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 51 - 60 of 270 events.
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Te Hokowhitu a Tū return home from war
Te Hokowhitu a Tū (the New Zealand (Māori) Pioneer Battalion) returned home after the 1919 ceasefire.
Date: 1919 Period: 1900-1937 -
Te Rangihīroa (Peter Buck) appointed
Dr Peter Buck was appointed Director of Māori Hygiene. Māori councils were transferred to the Health Department in 1919 but at this point most only existed on paper.[i]
Date: 1919 Period: 1900-1937 -
Reorganisation of the health system
Led to the formation of divisions for Dental Hygiene, School Hygiene, and Child Welfare, the last under the leadership of Truby King.[i]
Date: 1920 Period: 1900-1937 -
The Prevention of Crime (Borstal Institutions Establishment) Act
Offenders aged 15-21 could be detained in borstals for one to five years for ‘reform’, which included occupational training.[i]
Date: 1924 Period: 1900-1937 -
Child Welfare Act
The Child Welfare Act 1925 expunged the term ‘industrial school’ from the Education Department vocabulary.[i] The legislation caught up with, rather than set, a new welfare policy for children.[ii] It created a separate system of juvenile justice through c…
Date: 1925 Period: 1900-1937 -
Child Welfare Branch set up
Based in the Department of Education, it had responsibility for the welfare of all children (whether in institutional care or in the care of family). The Superintendent of Child Welfare was responsible to both the Minister of Education and the Minister in …
Date: 1926 Period: 1900-1937 -
Māori and the Child Welfare Court
In the late 1930s Māori tamariki/rangatahi increasingly appeared in children’s courts and from 1926-1948 Māori made up 30-40% of all cases of children magistrates placed under supervision each year.[i]
Date: 1926 Period: 1900-1937 -
Pensions Act
First attempt to systematise New Zealand’s pension system. A tight rein placed on Māori eligibility by local magistrate’s assessments. The Commissioner became responsible for agreeing to all renewals of Māori pensions, and adopted the practice of lowering …
Date: 1926 Period: 1900-1937 -
Sim Commission
The Sim Commission inquired into the more than three million acres of Māori land confiscated throughout Taranaki, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty under the 1863 New Zealand Settlements Act. Its subsequent report contained no discussion of justifications for …
Date: 1926 Period: 1900-1937 -
The Child Welfare Amendment Act
Raised the age limit for children’s courts from 16 to 17 which caused a sudden increase in case numbers.[i] It also provided for the state registration and inspection of orphanages.[ii]
Date: 1927 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.