1977 in New Zealand

1977 in New Zealand

Other years in New Zealand

1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 (1977) • 1978 • 1979 • 1980

Population

• Estimated Population as of 31 December: 3,166,400^[1]
• Increase since 31 December 1976: 3000 (0.09%)
• Males per 100 Females: 99.4

Incumbents

Regal and Vice Regal

• Head of State - Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand
• Governor-General - Sir Denis Blundell GCMG GCVO KBE QSO, followed by The Rt Hon. Sir Keith Holyoake KG GCMG CH QSO.^[2]

Government

• Speaker of the House - Roy Jack.^[3]
• Prime Minister - Robert Muldoon
• Deputy Prime Minister - Brian Talboys.^[3]
• Minister of Finance - Robert Muldoon.^[3]
• Minister of Foreign Affairs - Brian Talboys.^[3]
• Attorney-General - Peter Wilkinson.^[3]

Parliamentary opposition

• Leader of the Opposition - Bill Rowling (Labour).^[4]

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland - Dove-Myer Robinson
• Mayor of Hamilton - Bruce Beetham then Ross Jansen
• Mayor of Wellington - Michael Fowler
• Mayor of Christchurch - Hamish Hay
• Mayor of Dunedin - James George Barnes then Clifford George (Cliff) Skeggs

Events

• 5 January: Led by Joe Hawke, members of Ngati Whatua occupy Bastion Point reserve (Takaparawha) to protest crown sales of land taken from Māori.^[5]

New Zealand proclaims an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles (370 km) - the seventh largest in the world at 4.3 million km²

Arts and literature

• Keri Hulme and Roger Hall win the Robert Burns Fellowship.

See 1977 in art, 1977 in literature, Category:1977 books

Music

The New Zealand Music Awards were not held this year.

• Waikino music festival at Bicknel's farm, Waitawheta Valley, between Waihi and Waikino. Attendance 5500.

See: 1977 in music

Radio and Television

• April: Fair Go airs for the first time.
• June: Wellington's Radio Active 89FM first hits the airwaves
• Feltex Television Awards:
  • Best Current Affairs: 'News at Ten
  • Best Documentary Series: Black Future
  • Best Light Entertainment: Blerta
  • Best Play: The God Boy
  • Best Drama: Moynihan
  • Best Speciality: Country Calendar
  • Best Actor: Ian Mune in Winners and Losers and Moynihan
  • Best Actress: Judy Douglas in The God Boy
  • Best Script: The God Boy
  • Best Personality: Roger Gascoigne

See: 1977 in New Zealand television, 1977 in television, List of TVNZ television programming, Category:New Zealand television, Category:New Zealand television shows, Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film

• Landfall (film)
• Off the Edge
• Sleeping Dogs
• Solo (1977 film)
• Wild Man

See: Category:1977 film awards, 1977 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1977 films

Appointments and awards

See: New Zealand Order of Merit, Order of New Zealand

• Archbishop of New Zealand
• Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, see appointments to Diocese

Sport

Athletics

• Terry Manners wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:20:40 in Hawera.

Association football

• New Zealand National Soccer League won by North Shore United
• The Chatham Cup is won by Nelson United who beat Mount Wellington 1—0 in the final.^[6]

Chess

• The 84th New Zealand Chess Championship is held in North Shore, and is won by Ortvin Sarapu of Auckland.^[7]

Horse racing

Harness racing

• New Zealand Trotting Cup: Sole Command^[8]
• There was no 1977 running of the Auckland Trotting Cup as the race was being rescheduled from December (1976) to February (1978)^[9]

Thoroughbred racing

Births

• 22 January: Jono Gibbes, rugby player
• 25 February: Matthew Bell, cricketer
• 25 March: Brooke Walker, cricketer
• 16 May: Melanie Lynskey, actress
• 20 May: Raf de Gregorio, soccer player
• 25 May: Michael Bevin, field hockey goalkeeper
• 9 July (in South Africa): Leana du Plooy, netball player
• 5 July: Dale Rasmussen, rugby player^[10]
• 11 July: Matai Smith, television presenter
• 13 July: Xavier Rush, rugby player
• 5 September: Emily Gillam, field hockey player
• 8 September: Sheryl Scanlan, netball player
• 9 September: Caleb Ralph, rugby player
• 13 November: Chanel Cole, musician
• 28 November: Greg Somerville, rugby player
• 15 December: Dominic Bowden, television presenter
• 21 December: Leon MacDonald, rugby player

Category:1977 births.

Deaths

• 18 February: Ron Jarden, rugby player.
• 7 June (in England): Sir Rex Nan Kivell, art collector.
• 24 December: Sir Roy Jack, politician and 16th Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Category:1977 deaths

See also

• List of years in New Zealand
• Timeline of New Zealand history
• History of New Zealand
• Military history of New Zealand
• Timeline of the New Zealand environment
• Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica

References

External links

Media related to 1977 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons