The following lists events that happened during 1934 in New Zealand.
Population Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,558,400. Increase since previous 31 December 1933: 11,300 (0.73%). Males per 100 females: 103.3.
Incumbents
Regal and viceregal Head of State – George V Governor-General – The Lord Bledisloe GCMG KBE PCStatistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
Government The 24th New Zealand Parliament continued with the coalition of the United Party and the Reform Party; which postponed the next general election from 1934 to 1935.
Speaker of the House – Charles Statham (Independent) Prime Minister – George Forbes Minister of Finance – Gordon Coates (Reform Party) Minister of Foreign Affairs – George Forbes Attorney-General – George Forbes Chief Justice — Sir Michael Myers
Parliamentary opposition Leader of the Opposition – Michael Joseph Savage (Labour Party).
Main centre leaders Mayor of Auckland – George Hutchison Mayor of Wellington – Thomas Hislop Mayor of Christchurch – Dan Sullivan Mayor of Dunedin – Edwin Thomas Cox
Events 6 February: Treaty house and grounds at Waitangi dedicated as a national reserve. 5 March: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Pahiatua, Manawatu-Wanganui, at 11.46pm. 28 June: Third session of the 24th Parliament commences.Lambert & Palenski: The New Zealand Almanac, 1982. 10 November: Third session of the 24th Parliament concludes. Banknotes issued by the new Reserve Bank replace those issued by the Trading Banks, see New Zealand pound. Charles Ulm, in Faith in Australia, flies the first official airmail from New Zealand to Australia.
Arts and literature
See 1934 in art, 1934 in literature, :Category:1934 books
Music
See: 1934 in music
Radio See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand
Film See: :Category:1934 film awards, 1934 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, :Category:1934 films
Sport
British Empire Games
Total 1 0 2 3
Chess The 43rd National Chess Championship was held in Dunedin, and was won by John Dunlop, of Dunedin, his fourth title.List of New Zealand Chess Champions
Golf The 24th New Zealand Open championship was won by Andrew Shaw, his 6th title. The 38th National Amateur Championships were held in Wanganui Men: B. M. Silk (Wanganui) Women: Miss B. Gaisford – her second title.
Horse racing
Harness racing New Zealand Trotting Cup – Indianapolis Auckland Trotting Cup – Roi L'OrAuckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz
Lawn bowls The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Dunedin. Men's singles champion – W. Carswell (Taieri Bowling Club) Men's pair champions – J. McPherson, J. Veitch (skip) (West Harbour Bowling Club) Men's fours champions – G. Dickson, F. Redpath, H.F. Gibson, H. Wilson (skip) (Linwood Bowling Club)
Rugby :Category:Rugby union in New Zealand, :Category:All Blacks the Bledisloe Cup was won by Australia, with one win and one draw. The Ranfurly Shield changed hands twice: Canterbury lost their first defence to Hawkes Bay 0–9. Hawkes Bay defended the shield against Wanganui 39–16 and Taranaki 23–8 before losing it to Auckland 14–18.
Rugby league New Zealand national rugby league team
Soccer The Chatham Cup is won by Auckland Thistle who beat Christchurch Thistle 2–1 in the final.Chatham Cup records, nzsoccer.com Provincial league champions: Auckland: Thistle Canterbury: Thistle Hawke's Bay: Napier YMCA Nelson: YMCA Otago: King Edward Technical College Old Boys Southland: Southern Taranaki: Stratford Waikato: Huntly Starr Utd Wanganui: Thistle Wellington: Marist
Births
January 3 January – Bob Elliott, paediatrician (died 2020) 6 January – Harry M. Miller, entertainment promoter and publicist (died 2018) 11 January – Barrie West, naval officer 22 January – Graham Kerr, television cook 26 January – Rex Percy, rugby union and rugby league player (died 2015)
February 4 February – Donal Smith, athlete (died 2023) 6 February – Barry Magee, athlete 7 February – Ossie Butt, rugby league player (died 2002) 10 February – Fleur Adcock, poet and editor (died 2024) 26 February – Kara Puketapu, public servant and Maori leader (died 2023)
March 3 March – Lindsay Townsend, rugby union player (died 2020) 15 March – Wally Hughes, association football player and coach (died 2011) 16 March Ian McLean, politician Des Townson, yacht designer (died 2008) 17 March – Ian Barker, jurist (died 2022) 20 March Graeme Hansen, equestrian (died 2007) Ralph Maxwell, politician (died 2012) 26 March Harle Freeman-Greene, diplomat Matiu Rata, politician (died 1997) 31 March – Randall Carrington, cricketer (died 2018)
April 3 April – Pamela Allen, children's writer and illustrator 9 April – Bill Birch, politician 14 April – Duncan MacRae, rugby league player (died 2019) 21 April – Martin Horton, cricket player and coach (died 2011) 24 April – Olaf Keil, musician (died 2022) 28 April – James Flynn, intelligence researcher, politician (died 2020) 30 April – Tom Coughlan, rugby union player (died 2017)
May 1 May Nev MacEwan, rugby union player Apirana Mahuika, Ngāti Porou leader (died 2015) 8 May Graeme Lowans, cricketer (died 2014) Gordon Ogilvie, historian and biographer (died 2017) 12 May – Peter Bland, poet, actor 15 May – Frank McAtamney, rugby union player (died 2022) 16 May – Roy Kerr, mathematician 21 May – Guy Henderson, oboist (died 2013) 28 May – Bill Baillie, athlete (died 2018) 30 May Mel Cooke, rugby league player (died 2013) Peter Dronke, medievalist (died 2020)
June 5 June Ashley Lawrence, conductor (died 1990) Margaret Stuart, athlete (died 1999) 8 June – David Abbott, cricket umpire (died 2016) 11 June – John da Silva, wrestler, boxer (died 2021) 13 June – Mel Brieseman, public health official, missionary (died 2010) 19 June – Arthur Candy, cyclist (died 2019)
July 12 July – Tuna Scanlan, boxer (died 2014) 15 July – Noel Hobson, field hockey player 19 July – Tessa Birnie, concert pianist (died 2008) 22 July Sam Chaffey, alpine skier, businessman (died 1998) Neville Denton, rugby league player and coach (died 2015) 25 July – Peter Skelton, cricketer (died 2009) 27 July – Robin Leamy, Roman Catholic bishop (died 2022) 31 July – Roger Urbahn, rugby union player, cricketer, sports journalist (died 1984)
August 1 August – John Beck, cricketer (died 2000) 6 August – Dave Gillespie, rugby union player 9 August – Kevin Laidlaw, rugby union player (died 2024) 20 August – Patricia Buckfield, paediatrician and neonatologist (died 1995) 21 August Ruth Butterworth, political scientist (died 2020) Ann Verdcourt, potter (died 2022) 24 August Tony Campbell, biblical scholar (died 2020) John Waddingham, cricketer 29 August – John Guy, cricketer
September 2 September Leslie Butler, cricketer (died 2006) Colin Knight, educationalist (died 2016) 6 September – Alison Roxburgh, women's rights advocate, community leader (died 2020) 8 September – Ross Brown, rugby union player (died 2014) 9 September Eugene Paykel, psychiatrist (died 2023) John Wallace, jurist (died 2012) Roy Williams, decathlete 10 September John Abrams, field hockey player Des Webb, rugby union player (died 1987) 11 September – Evon Dickson, cricketer (died 2012) 14 September – Paul Little, rugby union player (died 1993) 16 September – Anne Gambrill, lawyer and judge (died 2026) 19 September – Austin Mitchell, journalist, politician (died 2021) 25 September – Allan Potts, athlete, athletics coach and administrator (died 2014) 29 September – Bob Parker, rower (died 2009)
October 1 October – Teupoko'ina Utanga Morgan, teacher, politician, author (died 2007) 4 October – Joe Williams, physician, politician (died 2020) 8 October – Jean Coulston, cricketer (died 2001) 12 October – Maurice Langdon, cricketer 18 October – Allan Wilson, biochemist (died 1991) 20 October – Leo Close, Paralympic sportsman and sports organiser (died 1977) 22 October – Donald McIntyre, opera singer (died 2025) 28 October – Brian Davis, Anglican archbishop (died 1998) 29 October – George Cuthill, association footballer 31 October – Don Aickin, obstetrician and gynaecologist (died 2019)
November 1 November – Les Mills, athlete, politician 11 November – Peter Snow, physician (died 2006) 12 November – Peter Wilkinson, politician (died 1987) 13 November – Peter Arnett, TV journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner (died 2025)
December 1 December – Peter Williams, lawyer, penal reform advocate (died 2015) 6 December – Johnny Hanks, boxer (died 2013) 11 December Tom Hadfield, rugby league player (died 2018) Ross McNabb, mycologist (died 1972) 16 December – Mel Dunne, rugby union player, cricketer, civil engineer (died 2002) 25 December – John Shrapnell, journalist, actor, singer (died 2020) 26 December – Don Hunn, diplomat and public servant 27 December – Ron Ackland, rugby league player and coach (died 2013) 28 December – Bob Skelton, jockey (died 2016) 30 December Barry Briggs, speedway rider Eddie Tonks, rugby union administrator (died 2020)
Undated Gillian Cowlishaw, anthropologist Gil Hanly, artist Leo McKendry, politician Norma Restieaux, cardiologist Tepaeru Tereora, artist, Cook Islands Māori language advocate Ted Thomas, jurist
Deaths
January–February 6 January – Hikapuhi, Ngāti Pikiao tohunga (born ) 7 January – Alfred West, rugby union player (born 1893) 9 January – George Smailes, politician, clergyman (born 1862) 10 January – Lawrence Grace, politician (born 1854) 18 January – Jessie Aitken, community worker, political activist (born 1867) 20 January – Joseph Lawton, cricket player and coach (born 1857) 27 January – Spencer Gollan, rower, golfer (born 1860) 31 January – Duncan Sommerville, mathematician and astronomer (born 1879) 8 February– Herbert Izard, Anglican clergyman (born 1869) 15 February – John Fletcher, businessman, politician (born 1888) 22 February Rosetta Baume, feminist, community leader (born 1871) George Witters, conservationist (born 1876)
March–April 5 March – Sir Arthur Dobson, surveyor, engineer, explorer (born 1841) 12 March – Fanny Osborne, botanical illustrator (born 1852) 31 March – James Mackintosh Bell, geologist, writer (born 1877) 5 April – Thomas Davey, politician (born 1856) 9 April – John Charles Thomson, politician (born 1866) 11 April Harry Beswick, politician (born 1860) Sir Edwin Mitchelson, politician (born 1846) Alexander Peebles, politician (born 1856) 29 April – Bert Pither, cyclist, aviation experimenter (born 1871) 30 April – James Testro, cricketer (born 1851)
May–June 5 May – Ann O'Donnell, hotel proprietor (born ) 6 May William McGirr, cricketer (born 1859) Sir Henry Wigram, businessman, politician, aviation pioneer (born 1857) 14 May – George Fowler, cricketer (born 1860) 26 May – John Anderson, rugby union player, engineer, politician (born 1849) 2 June – David Ashby, cricketer (born 1852) 7 June William Vorrath, cricketer, rugby league player (born 1904) George Webbe, cricketer (born 1856) 9 June – John Joseph Woods, composer of "God Defend New Zealand" (born 1849) 13 June – Guy Thornton, army chaplain (born 1872) 14 June – Walter Empson, schoolteacher (born 1856) 15 July – George Anson, cricketer, physician (born 1850) 17 June – William Triggs, journalist, newspaper editor, politician (born 1855) 27 June – Harry Ell, politician, conservationist (born 1862)
July–August 1 July – Frederick William Ward, journalist and newspaper editor (born 1847) 2 July – Arthur Plugge, army officer (born 1877) 6 July – Thomas Pettit, businessman, politician (born 1858) 8 July – Leonard Cockayne, botanist (born 1855) 10 July – Andrew Walker, politician (born 1855) 13 July – Kate Sheppard, suffragist (born 1848) 16 July Walter Bennett, politician (born 1864) Carlo Bergamini, sculptor (born 1868) 18 July – Herbert Fenwick, cricketer (born 1861)