Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,522,800
Increase since previous 31/12/1930: 16,000 (1.06%)
Males per 100 females: 103.8
Regal and viceregal
Head of state - George V
Governor-General - The Lord Bledisloe GCMG KBE PC
The 23rd New Zealand Parliament continued with the coalition of the United Party and the Labour Party with the Reform Party in opposition. During the year the agreement between United and Labour collapsed due to differing opinions on how to counter the Great Depression. The Reform Party, fearing that the Depression would give Labour a substantial boost, reluctantly agreed to form a coalition with United to avert elections. By forming a coalition, United and Reform were able to blunt Labour's advantage, ending the possibility of the anti-Labour vote being split and the general election in December saw the United/Reform coalition winning a majority.
Speaker of the House - Charles Statham (Independent)
Prime Minister - George Forbes
Minister of Finance - George Forbes (United) until 22 September, then William Downie Stewart (Reform)
Minister of Foreign Affairs - George Forbes
Attor - Thomas Sidey until 22 September, then William Downie Stewart
Leader of the Opposition - Gordon Coates (Reform) until 22 September, then Harry Holland (Labour).
Main centre leaders
Mayor of Auckland - George Baildon, succeeded by George Hutchison
Mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand - John Robert Fow, succeeded by Frances Dewsbury Pinford
Mayor of Wellington - George Troup, succeeded by Thomas Hislop
Mayor of Christchurch - John Archer, succeeded by Dan Sullivan
Mayor of Dunedin - Robert Black
7 January: Australian aviator Guy Menzies makes the first solo flight across the Tasman sea, starting from Sydney and ending 11 hours 45 minutes later with a crash landing in a swamp near Harihari on the West Coast
3 February: The Hawkes Bay earthquake, New Zealand's worst, kills 256 people, mainly in Napier and Hastings
8 February: A Desoutter aircraft of Dominion Airline crashed near Wairoa, killing all three people aboard. This is the first fatality on a scheduled air service in New Zealand.
Arts and literature
See 1931 in art, 1931 in literature, Category:1931 books
See: 1931 in music
See: Public broadcasting in New Zealand
See: Category:1931 film awards, 1931 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1931 films
The 40th National Chess Championship was held in Rotorua, and was won by A.W. Gyles of Wellington.
The 21st New Zealand Open championship was won by Andrew Shaw, his 4th win.
The 35th National Amateur Championships were held in Christchurch Men: Rana Wagg (Hutt)
Women: Miss B. Gaisford
New Zealand Trotting Cup: Harold Logan
Auckland Trotting Cup: Royal Silk
New Zealand national rugby league team
Category:Rugby union in New Zealand, Category:All Blacks
Ranfurly Shield
1931 Chatham Cup won by Tramurewa (Auckland)
Provincial league champions: Auckland: Thistle
Canterbury: Rangers, Nomads (shared)
Hawke's Bay: National Tobacco
Nelson: Hospital
Otago: HSOB
Southland: Rangers
Taranaki: Hawera, Albion (shared)
Waikato: Rotowaro
Wanganui: KP's
Wellington: Petone
2 July, Robin Gray, politician and Speaker of the House of Representatives
23 July, Princess Piki Mahuta, later Dame Te Atairangikaahu, 6th Māori monarch
22 August: Maurice Gee, novelist and screenwriter
5 September: William Bell, cricketer
15 September: Lincoln Hurring, swimmer
18 December: Noel McGregor, cricketer
Bryce Harland, diplomat
Mike Hinge, artist and illustrator
Ralph Hotere, artist
Thomas de Vere (Pat) Hunt, politician.
Category:1931 births
9 September: Elsdon Best, ethnographer
28 October: Edward Robert Tregear, surveyor, public servant, linguist
Peter Cheal, surveyor.
Sir John Luke, politician, Mayor of Wellington.
Owen Merton, painter.
Category:1931 deaths
