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The following lists events that happened during 1908 in New Zealand.
Incumbents
Regal and viceregal
Government
The 16th New Zealand Parliament concluded but the Liberal Party retained in power following the 1908 General Election in November/December
- Speaker of the House – Sir Arthur Guinness
- Prime Minister – Joseph Ward
- Minister of Finance – Joseph Ward
- Attorney-General – John Findlay
- Chief Justice – Sir Robert Stout
Parliamentary opposition
- Leader of the Opposition – William Massey, (Independent).[2]
Main centre leaders
- Mayor of Auckland – Arthur Myers
- Mayor of Wellington – Thomas Hislop
- Mayor of Christchurch – George Payling then Charles Allison
- Mayor of Dunedin – John Loudon then John McDonald
Events
January
February
March
April
- 8 April – The Invercargill Tragedy occurs, in which James Reid Baxter kills his family and then himself.
June
July
August
- 7 August: First through passenger train on the North Island Main Trunk railway, over temporary track north of Taonui, the 11-car Parliamentary Special carrying the Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward and other parliamentarians north to see the American Great White Fleet at Auckland (9 to 15 August).
September
October
November
- 6 November: The North Island Main Trunk railway linking Wellington and Auckland is completed, with the last spike driven in by Prime Minister Joseph Ward at Manganui-o-te-Ao and commemorated by the Last Spike Monument.
- 9 November: A two-day NIMT rail passenger service starts, with an overnight stop at Ohakune.
December
- 2 December: Dunedin Public Library opens, aided by a grant from Andrew Carnegie.
- Late December: Wanganui (population 9000) became the first provincial town to introduce trams[3]
- Undated
- Blackball, New Zealand coal miners strike for 11 weeks, an important step in the formation of the New Zealand Labour Party.
- Auckland. Three cultivars of the Feijoa are introduced into New Zealand.[4]
Arts and literature
See 1908 in art, 1908 in literature
Books
- The first Edmonds Cookery Book is published.
Music
See: 1908 in music
Film
See: 1908 in film, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1908 films
Sport
Boxing
The welterweight division is included in the national championships for the first time.
National amateur champions
- Heavyweight – M. Ryan (Invercargill)
- Middleweight – J. Smith (Auckland)
- Welterweight – R. Mayze (Christchurch)
- Lightweight – T. Metcalfe (Auckland)
- Featherweight – W. Elliott (Timaru)
- Bantamweight – J. Parker (Christchurch)
Billiards
The Auckland Sports Club, the national representative to the British Billiards Association, holds the first national championship.[5]
- National Champion: J. Ryan (Auckland)
Chess
- The 21st National Chess Championship was held in Wellington, and was won by of A.W.O. Davies of Wellington, his second title.[6]
Golf
- The second New Zealand Open championship was held at Balmacewen golf club and was won by 19-year-old professional J.A. Clements[7]
- The 16th National Amateur Championships were held in Otago[8]
- Men: H.C. Smith (Otago)
- Women: Miss ? Christie
Horse racing
Harness racing
- New Zealand Trotting Cup: Durbar[9]
- Auckland Trotting Cup: Scotia[10]
Thoroughbred racing
- Auckland Cup – All Red
Olympic Games
- New Zealanders compete at the Olympic Games for the first time, as part of the Australasian team. Harry Kerr becomes the first New Zealander to win an Olympic medal.
Rugby league
- New Zealand national rugby league team tour of Great Britain:
- lost to Wales, 9–8
- 1st test: lost to Great Britain 8–5 at Cheltenham
- 2nd test: beat Great Britain 18–6 at Chelsea
- 3rd test: beat Great Britain 14–6 at leeds
Rugby union
- Auckland defend the Ranfurly Shield against Marlborough (32–0), Wellington (24–3), Taranaki (9–0) and Otago (11–5)
Soccer
Provincial league champions:[11]
- Auckland: Auckland Corinthians
- Canterbury: Christchurch Club
- Otago: Northern Dunedin
- Southland: Murihiku
- Taranaki: Hawera
- Wellington: Diamond Wellington
Tennis
- Anthony Wilding pairs with Australian Norman Brookes, as the Australasian team, to win the Davis Cup, beating the United States 3–2. The final is held in Melbourne.
- Anthony Wilding, partnered with Norman Brookes, wins the men's doubles at the Wimbledon Championship
Births
- 12 March: Rita Angus, painter.
- 2 June: Lindsay Weir, cricketer.
- 5 June: Les George, rugby player.
- 19 June: Fred Baker, soldier.
- 18 August: Bill Merritt, cricketer.
- 21 September: Charles Upham, double Victoria Cross winner.
- 25 September: Herbert Dudley Purves, medical researcher.
- 26 September: John Pascoe, photographer and mountaineer
- 17 December: Sylvia Ashton-Warner, writer and educator.
Deaths
- April: Charles Rous-Marten, journalist and railway writer (b. 1842 in England)
- 20 May: Albert Henry Baskerville, rugby league pioneer (b. 1883)
- 3 August: Henry Feldwick, politician (b. 1844)
- 2 October: Charles Kidson, art teacher, artist, craftsman and sculptor (b. 1867)
- 8 November: Edward Connolly, politician (b. 1822)
See also
References
- ↑ Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1990. ISSN 0078-0170 page 52
- ↑ "Elections NZ – Leaders of the Opposition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
- ↑ "Tramways Wanganui Trust". Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
- ↑ Feijoa sellowiana Berg
- ↑ Todd, S. (1976) Sporting Records of New Zealand. Auckland: Moa Publications. ISBN 0-908570-00-7
- ↑ List of New Zealand Chess Champions Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ History of NZ open: TVNZ
- ↑ McLintock, A. H., ed. (1966). "Men's Golf – National Champions". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
- ↑ "List of NZ Trotting cup winners". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
- ↑ Auckland Trotting cup at hrnz.co.nz Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "New Zealand: List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1999.
External links
Media related to 1908 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons
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