1924 in New Zealand

The following lists events that happened during 1924 in New Zealand.

Decades:

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

Head of State â George V
Governor-General â John Jellicoe, Viscount Jellicoe until 26 November, then Sir Charles Fergusson from 13 December^[1]

George V
Viscount Jellicoe
Sir Charles Fergusson

Government

The 21st New Zealand Parliament continues. The Reform Party governs as a minority with the support of independents.

Speaker of the House â Charles Statham
Prime Minister â William Massey
Minister of Finance â William Massey
Minister of External Affairs â Francis Bell

Charles Statham
William Massey
Francis Bell

Parliamentary opposition

Leader of the Opposition â Thomas Wilford (Liberal Party)^[2]

Thomas Wilford

Judiciary

Chief Justice â Sir Robert Stout

Robert Stout

Main centre leaders

James Gunson
Robert Wright
James Flesher
Harold Tapley

Events

29 September â The first trolleybus route in Wellington is inaugurated^[3]
4 July â The name for Four Square is established^[4]
17 November â HMS Torch hits a rock in the Chatham Islands, and is subsequently beached and abandoned^[5]
Undated â Actinidia deliciosa 'Hayward', later to become the main commercial cultivar of kiwifruit, is first grown

Arts and literature

See 1924 in art, 1924 in literature Category:1924 books

Sport

Chess

The 33rd National Chess Championship is held in Wellington, and is won by S. Crakanthorp of Sydney.^[6]

Football

The 2nd Chatham Cup is won by Harbour Board (Auckland)
A Chinese Universities football team tours New Zealand, including four matches against the national team:^[7]
- 16 August, at Auckland: New Zealand win 2â1
- 23 August, at Wellington: draw 2â2
- 6 September, at Dunedin: New Zealand win 5â3
- 13 September, at Christchurch: New Zealand win 4â2
Provincial league champions:^[8]
- Auckland â Harbour Board
- Canterbury â Sunnyside
- Hawke's Bay â Whakatu
- Nelson â Athletic
- Otago â Seacliff
- South Canterbury â Albion Rovers
- Southland â Corinthians
- Taranaki â Kaponga
- Wanganui â YMCA
- Wellington â YMCA

Golf

The 11th New Zealand Open championship is won by Ernie Moss, with an aggregate of 301.^[9]
The 28th National Amateur Championships are held in Auckland (men) and Hamilton (women)^[10]^[11]
- Men â L. Quin (Eltham)
- Women â Mrs Peake (Cambridge)

Horse racing

Harness racing

New Zealand Trotting Cup â Sheik^[12]
Auckland Trotting Cup â Locanda Mac^[13]

Thoroughbred racing

New Zealand Cup â Sunart^[14]
Auckland Cup â Te Kara^[14]
Wellington Cup â Loughrea^[14]
New Zealand Derby â Count Cavour^[14]
ARC Great Northern Derby â Ballymena

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Christchurch.^[15]

Men's singles champion â W. Carswell (Taieri Bowling Club)
Men's pair champions â James Angus, J. A. Redpath (skip) (Canterbury Bowling Club)
Men's fours champions â W. Ure, H. S. Hill, C. G. Maher, Bill Bremner (skip) (West End Bowling Club, Auckland)

Olympic games

More information Gold, Silver ...

Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
0	0	1	1

Close

New Zealand sends a team of four competitors across three sports
Arthur Porritt wins the bronze medal in the men's 100 metres

Rugby league

New Zealand host the touring Great Britain team, winning the test series 2â1
- 1st test, at Dunedin, lose 18â31
- 2nd test, at Wellington, win 13â11
- 3rd test, at Auckland, win 16â8

Rugby union

The All Blacks tour the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Canada between September 1924 and February 1925, winning all 32 games, and earning the nickname The Invincibles
The Ranfurly Shield is held and defended by Hawkes Bay all season

Wrestling

Ike Robin is recognised as New Zealand's first wrestling champion

Births

January

5 January â Ivan Wyatt, cricketer (d. 2009)
11 January â Rex Cunningham, rugby league player (d. 2015)
13 January â Brian Barratt-Boyes, heart surgeon (d. 2006)
15 January
- Barbara Angus, diplomat, historian (d. 2005)
- George Lowe, mountaineer and explorer (d. 2013)
21 January
- Bill Andersen, trade unionist (d. 2005)
- Ronald Sinclair, actor, film editor (d. 1992)
22 January â Ortvin Sarapu, chess player (d. 1999)
27 January
- Lyn Philp, boxer (d. 1981)
- Hector Wilson, rugby union player (d. 2004)
28 January â Wharetutu Stirling, NgÄi Tahu leader, conservationist (d. 1993)

February

14 February
- Bos Murphy, boxer (d. 2000)
- Reg Singer, association footballer (d. 2001)
24 February â Jack Forrest, rugby league player (d. 2016)
27 February â John Shanahan, swimmer (d. 1987)
29 February â David Beattie, jurist, sports administrator, 14th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 2001)

March

5 March â Nau Cherrington, rugby union player (d. 1979)
6 March â Percy Murphy, politician, first MÄori mayor (d. 2009)
7 March
- J.G.A. Pocock, historian (d. 2023)
- Brownie PÅ«riri, public servant (d. 1979)
9 March â Warren Sinclair, radiation science and medicine expert (d. 2014)
10 March â Peter Stichbury, potter (d. 2015)
22 March â Grace Gooder, cricketer (d. 1983)
24 March â Norm Holland, jockey (d. 2014)
26 March
- Jack McNab, rugby union player, coach and administrator (d. 2009)
- Josie Yelas, netball player (d. 1996)
29 March â Haydn Sherley, broadcaster (d. 2007)
31 March â Joan de Hamel, children's writer (d. 2011)

April

2 April â Lauris Edmond, poet and writer (d. 2000)
5 April â Barbara Hale, librarian (d. 2013)
3 April â Errol Brathwaite, writer (d. 2005)
18 April â Tiny White, equestrian (d. 2020)
30 April
- Richard Giese, flautist (d. 2010)
- Mervyn Probine, physicist, public servant (d. 2010)

May

1 May â Ted Johnson, rower (d. 1985)
5 May â Frank Creagh, boxer (d. 1998)
12 May â Malcolm Templeton, diplomat (d. 2017)
22 May â Stella Casey, social campaigner (d. 2000)

June

2 June â Pat Evison, actor (d. 2010)
3 June â Ken Armstrong, association footballer (d. 1984)
7 June â Bob Tizard, politician (d. 2016)
8 June â Ian Colquhoun, cricketer (d. 2005)
9 June â John Scott, architect (d. 1992)
14 June
- David Ballantyne, journalist, writer (d. 1986)
- Miriam Dell, women's advocate (d. 2022)

July

7 July â D. P. O'Connell, barrister, legal academic (d. 1979)
15 July
- Bub Bridger, poet and short story writer (d. 2009)
- Brian Sutton-Smith, writer and play theorist (d. 2015)
23 July â Betty Bourke, politician, health administrator (d. 2015)
25 July
- Jim Beard, architect (d. 2017)
- Peter Mann, Anglican bishop (d. 1999)
26 July â Ces Renwick, cricketer (d. 2014)
28 July
- Eric Fisher, cricketer (d. 1996)
- William Fraser, politician (d. 2001)

August

1 August â Peter Smith, rugby union player (d. 1954)
2 August â Ainsley Iggo, neurophysiologist (d. 2012)
7 August â Alan Wilkinson, association footballer (d. 2015)
12 August â Gordon Hobson, amateur wrestler (d. 1985)
13 August â John Rymer, Anglican cleric (d. 2003)
22 August â Pat O'Connor, professional wrestler (d. 1990)
23 August
- Bahri Kavaja, association footballer (d. 1987)
- Doug Mudgway, amateur wrestler (d. 1988)
28 August
- Tony MacGibbon, cricketer (d. 2010)
- Janet Frame, writer (d. 2004)
31 August â Don Beaven, medical researcher (d. 2009)

September

3 September â John Ingram, mechanical engineer, businessman (d. 2015)
4 September â Lory Blanchard, rugby league player and coach (d. 2013)
5 September â Nick Carter, cyclist (d. 2003)
6 September â Hugh Poole, sailor (d. 2012)
7 September â Wanda Cowley, children's writer (d. 2017)
8 September â Frank Holmes, economist (d. 2011)
15 September â Rex Challies, cricketer (d. 2003)
17 September â Les Watt, cricketer (d. 1996)
23 September â Peggy Hay, designer (d. 2016)
24 September â Sammy Guillen, cricketer (d. 2013)
27 September â Louis Johnson, poet (d. 1988)
30 September â Trevor Hatherton, geophysicist (d. 1992)

October

5 October â Victor Brooker, cricketer
11 October â Arthur Hughes, rugby union player, businessman, horse racing administrator (d. 2005)
19 October â Keith Gudsell, rugby union player (d. 2007)
30 October â Roy McLennan, politician (d. 2013)

November

5 November â Geoff Smale, sailor (d. 2011)
23 November
- Doug Coombes, mineralogist and petrologist (d. 2016)
- Doug Dillon, jurist (d. 1999)
28 November â Colin McLachlan, politician (d. 1985)

December

2 December
- Gerald O'Brien, politician (d. 2017)
- Brian Poananga, sportsman, military leader, diplomat (d. 1995)
5 December â Gavin Downie, politician (d. 1998)
7 December â Jimmy Haig, rugby union and rugby league player (d. 1996)
12 December
- Neill Austin, politician (d. 2008)
- Brown Turei, Anglican archbishop (d. 2017)
23 December â Len Castle, potter (d. 2011)
26 December â Leonard Kent, cricketer (d. 2014)
28 December â Loo-Chi Hu, marine equipment designer, t'ai chi teacher (d. 2013)
29 December
- Eve Poole, 41st Mayor of Invercargill (d. 1992)
- Bob Vance, cricket player and administrator (d. 1994)
- Ivan Walsh, association footballer, cricketer (d. 2005)
30 December â Joe Phillips, rugby league player (d. 1969)

Deaths

JanuaryâMarch

5 January â Mary Player, midwife, feminist, social reformer (born c.1857)
6 January â Henry Hill, cricketer (born 1845)
19 January â Frances Parker, suffragette (born 1875)
24 January â Acton Adams, politician (born 1843)
27 January â William Gardiner, cricketer (born 1864)
2 February
- Daniel Claffey, cricketer (born 1869)
- John Duncan, politician (born 1848)
11 February â Arthur Lomas, cricketer (born 1895)
17 February â James Tibbs, schoolteacher (born 1855)
22 February â Mary Dawson, farmer, environmentalist (born 1833)
24 February â Joseph Borton, cricketer (born 1832)
1 March â Elizabeth Parsons, singer (born 1846)
4 March â Gilbert Carson, politician (born 1842)
6 March â Grace Joel, artist (born 1865)
10 March â George Bourne, photographer (born 1875)
17 March â Martin Chapman, cricketer, barrister, politician (born 1846)

AprilâJune

3 April â Alfred Newman, politician (born 1849)
19 April â Charles Louisson, politician (born 1842)
7 May â Alfred Luttrell, architect and building contractor (born 1865)
9 May â James Mason, doctor, bacteriologist, public health administrator (born 1864)
19 May â Joseph Pabst, cricketer (born 1870)

JulyâSeptember

17 July â William Davidson, pioneer of refrigerated shipping (born 1846)
19 July â Sir Walter Buchanan. politician (born 1838)
25 July â Lawrence Birks, electrical engineer (born 1874)
10 August â Edward Wakefield, politician (born 1845)
19 August â Alfred Baldey, politician (born 1836)
17 September â Richard Vincent, cricketer (born 1846)
19 September â Sir John Salmond, legal academic, public servant, jurist (born 1862)
27 September â Thomson Leys, journalist, newspaper editor and proprietor, philanthropist (born 1850)

OctoberâDecember

18 October â Walter Mason, cricketer (born 1847)
23 October â Eparaima Te Mutu Kapa, politician (born c.1842)
13 November â Charles Boxshall, cricketer (born 1862)
27 November â Joseph Grimmond, politician (born 1843)
15 December â Paratene Ngata, NgÄti Porou leader, politician (born c.1849)
19 December â William Maslin, politician (born 1850)