2009 in New Zealand

Population

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 4,332,100
• Increase since 31 December 2008: 51,900
• Males per 100 Females: 95.8

  Incumbents

Regal and vice-regal

• Head of State – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Anand Satyanand

  Government

• Speaker of the House – Lockwood Smith
• Prime Minister – John Key
• Deputy Prime Minister – Bill English
• Minister of Finance – Bill English
• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Murray McCully

  Other party leaders

• Labour – Phil Goff
• Act – Rodney Hide, since 13 June 2004
• Greens – Metiria Turei and Russel Norman
• Māori Party – Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples, both since 7 July 2004

  Judiciary

• Chief Justice — Sian Elias

  Main centre leaders

• Mayor of Auckland – John Banks, since October 2007
• Mayor of Tauranga – Stuart Crosby, since October 2004
• Mayor of Hamilton – Bob Simcock, since May 2007
• Mayor of Wellington – Kerry Prendergast, since October 2001
• Mayor of Christchurch – Bob Parker, since October 2007
• Mayor of Dunedin – Peter Chin, since October 2004

  Events

January

February

• 27 February: Prime Minister John Key proposes a nine-day working fortnight, to counter the Late-2000s recession.

  March

• 6 March: Retrial of David Bain begins in the Christchurch High Court
• 25 March: Former Prime Minister Helen Clark is appointed Head of the United Nations Development Program; her resignation necessitates the 2009 Mount Albert by-election
• 26 March: the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance recommends eight Auckland Region local government bodies merge to form a "supercity".

  April

• 25 April: First indication of potential for Flu infection with return of students from Mexico, see 2009 flu pandemic in New Zealand

  May

• 7 May: Gunman Jan Molenaar shoots three police officers executing a routine cannabis search warrant, as well as a neighbour who tried to assist them. He killed Senior Constable Leonard Snee and seriously injured the others, and after a two-day siege, he was found dead.

  June

• 3 June: A police investigation leads to MP Richard Worth resigning ministerial portfolios including Minister of Internal Affairs "for personal reasons", with Prime Minister John Key saying, "If he hadn't resigned I would have sacked him".
• 5 June: David Bain is found not guilty of the murder of five family members.
• 12 June: Five members of the family of Janet Moses were found guilty of manslaughter after performing a fatal exorcism.
• 24 June: A NZ$36.1 million first division jackpot in the New Zealand Lotteries Commission's Big Wednesday game is won by a Masterton-based lottery syndicate of four: the largest single lottery prize won in New Zealand.

  July

• 4 July: The Ministry of Health confirms the first three deaths in New Zealand from the 2009 flu pandemic.
• 15 July: The magnitude 7.8 2009 Fiordland earthquake strikes at 9:22 pm, 90 km north-west of Tuatapere.

  August

• 4 August: Former MP Phillip Field found guilty on bribery, corruption and obstruction of justice charges.
• 8–9 August: New Zealand's first Telethon for 16 years raises $2 million for the KidsCan Stand Tall Trust.

  October

• 30 October – Electricity supply to Northland and northern Auckland is cut for three hours, affecting 280,000 customers, after a forklift carrying a shipping container hits the only major transmission line supplying the region.

  November

• 30 November: Atea-1, the first New Zealand rocket into space, is launched from Great Mercury Island.

  Holidays and observances

• 6 February - Waitangi Day
• 10 April/13 April Good Friday/Easter Monday
• 25 April - ANZAC Day
• 1 June - Queen's Birthday Monday
• 24 June - Matariki
• 26 October - Labour Day Monday

  Arts and literature

Awards

Music

• May - New Zealand Music Month
• *Vodafone Album of the year: Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke
• *Vodafone Single of the year: Ladyhawke - My Delerium
• *Best group: Midnight Youth
• *Best male solo artist: Savage
• *Best female solo artist: Ladyhawke
• *Breakthrough artist of the year: Ladyhawke
• *Best Music Video: Chris Graham – Brother
• *Best Rock Album: Midnight Youth – "The Brave Don't Run"
• *Best Urban/Hip Hop Album: Ladi 6 – "Time Is Not Much"
• *Best Aotearoa Roots Album: Fat Freddy's Drop – "Dr Boondigga and the Big BW"
• *Best dance/electronica album: Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke
• *Best gospel/Christian album: Mumsdollar - Ruins
• *Best classical album: David Bremner – "Gung Ho"
• *The Vodafone People's Choice Award, voted by New Zealand music fans: Smashproof
• *Highest Selling NZ Single: Smashproof feat. Gin - Brother
• *Highest Selling NZ Album: The Feelers - ''The Best: 1998 - 2008"
• *Radio Airplay Record of the Year: Tiki Taane- "Always on my mind"

  Performing arts

• Benny Award presented by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand to Eddie Low MNZM.

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• Earth Whisperers/Papatuanuku

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Sport

Cricket

Horse racing

Harness racing

• Auckland Trotting Cup: Auckland Reactor

  Thoroughbred racing

• Katie Lee becomes the first racehorse to win both the New Zealand 2000 Guineas and the New Zealand 1000 Guineas.

  Netball

Motorsport

Rowing

Rugby league

Rugby union

Soccer

Shooting

• Ballinger Belt –
• * David Rich
• * Mike Collings, second, top New Zealander

  Tennis

Births

• 27 August – Sacred Falls, Thoroughbred racehorse
• 4 September – Habibi, Thoroughbred racehorse
• 18 November – It's A Dundeel, Thoroughbred racehorse
• 20 November – Prince of Penzance, Thoroughbred racehorse

  Deaths

January

• 4 January – Sonny Fai, rugby league player
• 8 January – Wally Williams, water polo player
• 17 January – Mike Parkinson, rugby union player
• 20 January – Lyn Forster, arachnologist
• 26 January – Gerry Merito, entertainer
• 26 January – Don Ladner, rugby league player

  February

• 4 February – Antonie Dixon, convicted murderer
• 27 February – Kilmeny Niland, artist and illustrator

  March

• 2 March – Robert Bruce, professional wrestler and talent agent
• 9 March – Graham Mexted, rugby union player
• 12 March – Mary Batchelor, politician
• 13 March – Geoff Moon, veterinary surgeon, ornithologist and photographer
• 21 March – Beach Towel, standardbred racehorse
• 24 March – Denis Miller, air force bomber and airline pilot

  April

• 1 April – Kevin Briscoe, rugby union player
• 11 April – James Brodie, geologist, oceanographer and amateur historian and philatelist
• 17 April – Richard Sutton, chess player and legal academic
• 26 April – Sir Pupuke Robati, Cook Islands politician
• 27 April – John Bollard, lawyer, environment court judge

  May

• 1 May – Sunline, thoroughbred racehorse
• 3 May – Percy Marunui Murphy, soldier and politician, first Māori mayor
• 12 May – Dame Heather Begg, opera singer
• 23 May – Sir Tangaroa Tangaroa, Cook Islands politician
• 30 May – Ferris de Joux, automotive design, engineer and constructor

  June

• 7 June – Keith Steele, cricketer and lawyer
• 8 June – Taini Morrison, kapa haka leader
• 12 June – Ivan Lichter, thoracic surgeon and palliative care pioneer
• 19 June – Ron Crocombe, Pacific studies academic
• 28 June – Tom Paulay, earthquake engineer
• 30 June – Joan Wiffen, amateur paleontologist

  July

• 3 July – Frank Devine, newspaper editor and journalist
• 7 July – Ian Grey, rugby league player
• 11 July –
• * Seddon Bennington, museum administrator
• * Cyril Paskell, rugby league player
• 14 July – Bill Young, politician and diplomat
• 18 July – Graham Stanton, New Testament scholar
• 19 July – Ces Mountford, rugby league player and coach
• 20 July
• * Tom Hellaby, cricketer
• * Hew McLeod, historian
• 25 July – Herbert Pickering, politician
• 30 July –
• * Julian Dashper, artist
• * Diggeress Te Kanawa, tohunga raranga

  August

• 7 August
• * Jack Laird, potter
• * Eru Potaka-Dewes, actor, Māori religious leader and activist
• 16 August – Alistair Campbell, poet, playwright and novelist
• 18 August – Rufus Rogers, politician
• 21 August – Reg King, association football player
• 24 August – Kashin, elephant
• 26 August – Sir Jack Harris, 2nd Baronet, businessman
• 29 August – Bob Parker, rower
• 30 August – Percy Tetzlaff, rugby union player

  September

• 8 September – Ahmed Said Musa Patel, Muslim religious leader
• 9 September – Dame Patricia Bergquist, zoology and anatomy academic
• 11 September – John Pattison, pilot, Battle of Britain veteran
• 12 September – Helen Wily, mathematician
• 20 September – Ken Hough, dual international cricketer and association footballer
• 24 September – Sir Howard Morrison, entertainer
• 26 September – Paul Medhurst, track cyclist
• 27 September – Murray Smith, politician

  October

• 3 October – Leigh Davis, writer
• 4 October – Roger Green, archaeologist
• 9 October – Noel Bowden, rugby union player
• 13 October – Betty Clegg, watercolour artist
• 14 October – Martyn Sanderson, actor, filmmaker and poet
• 17 October – Dame Doreen Blumhardt, potter, ceramicist and arts educator
• 31 October – Tim Bickerstaff, broadcaster, newspaper columnist and author

  November

• 4 November – Sir Don Beaven, diabetes researcher
• 5 November – Adam Firestorm, professional wrestler
• 15 November – Tia Barrett, diplomat
• 19 November – Pat Mackie, miner and trade unionist
• 29 November – Bill Hunt, alpine skier

  December

• 3 December – Brian Mason, geochemist and mineralogist
• 6 December – Eldred Stebbing, record label founder and owner
• 8 December – Bub Bridger, poet and short-story writer
• 20 December – John Veitch, cricketer
• 29 December – Paul Sapsford, rugby union player
• 30 December – Jacqueline Sturm, poet and short-story writer