Following in the footsteps of Jack Lovelock and Peter Snell, Walker won gold in the Olympic 1500 m. Black African nations boycotted the Games in protest at the All Blacks' tour of South Africa
New Zealand's first female Olympic medallist, Yvette Williams (now Corlett) won gold in the long jump with an Olympic-record leap of 6.24 m (20 feet 5 and 3/4 inches).
The first stage win by a New Zealander in the Tour de France came in a team time trial. Although Chris Jenner didn't finish with the core of his Credit Agricole team, he shared in the stage win and got to stand on the podium.
Jack Lovelock's run at Princeton University beat the existing record for the mile, set by Jules Ladoumegue, by almost two seconds. It was dubbed the 'greatest mile of all time' by Time Magazine
With Michael Jones, John Kirwan and captain David Kirk scoring tries, the All Blacks defeated France 29-9 at Eden Park, Auckland. Kirk became the first All Black captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.
As the popularity of rugby grew, it became necessary to standardise the running of the game in this country. Despite some opposition, a New Zealand Rugby Football Union was created at a meeting held in Wellington.
The slogan‘No Maoris − No Tour’ fell on deaf ears as this controversial rugby tour went ahead. The issue of sporting ties with South Africa was to split the country in devastating fashion in 1981.
First held at the Masterton War Memorial Stadium in 1961, the Golden Shears competition has become an icon of the shearing and wool-handling industry in New Zealand.
Jack Lovelock won New Zealand's first Olympic athletics gold medal before Adolf Hitler and a crowd of 110,000 at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He led the 1500-m field home in a world record time of 3:47.8.
By winning the world light-heavyweight championship, Timaru boxer Bob Fitzsimmons became the first man ever to be world champion in three different weight divisions.
Trans-Tasman sporting relations reached breaking point at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when Australian captain Greg Chappell ordered his brother Trevor to bowl the final delivery of a limited-overs cricket international against New Zealand underarm
In Hamilton the protestors occupying the pitch had chanted 'The whole world is watching'. The same applied to New Zealand as a nation. Some believed the tour was an opportunity to address racism in New Zealand and show solidarity with the oppressed black majority in South Africa.
The tour supporters were determined that the first Springbok visit to New Zealand since 1965 would not be spoiled. The anti-tour movement was equally determined to show its opposition to it.
