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 31 - 40 of 270 events.
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Government Advances to Settlers Act
Established the Government Advances to Settlers Office with the original purpose of providing cheap land for farmers in a period of falling overseas prices. It also allowed the government to lend to rural settlers who owned land but had limited access to c…
Date: 1894 Period: 1835-1899 -
Kotahitanga Parliament drafts Native Rights Bill
The Bill was tabled in Parliament by Māori MPs. It sought the abolition of the Native Land Court, the right of Māori to make their own land laws, and Māori control of reserved land and land developments.[i] Parliament rejected the Native Rights Bill in 189…
Date: 1894 Period: 1835-1899 -
Old-age Pension Act
The first statutory provision for old-age pensions. Excludes Māori receiving money under the Civil List Act 1873. Most Māori received less than the full rate and were likely deterred by application requirements, such as providing proof of birth.[i] Neverth…
Date: 1898 Period: 1835-1899 -
Māori Councils Act
Under the Māori Councils Act, Māori settlements were empowered to elect a marae committee (Komiti Marae) – the individual members of which were awarded statutory powers to control the liquor trade, regulate traffic and impose sanitation measures. Komiti Ma…
Date: 1900 Period: 1900-1937 -
Prohibition
Once women have the right to vote, from 1893, elections are commonly accompanied by referenda on alcohol prohibition. Although Māori were not allowed to vote in National Licensing Referenda until 1949, prohibition was something that Māori felt very strongl…
Date: 1900 Period: 1900-1937 -
Public Health Act 1900
The first Māori Doctor, Maui Pomare, was recruited to the new Department of Public Health ‘Māori Health’ section as ‘Health Commissioner for the Natives’ in 1901. Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck) engaged as Pomare’s assistant in 1905.[i]
Date: 1900 Period: 1900-1937 -
Residential care for young offenders
Residential care was regarded as the best option for young offenders and for young people considered to be out of control. Alternative forms of care, such as foster care with non-family members, were reserved for the least difficult children committed to t…
Date: 1900 Period: 1900-1937 -
The Māori Lands Administration Act
The Māori Lands Administration Act granted Māori some local autonomy and some legal power over their land. However, special conditions restricted these gains.[i]
Date: 1900 Period: 1900-1937 -
Native Land Claims and Adjustment and Amendment Act
This Act made it necessary to formally ‘register whangai placements in the Native Land Court to qualify the child to succeed to lands of their whangai parents’.[i] The Act also legalised the adoption of children outside of the kin-based network.
Date: 1901 Period: 1900-1937 -
Old Age Pension policy for Māori
Old-age Pensions Office became an independent department.[i] In 1904 the decision by New Plymouth magistrate Thomas Hutchinson to pay a reduced rate of pension, £12 rather than £18, to a Māori pensioner set a precedent for an unofficial policy that lasted …
Date: 1904 Period: 1900-1937
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.