Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,515,800
Increase since 31 December 1961: 54,500 (2.21%)
Males per 100 females: 101.0
Regal and viceregal
Head of State – Elizabeth II
Governor-General – The Viscount Cobham GCMG TD, followed by Brigadier Sir Bernard Fergusson GCMG GCVO DSO OBE.
Speaker of the House – Ronald Algie.
Prime Minister – Keith Holyoake
Deputy Prime Minister – Jack Marshall.
Minister of Finance – Harry Lake.
Minister of Foreign Affairs – Keith Holyoake.
Attorney-General – Ralph Hanan.
Leader of the Opposition – Walter Nash (Labour)
Main centre leaders
Mayor of Auckland – Dove-Myer Robinson
Mayor of Hamilton – Dennis Rogers
Mayor of Wellington – Frank Kitts
Mayor of Christchurch – George Manning
Mayor of Dunedin – Thomas Kay Stuart Sidey
The Office of the Ombudsman was established
11 August: New Zealand Railways's Cook Strait ferry service began, using the GMV Aramoana.
Arts and literature
R.A.K. Mason wins the Robert Burns Fellowship.
See 1962 in art, 1962 in literature, Category:1962 books
See: 1962 in music
Radio and television
New Zealand Broadcasting Service (NZBS) is restructured on 1 April to form New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation.
An outside broadcast van is in use in Auckland, and similar vans are ordered for Wellington and Christchurch.
Dunedin gets television service with the launch of DNTV2 on 31 July.
There are 23,343 licensed television sets in New Zealand.
See: 1962 in New Zealand television, 1962 in television, List of TVNZ television programming, Category:New Zealand television, Public broadcasting in New Zealand
See: Category:1962 film awards, 1962 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1962 films
27 January: Peter Snell sets a new world record for the mile of 3m 54.4s, running at Cook's Gardens, Wanganui.
Barry Magee wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:24:55.4 in Auckland.
The 69th National Chess Championship was held in Auckland, and was won by G.G. Haase of Dunedin.
Lordship defeats Cardigan Bay to win the rain affected New Zealand Trotting Cup
Auckland Trotting Cup: Dandy Briar
The Chatham Cup is won by Hamilton Technical Old Boys who beat Northern of Dunedin 4—1 in the final.
Provincial league champions:Auckland: Eastern Suburbs AFC
Bay of Plenty: Rangers
Buller: Waimangaroa Utd
Canterbury: Western
Franklin: Manurewa AFC
Hawke's Bay: Napier Rovers
Manawatu: Thistle
Marlborough: Woodbourne
Nelson: Rangers
Northland: Otangarei United
Otago: Northern AFC
Poverty Bay: Eastern Union
South Canterbury: Thistle
Southland: Invercargill Thistle
Taranaki: Moturoa
Waikato: Hamilton Technical OB
Wairarapa: Lansdowne United
Wanganui: Wanganui Athletic
Wellington: Northern
West Coast: Runanga
The inaugural Rothmans Cup was played between the champion clubs from Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago as a de facto national championship. The final was won by Northern AFC of Dunedin 3-2 on aggregate.
12 January (in England): Terry Wiles, thalidomide survivor.
4 February: Frank Bunce, rugby union player.
17 February: Tony Blain, cricketer.
1 March: Russell Coutts, yachtsman.
4 March: John Young, composer.
15 March: Trevor Franklin, cricketer.
6 June: Grant Fox, rugby player.
8 June: John Cutler, yachtsman.
22 July: Rena Owen, actress.
5 August: Richard de Groen, cricketer.
13 September: Brian Fowler, cyclist.
21 September: Kelly Evernden, tennis player.
22 September: Martin Crowe, cricketer.
27 September: Gavin Larsen, cricketer.
9 October: Paul Radisich, racing driver.
12 October: Mark S. Olsen, painter.
7 November: Debbie Hockley, cricketer.
29 December: Wynton Rufer, soccer player.
Tim Chadwick, artist and writer.
Jon Stevens, singer.
Category:1962 births
26 April: Clarence "Gerry" Skinner, Labour politician.
20 June John Houston, historian and writer.
18 July: G. H. Cunningham, mycologist and plant pathologist.
18 September: Clyde Carr, Labour politician.
8 October: Donald Charles Cameron, Mayor of Dunedin
28 October: Frederick Schramm, Labour politician and 11th Speaker of the House of Representatives.
