NZ in 1952

Queen Elizabeth II becomes Queen of New Zealand in 1952, when she ascended to the British Throne.

Most of us were not of course even born then. So what was New Zealand like in 1952.

  • Governor-General was Lord Freyberg, the commander of NZ forces in WWII
  • Sidney Holland was Prime Minister and Minister of Finance – would be unthinkable today for someone to do both
  • Walter Nash was Opposition Leader
  • Sir Matthew Oram was Speaker, a WWI veteran who was MP for Manawatu
  • The was John Allum, an engineer
  • The Mayor of Wellington was Robert Macalister, a lawyer
  • The first feature film since WWII was produced, Broken Barrier – about a relationship between a Pākehā journalist, and a Māori woman
  • Yvette Williams won our first female gold medal at the with a long jump of 6.24 metres. Today the record is 7.52 metres.

Well known New Zealanders born in 1952 include Sir John Walker, Dame Jenny Shipley, Warren Lees, Jeremy Coney, Tim Finn, Sandra Lee, Chris Knox, Graham Mourie, Sue Bradford, , Sukhi Turner and Marilyn Waring.

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