Chronology for 1835-1899
The colonial redistribution of welfare: Dismantling hapū ora
This period opens with a politically and socio-economically robust iwi Māori population of around 80,000 people.[i] go to footnote Whenua and whakapapa form the basis of hapū and whānau wellbeing. W.H. Oliver argues that the first instrument of social policy in New Zealand was the system set up by Hobson in 1840 for the purchase and resale to settlers of Māori land.[ii] go to footnote Pākehā welfare was dependent on the continued dispossession of Māori land.[iii]go to footnote
The New Zealand Wars (1845–1872) either directly or indirectly impacted all iwi Māori throughout New Zealand.[iv] go to footnote Related legislative measures enabled the Crown to alienate Māori land and taonga across the motu prior to and beyond the next century via confiscation, land tenure reforms, local legislative measures and contested land purchases.
Iwi Māori assertions of rangatiratanga and resistance to the alienation of lands occurred across the motu, either physically, through the courts, via direct petitioning to the government or through the simple occupation of lands. Such measures led to some government concessions, such as the Sims Commission and South Island Landless Natives Act 1906,[v] go to footnote but after 1872 resistance also sometimes led to the government’s use of force in the later 19th century and well into the 20th century. (eg, Parihaka in 1881, Waima in 1898, Takaparawhāu in 1978).[vi] go to footnote
By the end of the 19th century Māori were a minority of the national. In 1896 the Māori population hit an all-time low of 42,650, compared to a Pākehā population of just over 700,000. Although the Māori population was recovering, their communities were reeling from land alienation, decline of resources, indebtedness, diseases and Māori communities survived on subsistence economies, with a growing dependence on paid work.
Māori were either excluded or faced barriers to accessing welfare support introduced during this period.
Chronology events
Displaying 121 - 130 of 270 events.
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Auckland Māori Committees offering services to new migrants
Thirty-three Māori Committees were operating in Auckland, offering services to assist new migrants to the city. Support included budgeting advice and advocacy on behalf of Māori people in their relations with Pākehā landlords or the authorities. In Ōtara, …
Date: 1966 Period: 1938-1971 -
Maori school leavers low achievement
Over 85% of Māori leave school with no qualifications.[i]
Date: 1966 Period: 1938-1971 -
Te Unga Waka centre
The centre was built by the Māori Catholic Community of Auckland.
Date: 1966 Period: 1938-1971 -
Māori Affairs Amendment Act
This Act was described by Māori as the ‘last land grab’[i] Despite widespread opposition of Māori, including the NZMC and the Māori members of Parliament, this Act made it possible for the government to compulsorily convert Māori freehold land with four or…
Date: 1967 Period: 1938-1971 -
Department of Māori and Island Affairs created
Department of Māori Affairs was amalgamated with the Department of Island Territories to create the new Department of Māori and Island Affairs. There was no change in overall policy or the types of work done; Polynesian welfare officers were appointed to t…
Date: 1968 Period: 1938-1971 -
Introduction of domestic purposes emergency benefit
In 1968 the government agreed to introduce a domestic purposes emergency benefit for circumstances not covered by a statutory benefit. Viewed as an emergency benefit which specifically met the needs of sole parents, grouping deserted wives and separated an…
Date: 1968 Period: 1938-1971 -
Māori Organisation on Human Rights formed
Date: 1968 Period: 1938-1971 -
The Guardianship Act
Defined and regulated the authority of parents as guardians of their children, their power to appoint guardians, and the powers of the Courts in relation to the custody and guardianship of children.[i]
Date: 1968 Period: 1938-1971 -
Committee for Research into Illegitimacy
The committee launched a comprehensive study, led by Victoria University lecturer Jim Robb and including members of the Child Welfare Division. The descriptive study was undertaken in order to construct a profile of the unmarried mother.[i] The study concl…
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971 -
Hokio Beach residence
The residence was for boys aged 11-14 and was one of several residences that catered for the growing Māori population in the Child Welfare Division’s homes. In the late 1960s it introduced Māori language, history, and culture into the curriculum.[i]
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content ‘The first Māori census was attempted in 1857–58’. Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, p. 246. Earlier censuses were taken during the 1840s, however these were particular to regions and settlements and from there estimates were made by missionaries and colonists as to what the national population level might have been. Salmond and other prominent authors are sceptical of these figures and believe the numbers were greater. A census of Māori was attempted in 1867 but warfare prevented its completion. Tangata Whenua, Appendix One, p. 490.
- [ii] go to main content Cited in Margaret Tennant, Past Judgement: Social Policy in New Zealand History, co-edited with Bronwyn Dalley, 2004, p. 17.; ‘The April report: report of the Royal Commission on Social Policy’, Volume 1: New Zealand Today, New Zealand Royal Commission on Social Policy, Wellington, 1988, pp. 4–5.
- [iii] go to main content Tennant, 2004, p. 41.
- [iv] go to main content For more detailed information see the following link: https://teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars
- [v] go to main content For more information see: Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, pp. 256–301, and https://teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars
- [vi] go to main content Tangata Whenua, pp.322-3.