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 131 - 140 of 270 events.
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Introduction of integrated schools
The separate Māori school system administered by the Department of Education was abolished. Management of the 105 Māori primary schools and remaining Māori district high schools was transferred to Education Board control. Māori high schools had been closin…
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971 -
Juvenile Crime Prevention Section renamed
The section was now known as the Youth Aid Section.[i]
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971 -
Status of Children Act
This Act eroded ex-nuptial v nuptial distinctions, dispensed with the term illegitimacy, and suggested a focus on the child as a child rather than a member of a larger unit.[i]
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971 -
Child Welfare Division national survey results released
Results of an extensive national survey initiated in 1967 were released. Results showed that Pasifika children and young people had started to be a disproportionate minority in child welfare services. Two or three in every 10,000 children under the age of …
Date: 1970 Period: 1938-1971 -
The Māori Purposes Act
Amended section 25 of the 1962 Act and altered the NZMC’s funding arrangements by replacing the pound-for-pound subsidy system on money raised by Māori Associations with the payment of a Minister-approved annual grant. The NZMC had raised the issue of its …
Date: 1970 Period: 1938-1971 -
Joint ‘J’ Teams
Set up to support young Māori in cities. Included Police, Child Welfare, Māori Affairs and voluntary groups (disbanded in 1980).[i]
Date: 1971 Period: 1938-1971 -
Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Housing
‘The Commission of Inquiry into Housing released its report and recommendations. This was a wide-ranging inquiry and the Commission made 114 recommendations. These included that: Polynesians should be housed in very small, dispersed groups and that large …
Date: 1971 Period: 1938-1971 -
Department of Social Welfare established
Child Welfare Division joined with the Social Security Department in a ‘forced marriage’ to become the Department of Social Welfare.[i] A 1972 report, New Zealand’s first comprehensive inquiry into child abuse, indicated there was relatively little child …
Date: 1972 Period: 1972-1989 -
Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit opened
The Unit operated for six years but children and young people may have been treated in Lake Alice prior to the unit being opened.[i]
Date: 1972 Period: 1972-1989 -
National Housing Commission
The Commission undertook its last major survey of serious housing need in 1988. This survey comprised half of New Zealand’s population representing the areas considered to have the most housing need. In these areas, it was estimated that 17,500 households …
Date: 1972 Period: 1972-1989
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.