Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03

1939 in New Zealand

Explore 3 historical events and records for New Zealand in 1939.

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Historical records for New Zealand in 1939

Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 3 of 3 unique records.

3Unique records

1 of 1Page

2Named events on this page

2Named people on this page

2Places on this page

July

20 July 1939

Mount Oliver

Hillary, Edmund Percival · Mount Oliver · Exploration / Exploration and Discovery

Completes his first major climb, reaching the summit of Mount Oliver in the Southern Alps

Other events (month unknown)

1939

Commander of NZEF

Freyberg · Wellington · Commander of NZEF · Warfare / Military

Appointed Commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force

1939

Commander of NZEF

Freyberg · Wellington · Commander of NZEF · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Appointed Commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force

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How these records were prepared

Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.