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 11 - 20 of 270 events.
-
First attempts at a Māori Census
This marked the first attempt at a separate Māori census.[i]
Date: 1857 Period: 1835-1899 -
Resistance to land alienation
Māori began to assert resistance to land alienation throughout the country.
Date: 1857 Period: 1835-1899 -
Te Aukati established in Waikato
Te Wherowhero becomes the first Māori King.
Date: 1858 Period: 1835-1899 -
First Kohimarama conference
Governor Thomas Gore Browne held a conference at Kohimarama, Tāmaki Makaurau, in August 1860. This was an attempt to prevent the fighting in Taranaki from spreading to other areas. [i]
Date: 1860 Period: 1835-1899 -
Native Lands Act
Established the Native Land Court, an important means of Crown land acquisition and assimilation.
Date: 1862 Period: 1835-1899 -
New Zealand Settlements Act
War, followed by land confiscation, became another way of implementing social policy to transfer land into Pākehā hands.[i] Roads were also constructed for the military and for economic expansion, especially farming communities, that would draw Māori withi…
Date: 1863 Period: 1835-1899 -
Land confiscations
First proclamation confiscating land under the New Zealand Settlements Act. [i]
Date: 1864 Period: 1835-1899 -
Public Works legislation
Permits the compulsory acquisition of Māori land. [i]
Date: 1864 Period: 1835-1899 -
Native Land Court
The Native Lands Act of 1862 gave the Governor authority to establish a Native Land Court in any district defined by him. Those found by the court to be owners were then at liberty to sell or let land directly to settlers. [i]
Date: 1865 Period: 1835-1899 -
Military Pensions Act 1866
The Military Pensions Act 1866 provided for members of the Colonial Forces killed or wounded on active service in the New Zealand wars. Payments were higher for European members. Special allowances could also be provided to family (widows children and othe…
Date: 1866 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.