The 1972 New Zealand eight was a team of Olympic gold medallists in rowing from New Zealand, having previously won the 1971 European Rowing Championships. At the time, the eight was regarded as the blue ribbon class of rowing, and the sport still had amateur-status in New Zealand, unlike many other nations competing in rowing. After a disappointing Olympic performance at the 1968 Summer Olympics by the New Zealand eight, national selectors Rusty Robertson, Don Rowlands, and Fred Strachan were tasked with assembling a new crew. Robertson was also the team's coach. The next time a New Zealand eight competed was at the 1970 World Rowing Championships, where they came third. The team was once again significantly changed for the next rowing season, with the 1971 edition of the European Rowing Championships and other international regattas beforehand seen as the ultimate test for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The team put up an impressive performance, beat the highly favoured East German eight, and became European champion; at the time the win was regarded as holding world championship status. No further changes were made to the team, not even their seating position, for the 1972 season. Despite a shoe-string budget, financial constraints, and all rowers working part-time, the 1971 success was repeated and the team won Olympic gold in Munich. The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Avery Brundage, was a zealous advocate of amateurism; he was so impressed by the New Zealand performance that he insisted on handing out the gold medals himself. During the medal ceremony, much to almost everybody's surprise, "God Defend New Zealand" was played instead of the national anthem, "God Save the Queen". It was the impetus for a campaign to make "God Defend New Zealand" the New Zealand anthem, and in 1977 it was gazetted as having equal status to the traditional anthem.
The team won some significant awards and recognition for its successes. The rules of the "Sportsman of the Year Award" had to be changed so that a team could win the supreme award; this was awarded after their European championship win. Brundage also awarded the Taher Pacha Trophy to the team for distinction in amateur sport in 1971. After the Olympic success, the team was again awarded "Sportsman of the Year"; the first time a back-to-back award had been handed out. Rowlands, their manager, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1973 New Year Honours. Over time, coach Robertson, manager Rowlands, and then the team as a whole were inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
The following are images from various New Zealand-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Māori whānau (extended family) from Rotorua in the 1880s. Many aspects of Western life and culture, including European clothing and architecture, became incorporated into Māori society during the 19th century. (from History of New Zealand)
Image 4European settlers developed an identity that was influenced by their rustic lifestyle. In this scene from 1909, men at their camp site display a catch of rabbits and fish. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 12Men of the Māori Battalion, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, after disembarking at Gourock in Scotland in June 1940 (from History of New Zealand)
Image 15A 1943 poster produced during the war. The poster reads: "When war broke out ... industries were unprepared for munitions production. To-day New Zealand is not only manufacturing many kinds of munitions for her own defence but is making a valuable contribution to the defence of the other areas in the Pacific..." (from History of New Zealand)
Image 29Percentages of people reporting affiliation with Christianity at the 2001, 2006 and 2013 censuses; there has been a steady decrease over twelve years. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 40Hinepare of Ngāti Kahungunu, is wearing a traditional korowai cloak adorned with a black fringe border. The two huia feathers in her hair, indicate a chiefly lineage. She also wears a pounamuhei-tiki and earring, as well as a shark tooth (mako) earring. The moko-kauae (chin-tattoo) is often based on one's role in the iwi. (from Culture of New Zealand)
Image 41The scalloped bays indenting Lake Taupō's northern and western coasts are typical of large volcanic caldera margins. The caldera they surround was formed during the huge Oruanui eruption. (from Geography of New Zealand)
Image 42The Māori are most likely descended from people who emigrated from Taiwan to Melanesia and then travelled east through to the Society Islands. After a pause of 70 to 265 years, a new wave of exploration led to the discovery and settlement of New Zealand.
... that during the construction of Fairfield Bridge (pictured) a burial cave was found with the heads of several dead Māori people?
... that the Hatepe eruption was the most recent eruption of Lake Taupo, which ejected some 120 cubic kilometres of material, can be reliably dated to 186 CE by meteorological phenomena described by Fan Ye in China and by Herodian in Rome?
... that the Pink and White Terraces (Otukapuarangi in Māori) were considered a natural wonder until they were destroyed by a violent volcanic eruption in 1886?
... that the snow grasses can be several centuries old?
Sir John Walker, KNZM, CBE, (born January 12, 1952 in Papakura) is a former middle distance runner from New Zealand.
Walker is best known for being the first human being to run the mile in under 3:50 minutes, posting a time of 3:49.4, breaking the existing world record by over 1.5 seconds. This was a full 10 seconds faster than Roger Bannister's historic sub-Four-Minute Mile of 3:59.4 that was run twenty-one years previous. He was named Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News the same year.
The following year, 1976, Walker won the Olympic Games 1500 metres in Montreal, with a time of 3:39.17. Walker also broke the world record for the 2000 metres, running 4:51.4 minutes in Oslo, Norway, on 30 June 1976. He smashed the existing ten-year-old record held by Michel Jazy by nearly five seconds, Walker regarded this run as the best he ever ran. Steve Cram would not better Walker's record by running 4:51.4 at Budapest, Hungary until 4 August 1985. Indoors, Walker broke the 1500 metre world record with a time of 3:37.4 in 1979. (Full article...)
... that at the age of 27 New Zealand entrepreneur Jamie Beaton had degrees from Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and Tsinghua University, and was working on his seventh degree, from Yale?
... that New Zealand activist Pania Newton gave up a legal career to become an activist and spokesperson for the preservation of her ancestral lands at Ihumātao?
... that Thomas Broun has been blamed for inflating the number of beetle species in New Zealand?
... that Jessica Mutch McKay hosted debates between the leaders of New Zealand's two major political parties?
... that the support of conservationist Kae Miller for people recovering from mental illnesses resulted in the establishment of Te Rae Kaihau Park in Wellington, New Zealand?
... that New Zealand's Native Island hosted a colony of Samoyeds and huskies used in both the Southern Cross and Nimrod expeditions to the South Pole?
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