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 11 - 20 of 40 events.
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Māori contingent leave for war
Te Hokowhitu a Tū: Altogether 2,227 men served overseas. Three hundred and thirty-six Māori men (15 percent) who served in the war, on Gallipoli Peninsula or the Western Front, were killed. Of those who returned, nearly 40 percent had been wounded.[i]
Date: 1915 Period: 1900-1937 -
Māori Soldiers Fund
Lady Liverpool with Miria Woodbine Pomare formed a Māori Soldiers Fund which drew upon the resources of 28 Māori women’s committees across the country.[i]
Date: 1915 Period: 1900-1937 -
Military Services Act
The Military Services Act 1916 introduced conscription. Initially conscription applied only to Pākehā, but in June 1917 it was extended to Māori. Nearly 30,000 conscripts had joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force by the end of the war. New forms of pe…
Date: 1916 Period: 1900-1937 -
Eastern Māori Patriotic Association established
Set up by Āpirana Ngata to raise funds for Māori returned servicemen, because of the doubt that the Government would act fairly in providing land for rehabilitation.[i]
Date: 1917 Period: 1900-1937 -
Influenza epidemic
The official figures released at the time grossly underestimated Māori suffering; their death rate was seven times higher than for Pākehā. It is now thought that more than 2,100 Māori died in the epidemic.[i]
Date: 1918 Period: 1900-1937 -
The Epidemic Allowance (Epidemic Pension)
The Epidemic Allowance (Epidemic Pension) was introduced as an immediate response to the sudden deaths during the influenza epidemic of 1918. The Allowance provided for widows whose husbands had died in the epidemic and for the support of children of widow…
Date: 1918 Period: 1900-1937 -
Housing Act
Introduced due to a housing shortage that had become acute with the return of soldiers, a scarcity of labour and a rise in the cost of building materials. The Scheme operated for only three years during which time 800 houses were built.[i]
Date: 1919 Period: 1900-1937 -
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
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content https://perma.cc/QK5N-XKSK
- [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.