New Zealand Sport

A DigitalNZ Story by National Library of New Zealand Topics

Many New Zealand sportsmen and sportswomen have achieved world records. This resource covers history of sport, types of sports, including funding, rules, laws, sexism, drugs in sports, Māori sports, international games and the value of sport in Aotearoa. SCIS no: 1922227

social_sciences, arts, health, history, maths, Māori

Image: Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games

National Library of New Zealand

Image: America's Cup, San Francisco, 2013

America's Cup, San Francisco, 2013

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

The sailing collection

Services to Schools

Image: Holly Robinson supporting Drug Free Sport New Zealand

Holly Robinson supporting Drug Free Sport New Zealand

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Sports writing

Sports writing

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Chasing Great

Chasing Great

NZ On Screen

Māori rugby timeline - Māori rugby timeline

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: [mass marathon]

[mass marathon]

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Military and sport: Military and sport overview

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Māori and sport – hākinakina: Māori and sport in the 19th century

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Rugby World Cup hype buries Lydia Ko

Rugby World Cup hype buries Lydia Ko

Alexander Turnbull Library

Water activities

Services to Schools

Courage and class

Services to Schools

Sport New Zealand

Services to Schools

Coast to Coast

Services to Schools

New Zealand sport

Services to Schools

Sport in New Zealand

Services to Schools

Image: Webb, Murray 1947-:Beatrice Faumuina (circa 1997-1999).

Beatrice Faumuina

For its size, New Zealand has a proud tradition of international success in both the Commonwealth and Summer Olympic Games. This cartoon shows champion discus thrower, Beatrice Faumuina who won gold at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games. She has also competed in three Summer Olympics. The popularity of the Summer Olympic Games can be gauged by New Zealand viewership figures for the last games. The free-to-air screening was viewed by over 80 percent of New Zealanders aged five and up – that’s over three million Kiwis!

Webb, Murray 1947-:Beatrice Faumuina (circa 1997-1999).

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Programme advertising a Maori horse racing meeting in Karioi, Waikato

Maori horse racing programme

“Persons allowed to see these races must not say rude words to the stewards, or swear at jockeys who do not win” These two rules found on this early race meeting programme. From the beginning of European settlement, horse racing was a popular and important social event for both Māori and Pakeha. Some of the earliest races were held in the early 1840s along the Petone beach and in Wellington on the Te Aro flat, where it was reported that a Mr Ludlan had erected a grandstand in his garden to view the race! Today the only Māori racing club left in New Zealand is the Otaki-Māori Racing Club, which continues to run race meetings.

Programme advertising a Maori horse racing meeting in Karioi, Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: P class yachting

P-class yachting

Given New Zealander’s accessibility to the coast, it is hardly surprising that yachting has proved to be an enduring New Zealand pastime – and a sport in which we excel internationally. The yachts in this photograph are P-class. This Kiwi designed yacht has proved popular with the young and teenage sailors. It has also helped launch the careers of internationally recognised sailors like Sir Peter Blake, Russell Coutts and Dean Barker. Here P-class yachts are being launched at Seaview in Wellington harbour.

P class yachting

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall 1901-1971 :Sport in New Zealand; trout and salmon fishing, big game fishing. [ca 1935].

Big game fishing

Given our abundant rivers, lakes and extensive coastline it’s no wonder that recreational fishing is one of our most popular pastimes. In fact, fishing emerges as the most popular participation sport in a Horizons Research survey, with 26 per cent of people claiming they regularly cast a line. This poster from New Zealand’s Tourism Department advertises salmon, trout and big game fishing. The salmon fishing season runs from January to April and the trout from January to the end of April. A fishing licence is needed to catch both salmon and trout.

Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall 1901-1971 :Sport in New Zealand; trout and salmon fishing, big game fishing. [ca 1935].

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Two unidentified women at Trentham races, Upper Hutt

Women at Trentham racecourse

In its hey-day, the one female fashion item that featured at 1950s horse racing meetings was the frock or mid-calf length full skirt dress, sometimes – like here – accompanied with gloves, hat and pearls. Puffed out by stiff crinoline petticoats they made a glamorous fashion statement, especially after the frugal 1940s. Although out of fashion now this style of dress (and petticoat) is still worn by female rock and roll dancing enthusiasts.

Two unidentified women at Trentham races, Upper Hutt

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Ted Morgan, amateur world welter-weight boxing champion

Ted Morgan

Ted Morgan proudly displays the championship belt that he won as an amateur world welterweight boxing champion at the Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928. Although selected as a lightweight, he had to box in the welterweight at the games because of the weight he had put on during the voyage to the games. A plumber by trade, Ted’s potential for boxing was discovered when he was in Wellington College. He fought 26 professional bouts, of which he won 13, lost 11 and drew two. He lost only two amateur contests. Ted Morgan will always be remembered in sporting history as the first New Zealander to win an Olympic gold medal.

Ted Morgan, amateur world welter-weight boxing champion

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: WILD-PIG HUNTING (Otago Daily Times 10-6-1918)

Wild pig hunting

Kunekune, Arapawa and Captain Cookers were types of pigs introduced to New Zealand by early European settlers. Those that became feral were hunted for food, sport or because they destroyed crops and killed lambs. Pigs can be very dangerous, as Logan Atkinson found out when he went pig hunting with his brother in 1981. They shot a sow looking after her litter. The boys then went to catch the piglets, but a large boar chased Logan up a tree. The incident ended with Atkinson being badly wounded and taken to Palmerston Hospital.

WILD-PIG HUNTING (Otago Daily Times 10-6-1918)

National Library of New Zealand

Image: NZ Sport. "Doping? Not us!" "That's a Russian thing!"

"Doping? Not us!"

In this cartoon, a little kiwi says that doping in sport is a Russian thing. The reference is to Russia being banned by the International Olympic Committee from taking part in the Winter Olympics held in February 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. A whistleblowing Russian doctor alleged that Russia ran a programme of doping, where he had created substances to enhance athletes’ performances. This was during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games hosted by Russia in Sochi. An investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) revealed that hundreds of Russian athletes had benefitted from the doping programme. IOC president called this ‘an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympics’.

NZ Sport. "Doping? Not us!" "That's a Russian thing!"

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Hunting trophies in V E Donald's dining room

Hunting trophies

Mr V E Donald sits in his dining room with his trophy wall decorated with deer and wapiti heads. Wapiti (elk) is the largest round antlered deer in the world. Deer were introduced to New Zealand in the late 19th century for sport. Unfortunately, they spread rapidly and began to damage pasture, plantations, and forests by eating the plants. From the 1920s the government had to employ cullers to shoot deer as they had become a pest. In the 1970s people caught deer in a very adventurous way. They leapt from a helicopter to grab a deer, then tranquillised it with a dart gun or used a net gun to fire a net over the frightened animal. These captured animals were then farmed for their venison.

Hunting trophies in V E Donald's dining room

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Swimwear designed by Hot Tuna - Photograph taken by John Nicholson

Hot Tuna swimwear

While men’s swimming trunks or togs became shorter and briefer in the 1950s -1970s, the opposite occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. During this time swimwear fashion adopted a more laid back, casual long leg look, as Australian and New Zealand men’s swimwear became longer and baggier. The end of the last century also witnessed the rapid rise of global Australian surf-wear labels such as Billabong, Rip Curl, Quiksilver and Mambo. In this photograph, the board shorts being modelled are from Hot Tuna – the oldest established surf fashion company in the world.

Swimwear designed by Hot Tuna - Photograph taken by John Nicholson

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: All Black rugby team

All Black rugby team

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: George Nepia

George Nepia

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Wellington College swimming sports

Wellington College swimming sports

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: School sports day, Dargaville Domain

School sports day, Dargaville Domain

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Ngāti Kahungunu sports day

Ngāti Kahungunu sports day

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Waka hurdle race at Ngaruawahia

Waka hurdle race at Ngaruawahia

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Waka ama race

Waka ama race

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Netball

Services to Schools

Basketball

Services to Schools

EPIC

Services to Schools

Politics of sport

Services to Schools