1942 in New Zealand

• Estimated population as of 31 December: 1,636,400[1]
• Increase since 31 December 1941: 5200 (0.32%)
• Males per 100 females: 94.2

• Japanese submarines operated in New Zealand waters in 1942 and 1943. They sent reconnaissance aircraft over Auckland and Wellington, but did not carry out any attacks.
• 8 March – Japanese Warrant Officer Nobuo Fujita of the Imperial Japanese Navy conducts aerial reconnaissance of Wellington. His Yokosuka E14y reconnaissance plane had been catapulted into the air from the Japanese submarine I-25 which stored the plane in a sealed foredeck hangar. After a successful daylight tour the submarine and plane headed north to make an inspection of Auckland on 13 March.
• 27 April – Sugar rationing is introduced.[5]
• 24 May – I-21 briefly operated off northern New Zealand in May 1942. I-21's floatplane flown by Lt Ito Isuma conducted a reconnaissance flight over Thames and then Auckland on 24 May.
• 24 June – A severe earthquake, the 1942 Wairarapa earthquake struck the lower North Island, followed by a severe aftershock on 2 August. Considerable damage resulted in Masterton, other parts of the Wairarapa, Palmerston North and Wellington.
• June – Tea rationing is introduced.[5]
• 9 December – 37 of the 39 female patients in Ward 5 at Seacliff Lunatic Asylum (psychiatric hospital) are killed in a night-time fire - the country's worst fire disaster at that time.

See 1942 in art, 1942 in literature, Category:1942 books

Most sports events were on hold due to the war.

• 5 January: Trish McKelvey, cricketer.
• 12 January: Doug Graham, politician
• 23 January: Phil Clarke (rugby union), rugby union player[9]
• 23 February: John Lewis, headmaster
• 16 March: Gordon Whiting, Judge
• 24 March: Kerry Burke, politician.
• 21 April: Geoffrey Palmer, 33rd Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 19 June: Merata Mita, filmmaker
• 18 July: Mike Ward, politician
• 4 August: David Lange, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 25 September: Peter Petherick, cricketer
• 25 November: Barbara Bevege, cricketer
• Judith Potter, high court judge.
• Roger Walker. architect.

Category:1942 births

• 28 July: James Allen, politician and diplomat.
• 15 July: Denis 'Sonny' Moloney, cricketer.
• 17 July Robina Nicol, photographer and suffragist[10]
• 27 August: Francis Mander, politician
• 12 October: Douglas Lysnar, politician.
• 8 November: Tim Armstrong, politician.

Category:1942 deaths

• List of years in New Zealand
• Timeline of New Zealand history
• History of New Zealand
• Military history of New Zealand
• Timeline of the New Zealand environment
• Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica