Chronology for 1900-1937
On the fringes of mono-cultural welfare
Most Māori lived in rural enclaves of Aotearoa New Zealand and practiced customary ways of living and caring for whānau. However, assimilationist policies and a capitalist economic framework were beginning to impact, especially with the migration of adults in search of paid work. By 1920, Māori land holdings had decreased to 8% of total New Zealand lands and the population had increased from 56,987 in 1921 to 82,326 in 1936.[i] go to footnote Factors contributing to this significant population growth, which continued beyond the 1920s, were ‘falls in infant and child mortality, especially but not exclusively from the end of the 19th century to 1976’, ‘reductions in mortality at older ages’, and ‘the high relative fertility of Māori women’.[ii] go to footnote While Māori women and children were at the forefront of the recovery of te ao Māori, they were also targets of state messaging about their ‘proper’ family roles and places in New Zealand society.
Western concepts of child welfare were introduced legislatively in the early 20th century (whāngai restrictions to whenua) and enforced increasingly throughout the century as Māori children began to enter the child juvenile system. Access to pensions and benefits are either denied or paid at a lower rate than for Pākehā.
Iwi Māori continued to fight for hapū autonomy and control over their own welfare. Wāhine Māori, such as Whina Cooper and Te Puea Hērangi, were among Māori leaders pushing for tikanga-based solutions for the welbeing of their people and Māori nationwide.[iii] go to footnote
Chronology events
Displaying 101 - 110 of 270 events.
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Mainstreaming of Native schools began
Māori Education Conference leads to establishment of Māori Education Foundation.[i]
Date: 1955 Period: 1938-1971 -
Māori Trust Boards Act
Between 1922 and 1953, ten Māori trusts were established by statute to receive and administer compensation awarded by the Crown in settlement of various long-held Māori grievances. In 1955, as part of a move to update all existing Māori legislation, the Ac…
Date: 1955 Period: 1938-1971 -
Marriage Act
Did not recognise Māori customary practices.[i]
Date: 1955 Period: 1938-1971 -
National Committee on Māori Education
The Minister of Education appointed a National Committee on Māori Education (with majority Māori membership), which agreed there should be one system of State schooling for both Māori and Pākehā. The Committee was reconstituted as the National Advisory Com…
Date: 1955 Period: 1938-1971 -
First national directory of social services
Department of Māori Affairs published the first, and perhaps only, national directory of social services. The directory was considered incomplete but still included the details of some 360 voluntary organisations, as well as hospital boards and most govern…
Date: 1957 Period: 1938-1971 -
New Zealand Māori Wardens Association (NZMWA) inaugural meeting
The meeting was held at Rotorua early in December 1957. By the end of 1957 there were 376 Māori wardens who had been appointed through tribal committees.[i]
Date: 1957 Period: 1938-1971 -
Family benefit capitalisation introduced
Walter Nash initiated the capitalisation of family benefits in 1958 by allowing all of each child’s benefit to be paid in advance in a lump sum if this was used either for the purchase of a new house or for necessary additions to a house the family was alr…
Date: 1958 Period: 1938-1971 -
The first permanent social welfare officers
The officers began working for the Department of Social Security.[i]
Date: 1958 Period: 1938-1971 -
Māori Urban relocation programme
Introduced by the Department of Māori Affairs and consistent with the Hunn report which welcomed Māori urban migration as the quickest way of integrating Māori into Pākehā ways of life.
Date: 1960 Period: 1938-1971 -
Board of Health’s Māori Health Committee
Established as a result of R.J. Rose’s Maori-European Standards of Health report, the Board met for the first time on 25 January 1961.[i]
Date: 1961 Period: 1938-1971
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content The New Zealand Official Year Book 1945
- [ii] go to main content Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, p. 491.
- [iii] go to main content Hērangi, Te Kirihaehae Te Puea – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography – Te Ara; Cooper, Whina – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography – Te Ara.