10 January – A fire destroys the Farmers' Co-operative Association department store in
Blenheim, aided by strong northwesterly winds and a 33 °C (91 °F) temperature.[5]
19 March – Cessna aircraft en route from Palmerston North to Taupo crashed onto the Desert Rd in bad weather, killing all 6 occupants
24 May – Labour MP
Malcolm Douglas is removed from Parliament six months after the 1978 general election, after an electoral petition by National opponent
Winston Peters is upheld over irregularities in the votes of the
Hunua electorate. Peters subsequently replaces Douglas
30 July – The
carless days scheme is introduced, restricting private motor vehicles from driving on one day of the week.[8]
8 August –
1979 Abbotsford landslip: Sixty-nine homes in the Dunedin suburb of Abbotsford are left uninhabitable after 18 hectares (44 acres) of land slips 48 metres in 15 minutes.
20 September – The New Zealand Federation of Labour holds a 24-hour
general strike to protest government intervention in the drivers'
award. Around 300,000 workers, mainly in the manufacturing and transport industries, participate in the strike.[9][10]
3 November – The Evening Star ceases publication. The Dunedin newspaper was founded in 1863.[11]
Two years after its official opening, the new executive wing of Parliament Buildings, known as the
Beehive, is completed and occupied by the Government.[12]
Nambassa three-day music, crafts and alternative lifestyle festival on Phil and Pat Hulses' 400-acre (1.6 km2) farm in Golden Valley, north of
Waihi. Attendance 75,000 plus.
Summer '79, outdoor arts festival in the parks of
Wellington – including the Botanical Gardens, the Newtown Zoo,
the Town Belt and several suburban parks.