31 August 1974 (Date of death) 4 September 1974 (Date of state funeral)
Location
St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington (first official funeral ceremony) Christchurch Town Hall (second service)
Cause
Pulmonary embolism
Burial
Waimate Lawn Cemetery, Waimate, Canterbury
On 31 August 1974, Norman Kirk, the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand, died unexpectedly aged 51 after a period of poor health. The death led to an outpouring of grief, and weakened the Labour Party, contributing to their loss of the 1975 election in a wipeout.[1] His state funeral was held on 4 September 1974.[2]
Having struggled sporadically with obesity and occupational burnout throughout his life, from 1974 Kirk suddenly developed difficulty in breathing, eating and sleeping, which rapidly got worse. His intense workload meant he rarely took time off, but had finally given in to pressure from his colleagues and begun a six-week holiday by August 1974. His health rapidly deteriorated thereafter, and he died in hospital in Island Bay by the end of the month. Kirk's physician Tom O'Donnell determined that the Prime Minister had died of a pulmonary embolism. His death was announced the following day, and deeply shocked the nation.
Kirk's state funeral was held in Wellington on 4 September 1974, and combined of Māori cultural rites with Pākehā ones. Traditional Māori aspects of the funeral included kaikaranga, waiata and whaikōrero, and were accordant to the practises of the mana whenua of each funeral location (In Central Wellington, Te Āti Awa, and in Christchurch, Kāi Tahu).[3]
^Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Biography". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
^"Death of Norman Kirk". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
^Derby, Mark; Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Norman Kirk's tangi, 1974". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
and 23 Related for: Death of Norman Kirk information
1974, NormanKirk, the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand, died unexpectedly aged 51 after a period of poor health. The death led to an outpouring of grief...
Norman Eric Kirk PC (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until...
new NZLP chairman and Prime Minister of New Zealand. The choice filled the vacancy left by the deathofNormanKirk on August 31. Health Minister Bob Tizard...
NormanKirk Park is a recreational space on the east side of Kaiapoi which is a town in the Waimakariri District of Canterbury, New Zealand. Norman Kirk...
August to 6 September 1972 following the deathofNormanKirk. He is not normally counted in the official numbering of New Zealand Prime Ministers. "Parliamentary...
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made...
as he was elevated into the role of Minister of Housing after the deathofNormanKirk in 1974. Douglas was critical of Labour's performance in government...
physical nature of professional wrestling and found for a verdict ofdeath by natural causes. Pathologist Norman Ball testified that Kirk had six unnoticed...
New Zealand's 29th Prime Minister, NormanKirk. Lucy Ruth Miller was born in Taumarunui in 1922, the daughter of postmaster George Miller and his wife...
Bay electorate for National in the 1957 and 1966 elections. The deathofNormanKirk caused the 1974 Sydenham by-election and the National Party decided...
Douglas (born January 23, 1947) is an American film producer. The second son ofKirk Douglas (1916–2020) and Diana Douglas (1923–2015), he was born one day...
Kirk Baily (February 2, 1963 – February 28, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Kevin "Ug" Lee on the Nickelodeon sitcom Salute...
buried at Kirk Bride Churchyard, Bride, Isle of Man. In 2007, a Norman Wisdom-themed bar opened at the Sefton Hotel, Douglas, called Sir Norman's. It has...
mature feature". Kubrick then directed two Hollywood films starring Kirk Douglas: Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). The latter won the Golden Globe...
Crathie Kirk is a small Church of Scotland parish church in the Scottish village of Crathie, best known for being the regular place of worship of the British...
Achievement Award. The elder son ofKirk Douglas and Diana Dill, Douglas received his Bachelor of Arts in drama from the University of California, Santa Barbara...
28 29 30 31 ← November December January → The following is a list of notable deaths in December 2023. Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by...
Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in...
is a corruption of the Saxon hyre-tun, meaning "Irishman's enclosure"; Kirk was added after the Norman invasion and the building of the church. The village...
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Thomas Dewey in 1944, Kirk said no to empire and voted for Norman Thomas, the Socialist Party candidate." In the 1976 presidential...
ParaNorman is a 2012 American stop-motion animated comedy horror film directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler (the latter's feature directorial debut), and...
"Alexander Kirk", Tom is forced to work with Matias Solomon and Susan Hargrave, the people responsible for Liz's death, to get at Alexander Kirk, the man...
key and who mothered a lot of children of whom Kirk is the youngest. Kirk still lives with her, but tries to stay out of the house for as long as possible...
Global Information