Chronology for 1938-1971
Assimilating into universal welfare
Labour’s policies were underpinned by a principle of universality and a vision of the nation as a classless community. Rich, middle-class and poor were linked by the same national system of state support and social services; superannuation, however small, was to be available to every aged person who was not already on another benefit and was an important symbol of citizenship. The ‘system as a whole was removed from ‘the taint of charity’ and became a source of national pride’.[i] go to footnote
This was a period of great demographic change for iwi Māori with the mass migration of its rural population to the cities of New Zealand. The need for workers in essential industries and the post-war labour boom provided rangatahi and whānau Māori with ample employment, 'incomes that were almost equal to those of Pākehā, and access to family welfare benefits that boosted the incomes of large families by around 50 percent.'[ii] go to footnote However, the financial rewards were offset by one or both parents working long hours to cover the costs of city living and it exposed Māori to discrimination. The Department of Māori Affairs played a welfare role in the lives of whānau Māori during this period, with a policy of integrating Māori into the social fabric of ‘mainstream’ New Zealand society. Through housing allocation policies attempts were made to pepper pot Māori in Pākehā suburban streets.[iii] go to footnote Young Māori women who moved to the cities for essential industry work or single rangatahi simply moving to the city for work opportunities were directed into hostels.
Before the 1950s, child welfare agencies endeavoured to keep Māori children with their families or in their own tribal area.[iv] go to footnote In the 1950s, Māori became a disproportionate minority in all areas of child welfare work with a steady growth in Māori juvenile delinquency with recorded Māori offending at three or four times the rate of Pākehā, particularly in the 15–20 age.[v] go to footnote
Chronology events
Displaying 1 - 10 of 270 events.
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Te Whakaputanga
Northern Rangatira sign Declaration of Independence.
Date: 1835 Period: 1835-1899 -
Māori population estimated at 80,000
An iwi Māori population supports a dependent Pākehā population of approximately 2,000 c.1839.
Date: 1840 Period: 1835-1899 -
Signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands.
Date: 1840 Period: 1835-1899 -
Beginning of the New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars (1845 to 1872).
Date: 1845 Period: 1835-1899 -
Destitute Persons Ordinance
Promoted the start of the family responsibility themes in New Zealand social policy.[i] Was put in place due to concern about ‘dangerous lunatics’ and made families financially responsible for their own members.[ii] Became New Zealand’s first income suppor…
Date: 1846 Period: 1835-1899 -
Hospitals established in the North Island
The establishment of state-financed hospitals in Auckland, Wellington, Wanganui, and New Plymouth, creating the nucleus of a national hospital system.[i]
Date: 1846 Period: 1835-1899 -
Limited government support for Mission Schools
Māori women played a significant role in establishing Mission Schools. Māori children were initially educated in Mission Schools, separate from Pākehā children, and received some funding from government from 1847.
Date: 1847 Period: 1835-1899 -
Pensions Ordinance
Provided a limited pension for volunteers and others who were disabled or seriously wounded while acting with or in aid of the Crown forces in the suppression of the rebellion in the far north of New Zealand in 1845/46.[i]
Date: 1849 Period: 1835-1899 -
Civil List for ‘Native purposes’
From 1852 the Civil List included a sum of £7,000 for 'Native Purposes' including medicines and medical services.[i]
Date: 1852 Period: 1835-1899 -
New Zealand Constitution Act
New Zealand is now self-governing, with allowances made for self-governing Māori districts. Provinces are responsible for the ‘needy poor’.
Date: 1852 Period: 1835-1899
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content Tim Garlick, Social Developments: An organizational history of the Ministry of Social Development and its predecessors, 1860-2011, Steele Roberts Aotearoa, Wellington, 2012, p.70.
- [ii] go to main content Melissa Matutina Williams, Panguru and the City, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2010, p. 195.
- [iii] go to main content Urbanisation – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- [iv] go to main content Bronwyn Dalley, Family Matters, Wellington, 1998, p. 6.
- [v] go to main content Dalley, 1998, p. 192.