evangelist
23 November – Tui Flower, food writer
26 November – Ross Taylor, geochemist, planetary scientist
27 November – Reginald Johansson, field hockey player
29 November – Peter Jacobson, poet

December[edit]

1 December
- Noeline Gourley, field hockey player, athlete, woodturner
- Thomas Thorp, jurist
5 December – Jack Tynan, field hockey player, cricketer
10 December – Betty Maker, cricketer
23 December – Ellis Child, cricketer
31 December – Ray Bell, rugby union player

Exact date unknown[edit]

Nightmarch, Thoroughbred racehorse

Deaths

January–March[edit]

3 January – John Endean, gold miner, hotel proprietor (born 1844)
11 January – Oliver Samuel, politician (born 1849)
13 February – Margaret McKenzie, pioneer (born c.1839)

April–June[edit]

14 April – Don Hamilton, rugby union player, cricketer (born 1883)
27 April – George Williams, rugby union player (born 1856)
10 May – William Massey, politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1912–1925) (born 1856)
15 May – Stephen Boreham, trade unionist (born 1857)
18 May – Sir Theophilus Cooper, jurist (born 1850)
19 May
- Andrew Cameron, Presbyterian minister, educationalist, community leader (born 1855)
- Frances Wimperis, artist (born 1840)
21 May – Samuel Kirkpatrick, businessman (born c.1854)
3 June – Frank Surman, rugby union player, athlete (born c.1866)

July–September[edit]

18 July – John Sinclair, carpenter, builder, harbourmaster (born 1843)
19 July – James Cox, diarist (born 1846)
22 July – William McCullough, politician (born 1843)
5 August – Emily Harris, painter (born c.1837)
9 August – Catherine Adamson, diarist (born 1868)
19 August – Harriet Morison, trade unionist, suffragist, public servant (born 1862)
1 September – Donald Petrie, botanist (born 1846)
7 September Thomas Ronayne, NZR General Manager (retired) (born 1849)
15 September – Charles Melvill, military leader (born 1878)
18 September – Charles Hayward Izard, politician (born 1862)
19 September – Henry Reynolds, butter manufacturer and exporter (born 1849)
27 September – Thomas MacGibbon, politician (born 1839)

October–December[edit]

2 October – Thomas Hislop, politician (born 1850)
20 November – Charles Mackesy, military leader (born 1861)
28 November – William Joseph Napier, politician (born 1857)
10 December – John Liddell Kelly, journalist, poet (born 1850)
13 December - Isa Outhwaite, watercolour artist, poet, social activist and philanthropist (born 1842)
29 December – John Crewes, Bible Christian minister, social worker, journalist (born 1847)

References

External links

Years in New Zealand

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Timeline of New Zealand history

1925 in Oceania

1925 in Oceania
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