The following lists events that happened during 1941 in New Zealand.

Population

* Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,631,200. * Increase since 31 December 1940: -2400 (-0.15%). * Males per 100 females: 96.1. * The scheduled New Zealand census was not held due to World War II.

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

- The Viscount Galway

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

DSO

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

PC, succeeded same year by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Cyril Newall GCB OM

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Government

The 26th New Zealand Parliament continued with the Labour Party in government. 1941 should have been an election year, but because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the election was deferred until 1942. *

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

Bill Barnard William Edward Barnard (29 January 1886 – 12 March 1958) was a New Zealand lawyer, politician and parliamentary speaker. He was a member of Parliament from 1928 until 1943, and was its Speaker from 1936 till 1943. He was known for his associ ...

( Democratic Labour Party) *

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand Lab ...

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havi ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

- Frank Langstone *

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

- Rex Mason * Chief Justice — Sir Michael Myers

Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

Sidney Holland Sir Sidney George Holland (18 October 1893 – 5 August 1961) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 25th prime minister of New Zealand from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957. He was instrumental in the creation and consolidation ...

( National Party).

Main centre leaders

Mayor of Auckland The mayor of Auckland is the elected head of local government in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island; one of 67 Mayors in New Zealand, mayors in the country. The principle city of the region (and its namesake) is Auckland. The may ...

- Ernest Davis then

John Allum Sir John Andrew Charles Allum (27 January 1889 – 16 September 1972) was a New Zealand businessman and engineer, and was Mayor of Auckland City from 1941 to 1953. Biography Early life and career Allum was born in London and educated at Golds ...

* Mayor of Hamilton -

Harold Caro Harold David Caro (1 September 1887 – 10 June 1964) was the 23rd mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand and a Hamilton businessman. He was awarded the OBE in 1950. Biography He was born in Christchurch to Mrs Lewis Caro the eighth of ten children. H ...

Mayor of Wellington The mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, the city of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional ...

- Thomas Hislop *

Mayor of Christchurch The mayor of Christchurch is the elected head of local government in Christchurch, New Zealand; one of 67 Mayors in New Zealand, mayors in the country. The mayor presides over the Christchurch City Council and is directly elected using the First ...

- Robert M. Macfarlane then Ernest Andrews *

Mayor of Dunedin The mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

- Andrew Allen

Events

* 16 January: formation of the

New Zealand Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force was the female auxiliary of the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the World War II, Second World War. Established in 1941, it began with an initial draft of 200 women, reaching a peak strength of about 3,800, with ...

* March: 2NZEF deployed to northern Greece and were soon involved in the

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasi ...

. * 24–30 April: New Zealand forces evacuated from mainland

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. * 14 May: The minesweeper was sunk by a mine while sweeping in the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

- New Zealand forces suffer heavy losses: 671 dead, 967 wounded, 2,180 captured. On the first day of the German invasion,

Charles Upham Charles Hazlitt Upham (21 September 1908 – 22 November 1994) was a New Zealand soldier decorated for actions during World War II. Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, he attended Christ's College, Christchurch, Christ's College and later the ...

wins the V.C * 8 October: four police officers and three civilians are shot and killed at Kowhitirangi, near

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

, by Stanley Graham * 7 December: Hawaii bombed in a surprise attack by Japanese carrier forces on the US Navy. * 8 December: New Zealand declares war on Japan in response to Japanese attack on the United States. * 10 December: British battlecruiser and battleship sunk by Japanese torpedo planes, effectively taking Britain out of the sea war in the Pacific. * 15 December: A

RNZAF The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, becoming an in ...

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...

bomber returning to Nelson from a coastal patrol hit the top of a limestone bluff near Collingwood in thick fog, killing all four crew. * 19 December: New Zealand suffers its worst naval loss when 150 New Zealanders on board are killed after the ship strikes mines and sinks off the coast of Libya. * German surface raiders operated in New Zealand waters in 1940 and 1941, sinking four ships.

Arts and literature

See 1941 in art, 1941 in literature

Music

See:

1941 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1941. Specific locations *1941 in British music *1941 in Norwegian music Specific genres *1941 in country music *1941 in jazz Events *January 5 – Ernesto Bonino makes hi ...

Radio

See:

Public broadcasting in New Zealand Public broadcasting in New Zealand is funded through New Zealand Government body New Zealand On Air, and consists of a number of television channels, radio stations, and websites. In addition to funding solely public media outlets, New Zealand O ...

Film

See: :1941 film awards,

1941 in film The year 1941 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, ''Citizen Kane''. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1941 released films by box office gros ...

, List of New Zealand feature films,

Cinema of New Zealand The cinema of New Zealand refers to films made by New Zealand–based production company, production companies in New Zealand or films made about New Zealand by filmmakers from other countries. New Zealand produces many films that are co-finan ...

, :1941 films

Sport

Most sporting events were on hold due to the war.

Chess

* The 50th National Chess Championship was held in Timaru, and was won by P. Allerhand of Wellington.

Horse racing

Harness racing

New Zealand Trotting Cup The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in C ...

– Josedale Grattan * Auckland Trotting Cup – Uenuku

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Christchurch. * Men's singles champion – C. Spearman (Christchurch RSA Bowling Club) * Men's pair champions – H.S. Maslin, M.J. Squire (skip) (Hawera Bowling Club) * Men's fours champions – C.H. Elsom, D.H. Joseph, A. Williamson, P. Munn (skip) (Canterbury Bowling Club)

Rugby union

:Rugby union in New Zealand, :All Blacks *

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...

Rugby league

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

Soccer

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are Wellington Olymp ...

competition not held * Provincial league champions: ** Auckland: Comrade ** Canterbury:

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

** Hawke's Bay: Napier HSOB ** Nelson: No competition ** Otago:

Mosgiel Mosgiel () is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area. Mosgiel has a p ...

** South Canterbury: No competition ** Southland: No competition ** Waikato: No competition ** Wanganui: No competition ** Wellington: Seatoun

Births

* 5 January: Bob Cunis, cricketer (died 2008). * 3 February: Gary Bartlett, cricketer. * 11 February: Alan "A. K." Grant, writer, humourist. (died 2000) * 12 February: Ross Morgan, cricketer. * 12 February: Bruno Lawrence, actor. (died 1995) * 26 February: Keith Thomson, cricketer. * 8 April: Roderick Deane, economist, public sector reformer, and businessman. * 7 May: Grahame Bilby, cricketer. * 17 June: Claire Stewart, politician. (died 2020) * 5 July: Lynley Dodd, children's author. * 20 July: Pita Sharples, academic and politician. * 17 August: Owen Marshall, writer (Owen Marshall Jones). * 12 September: Doug Kidd, politician. * 17 September: Tilly Hirst, netball player (died 2021). * 29 October: Bryan Yuile, cricketer. * 7 November: Jim Sutton, politician. * 12 November:

Jenny McLeod Jennifer Helen McLeod (12 November 1941 – 28 November 2022) was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington. She composed several major works for big groups including ''Under the Sun'' for four orchestr ...

, composer and musician. * 24 November: Bob Harvey, mayor of Waitakere City. * Chin Wing Ho (Peter Chin), mayor of Dunedin. * Gary Day, actor. * Malcolm Douglas, politician. * Allan Hawkey, cartoonist. * (in England): Bernard Holman, artist. (died 1988) *

Ian Mune Sir Ian Barry Mune (born 1941) is a New Zealand character actor, director, and screenwriter. His screen acting career spans four decades and more than 50 roles. His work as a film director includes hit comedy ''Came a Hot Friday'', an adaptation ...

, actor and director. * Ian Peters, politician. :1941 births

Deaths

* 2 May: Sir James Parr, politician. * 26 May: William John Lyon, Labour MP, killed serving with 2NZEF on Crete. * 27 April:

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

, community leader. * 27 July: Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, painter. * 11 September:

Albert Glover Albert Edward Glover (c. 1849 – 11 September 1941) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. Biography Early life and career Glover was born in Nottingham, England, in about 1849. At age 13 he sailed with his parents to New Zealand ...

, politician. * 4 October: George Troup, architect. * 20 October: Stanley Graham, murderer (shot by police). * 1 November: Gordon Hultquist, Labour MP, killed serving with 2NZEF in North Africa. * 28 November: John Manchester Allen, National MP, killed serving with 2NZEF in Libya. * 29 November: Arthur Nattle Grigg, National MP, killed serving with 2NZEF in Libya. * 30 November: Thomas David Burnett, National MP. * James Alexander Pond, analytical chemist and homeopathic pharmacist.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1941 in New Zealand Years of the 20th century in New Zealand