1959 in New Zealand

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,359,700.^[1]
• Increase since 31 December 1958: 43,700 (1.89%).^[1]
• Males per 100 females: 101.0.^[1]

• Head of State – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – The Viscount Cobham GCMG TD.^[2]

The 32nd New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the Labour government led by Walter Nash.

• Speaker of the House – Robert Macfarlane^[3]
• Prime Minister – Walter Nash
• Deputy Prime Minister – Jerry Skinner.^[3]
• Minister of Finance – Arnold Nordmeyer.^[3]
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Walter Nash.^[3]
• Attorney-General – Rex Mason.^[3]
• Chief Justice — Sir Harold Barrowclough

• Leader of the Opposition – Keith Holyoake (National).^[4]

• Mayor of Auckland – Keith Buttle then Dove-Myer Robinson
• Mayor of Hamilton – Roderick Braithwaite then Denis Rogers
• Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
• Mayor of Christchurch – George Manning
• Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright then Stuart Sidey

• 30 May –The Auckland Harbour Bridge is opened.^[5]
• 1 June – During exploratory oil drilling at Kapuni in South Taranaki, drillers appear to strike natural gas.^[6][7]
• 24 November – The coastal trader MV Holmglen sinks near Timaru with the loss of 15 lives.^[8]

• Ian Cross wins the first Robert Burns Fellowship.

See 1959 in art, 1959 in literature

See: 1959 in music

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

See: Category:1959 film awards, 1959 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1959 films

Ray Puckett wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:27:28.2 on 7 March in Palmerston North.

• The 66th National Chess Championship was held in Hamilton. The title was shared between F.A. Foulds and B.C. Menzies, both of Auckland.^[9]

• New Zealand Trotting Cup – False Step (2nd win)^[10]
• Auckland Trotting Cup – Scottish Command^[11]

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Wellington.^[12]

• Men's singles champion – W.R. Fleming Sr (Tuakau Bowling Club)
• Men's pair champions – G. Bradley, H.J. Thompson (skip) (Whitiora Bowling Club)
• Men's fours champions – T. Sunde, C. Hill, A. Sunde, M.A. Marinovich (skip) (Oratia Bowling Club)

• The British Lions team toured New Zealand, losing the Test series 3–1. They also lost two of their 21 provincial games, to Canterbury and Otago.^[13]
  • 18 July, Carisbrook, Dunedin: New Zealand 18 – 17 British Isles
  • 15 August, Athletic Park, Wellington: New Zealand 11 – 8 British Isles
  • 29 August, Lancaster Park, Christchurch: New Zealand 22 – 8 British Isles
  • 19 September, Eden Park, Auckland: New Zealand 6 – 9 British Isles

• The national men's team played one match against a visiting Costa Rican club side:^[14]
  • 6 June, Auckland: NZ 3 – 2 Deportivo Saprissa
• The Chatham Cup was won by Dunedin team Northern who beat North Shore United 3–2 in the final.^[15]
• Provincial league champions:^[16]
  • Auckland: North Shore United
  • Bay of Plenty: Kahukura
  • Buller: Denniston Hotspurs
  • Canterbury: Western
  • Hawke's Bay: Napier Athletic
  • Manawatu: Kiwi United
  • Marlborough: Woodbourne
  • Nelson: Rangers
  • Northland: Otangarei United
  • Otago: Northern AFC
  • Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
  • South Canterbury: West End
  • Southland: Rovers
  • Taranaki: Moturoa
  • Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
  • Wairarapa: Douglas Villa
  • Wanganui: New Settlers
  • Wellington: Northern

• 13 April: Justin Boyle , cricketer.
• 8 May: Ingrid Jagersma, cricketer.
• 9 May: Andrew Jones , cricketer.
• 16 May: Greg Johnston, rower.
• 26 May: Brett Austin , breaststroke swimmer.
• 28 May: Eric Verdonk, rower.
• 17 June: Vivienne Gapes, skier.
• 20 August: David Howard, poet.
• 4 September: Robbie Deans , rugby player and coach.
• 14 September: Brendon Bracewell , cricketer.
• 27 September: Mark Inglis , mountaineer.
• 3 November: Vaughan Brown , cricketer.
• 12 December: George Keys, rower.
• Bianca van Rangelrooy , artist.
• Harry Sinclair , actor, filmmaker and musician.

• 23 February: Gordon Wilson, Government architect.
• 8 April: Sir Bill Jordan, politician and diplomat.
• 8 June: George Dash, politician
• 7 November: Archie Fisher, painter.^[17]
• 8 November: Walter William Massey, MP and politician
• 6 December (in Scotland): Edward Hunter a.k.a. Billy Banjo, trade unionist, politician and writer.