← 1951 1950 1949 1952 in New Zealand → 1953 1954 1955
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	History of New Zealand List of years in New Zealand Timeline of New Zealand history

The following lists events that happened during 1952 in New Zealand.

The population of New Zealand reaches 2 million.

Population

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,024,600.^[1]
• Increase since 31 December 1951: 54,100 (2.75%).^[1]
• Males per 100 females: 101.1.^[1]

Incumbents

Regal and viceregal

• Head of State – George VI followed by Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Lieutenant-General The Lord Freyberg^[2]

Government

The 30th New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the National government under Sidney Holland.

• Speaker of the House – Mathew Oram
• Prime Minister – Sidney Holland
• Deputy Prime Minister – Keith Holyoake
• Minister of Finance – Sidney Holland
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Clifton Webb
• Chief Justice — Sir Humphrey O'Leary

Parliamentary opposition

• Leader of the Opposition – Walter Nash (Labour).^[3]

Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – John Allum
• Mayor of Hamilton – Harold David Caro
• Mayor of Wellington – Robert Macalister
• Mayor of Christchurch – Robert Macfarlane
• Mayor of Dunedin – Leonard Morton Wright

Events

January

February

• 6 February – George VI dies and is succeeded by Elizabeth II as Queen of New Zealand

March

April

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Arts and literature

See 1952 in art, 1952 in literature, Category:1952 books

Music

See: 1952 in music

Radio

See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand

Film

• Broken Barrier

See: Category:1952 film awards, 1952 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1952 films

Sport

Athletics

• Jack Clarke wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:38:42 on 1 March in Wanganui.

Chess

• The 59th National Chess Championship was held in Napier, and was won by Ortvin Sarapu of Christchurch (his first title).^[4]

Cricket

Various Tours, New Zealand cricket team

Horse racing

Harness racing

• New Zealand Trotting Cup – Mobile Globe^[5]
• Auckland Trotting Cup – Soangetaha (2nd win)^[6]

Lawn bowls

The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Dunedin.^[7]

• Men's singles champion – Frank Livingstone (Onehunga Bowling Club)
• Men's pair champions – R.K. Aitchison, E. Ravenwood (skip) (North-East Valley Bowling Club)
• Men's fours champions – N.M. Johnston, W.J. Ashton, M.J. Squire, K.S. Ewing (skip) (Stratford Bowling Club)

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics

Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	0	2	3

Winter Olympics

Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
0	0	0	0

• New Zealand sends a team to the Winter Olympics for the first time.

Soccer

• The Chatham Cup was shared by the finalists North Shore United and Western (Christchurch) after the extra time score (1–1) and all criteria for deciding a winner at that time were equal.^[8]
• The national men's soccer team toured to the Pacific, playing 10 matches, 5 of which were internationals:^[9]
  • 31 August, Suva: NZ 1 – 0 Suva
  • 3 September, Suva: NZ 8 – 3 Southern Districts
  • 7 September, Suva: NZ 2 – 0 Fiji
  • 9 September, Lautoka: NZ 0 – 0 Lautoka
  • 11 September, Lautoka: NZ 5 – 0 Northern Districts
  • 14 September, Lautoka: NZ 9 – 0 Fiji
  • 16 September, Suva: NZ 5 – 2 Fiji
  • 21 September, Papeete: NZ 2 – 2 Tahiti
  • 25 September, Fautaua: NZ 7 – 1 Chinese Selection
  • 28 September, Papeete NZ 5 – 3 Tahiti
• Provincial league champions:^[10]
  • Auckland: Eastern Suburbs AFC
  • Canterbury: Technical OB
  • Hawke's Bay: West End
  • Manawatu: Palmerston North United
  • Nelson: Settlers
  • Northland: Otangarei United
  • Otago: Northern AFC
  • Poverty Bay: Thistle
  • South Canterbury: Thistle
  • Southland: Brigadiers
  • Taranaki: Overseas
  • Waikato: Pukemiro Junction
  • Wairarapa: Masterton B
  • Wanganui: Technical College Old Boys
  • Wellington: Petone

Births

• 12 January: John Walker, athlete.
• 4 February: Jenny Shipley Prime Minister.^[11]
• 14 February: Les Wilson, field hockey goalkeeper.
• Vincent Burke, NZ television producer.
• 19 March: Warren Lees, cricket player and coach.
• 22 March: Rod Millen, motor rally driver.
• 7 April: Alan Niven, songwriter, record producer, manager.
• 21 June: Jeremy Coney, cricket captain.
• 25 June: Tim Finn, singer, songwriter and musician.
• 20 July: Ian Ferguson, kayaker.
• 8 August: Sandra Lee-Vercoe, politician and diplomat.
• 2 September: Chris Knox, singer-songwriter.
• 8 September: Graham Mourie, rugby player.
• 14 September: Neil McLeod, field hockey player.
• 3 October: Gary Troup, cricketer.
• 20 October: Michael Houstoun, concert pianist.
• 31 December: Vaughan Jones, mathematician.
• John Badcock, painter.
• Sue Bradford, politician.
• Stevan Eldred-Grigg, writer and historian.
• (in England): David Fletcher, cartoonist.
• Tame Iti, activist.
• Linda Jones (jockey), thoroughbred horse racing jockey
• Sukhi Turner, Mayor of Dunedin.
• Marilyn Waring, feminist academic and politician.

Deaths

• 29 April: Adam Hamilton, politician.
• 1 May: Hon. Thomas Otto Bishop MLC, politician.
• 6 May: Sir Oswald Birley, painter (in England).
• 5 August:John Robertson, politician.
• 13 August: Frederick de Jersey Clere, architect.
• 20 August: Lionel Terry, convicted murderer, white supremacist.
• 24 August: Alexander Harris, politician
• 17 September Carl Axel Björk, whaler, goldminer and character.^[12]
• 12 October: Te Puea Herangi, Māori leader.
• 17 November: Ben Roberts, New Zealand Labour MP
• 22 November: Ted Morgan, New Zealand boxer.
• 27 November: Bill Parry, politician.