Poverty, Unemployment and Relief Work
The Depression touched the lives of every New Zealander alive at the time, causing widespread unemployment and poverty. By the end of 1932 close to 80,000 were unemployed (1), a figure which does not include those who did not qualify for pensions or relief work, such as women and Maori. An estimated 30% of the potential workforce were unemployed in 1933 (4), the peak of the Great Depression in New Zealand. Those who took up relief work found themselves working as unskilled labourers on often futile tasks such as digging ditches, often in camps far from their homes and families. It was the belief at the time that money had to be earned and so much so work was offered even if it would accomplish little. In these camps the men faced tough conditions, as a quote from the Weekly News on April 27th 1932 exemplifies, “Damp clothes constitute an ever-present problem at Aka Aka. The men work all day widening drains, nearly always they are ankle deep and knee deep in water and often waist deep”. Although single men were called upon to take positions in the more remote camps, so that relief work closer to home may be reserved for married men, they were still forced, in their thousands (1), to leave their families in order to earn whatever pittance was available to sustain themselves and their families. Often there was still not enough work available on the relief works, particularly in winter, and men, more often than not, would find themselves idle for more days than they wished, working only four days a week and thus earning even less. At the time the official minimum wage was about £5 a week (3), and some workers, not the worst off, were receiving only 9s 6d for a nine hour day (9), which would, if they could get four days work, amount to less than £2, and if they could work six days, still less than £3. This well bellow sufficient wage offered for demoralising work shows that the 1930s were a very tough time, as families would have struggled to meet their financial needs, many living in abject poverty. Robert Semple stated in Parliament in September 1930 that “we have starvation in
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every city in New Zealand. Even the honourable member for Stratford has told us that there is starvation in one of his small country villages - in a farming constituency”. The far reaching effects of the Depression are exemplified by this widespread starvation, showing it had a very significant effect on New Zealand. During these times, people had find whatever ways they could to sustain the basics, and this meant doing things such as making clothes from sugar bags lined with flour bags or making soap at home, in order to keep people washed and clothed on such limited budgets. When even the basics such as clothing were hard to come by, people did not enjoy many luxuries, living stripped back lifestyles. Single women and mothers found it particularly difficult to get by due a lack of work for them, and much more limited relief and could often only do so by picking up housework for wealthier families.
Riots
A consequence of the mass unemployment of the Great Depression was that the frustration and desperation felt due to these harsh conditions was let out in a series of riots in major centres, exemplifying the significant impact and toll the Great Depression had had on the people of New Zealand. The unemployed were frustrated with the Coalition government, who refused to provide anything beyond the badly paying, often unavailable and often pointless relief work and camps they had established. The first riot occurred in Dunedin, on the 9th January, 1932 when a group of unemployed men and women marched to the Otago Hospital Board and demanded relief, only to be refused and turn on a local supermarket, where police faced them and managed to keep the damage to only a few windows. There was a lot of commotion and some violence following this, before the situation was calmed by the arrangement of 800 food parcels (15) to be distributed for the weekend. Despite the establishment of an Emergency Relief Depot, similar events occurred on April 9th, with unemployed again being turned down by the Hospital Board, and again this causing unrest. This was significant, as it showed people turning against the ideas of “work for pay”, wanting a more practical solution, and the Coalition government losing the support of the people. Auckland, too, experienced rioting, after a meeting of unemployed protesters at Town Hall was prevented by police and the protesters got violent. They looted shops, smashing windows and taking items ranging from jewellery to condoms. Police and armed sailors intervened, and there were many injuries and arrests (and subsequent imprisonment). Things did not calm immediately, but continued to be violent for another day. There was a third major riot, in Wellington, on May 10th, after demonstrations outside parliament turned bad, and the unemployed began smashing shop windows and looting. Again, many arrests were made. These riots, taking place in three out of four of the major centres, show how poor the relief services to the unemployed were, and how large numbers were deeply affected by the Great Depression, becoming angry, frustrated and desperate.
Children
Children growing up during the Great Depression faced many challenges which affected them in the long term, as well as at the time, notably, when it came to their education. It was a concern of the government’s that, in 1930, 9000 boys were leaving school annually (2), and their prospects were becoming poor as the economic situation declined. As increasing numbers found themselves in poverty many young New Zealanders had to drop out of school early, and attempted to find work to help support their families. Due to the tough economic situation, tradesmen were unwilling to take on apprentices, and very few jobs were available, often leaving these young people unemployed, uneducated and ill equipped for the future. This had a lasting effect, leaving the children at a disadvantage through the rest of their lives, and demoralised by their experience. Even those boys who could secure an apprenticeship, would very often find themselves out of work once it was finished. For a period of time the school starting age was changed from age 5 to age 6 by the Coalition Government in order to save money. By 1936 five year olds were once again attending school, but in the mean time many had missed out on their first year of schooling.
The effect on children, however, extended beyond just education. In these tough conditions children’s health suffered, with up to one in six people dying before the age of 20 during the mid thirties (3), a tragedy which often followed their families throughout their lives. A decline in the birth rate and increased abortions are evidence of the tough conditions facing families, which parents were unwilling to bring new children into for fear they could not feed and clothe them. One third fewer children were born in Auckland in 1935 than in 1930 (5) and in 1937 the McMillan report stated that one in five pregnancies in New Zealand were aborted (3). The conditions for children reached a dire state, with over 1000 malnourished in Wellington alone and 70% of Auckland schoolchildren having physical defects in 1934 (3), largely as a result of the poverty facing their families. Such health problems can have long lasting and significant effects on children, preventing development and hindering their ability to learn and grow, something that would thus continue to affect New Zealanders through the coming decades. Due to concerns over children’s health, in 1937 milk was introduced to schools. This was significant to New Zealand, as the programme remained in place until 1967, continuing to provide school children with half a pint of milk daily even after the Great Depression had ended and benefitting many more children within these thirty years.
The effect on children, however, extended beyond just education. In these tough conditions children’s health suffered, with up to one in six people dying before the age of 20 during the mid thirties (3), a tragedy which often followed their families throughout their lives. A decline in the birth rate and increased abortions are evidence of the tough conditions facing families, which parents were unwilling to bring new children into for fear they could not feed and clothe them. One third fewer children were born in Auckland in 1935 than in 1930 (5) and in 1937 the McMillan report stated that one in five pregnancies in New Zealand were aborted (3). The conditions for children reached a dire state, with over 1000 malnourished in Wellington alone and 70% of Auckland schoolchildren having physical defects in 1934 (3), largely as a result of the poverty facing their families. Such health problems can have long lasting and significant effects on children, preventing development and hindering their ability to learn and grow, something that would thus continue to affect New Zealanders through the coming decades. Due to concerns over children’s health, in 1937 milk was introduced to schools. This was significant to New Zealand, as the programme remained in place until 1967, continuing to provide school children with half a pint of milk daily even after the Great Depression had ended and benefitting many more children within these thirty years.
New Zealand Government
The political consequences of the Great Depression were significant and lasting, with 1935 seeing the election of New Zealand’s first Labour government, lead by Michael Joseph Savage. Savage is credited with the introduction of the welfare state in New Zealand, bringing in significant reform during his leadership. The Labour government was successful, and stayed in power for 14 years, before National was elected in 1949. The policies enacted by the party in this time were not repealed, and so lived on to continue to be significant to New Zealanders for a long time. In 1935, in the wake of such misery and desperation, and a failure by the Coalition to do anything about it, Labour's promises of jobs, education and health were enough to win over voters, who simply wanted an end to the Depression. They no longer cared so much about the principles, and were much more focused on the results, after they had, in large numbers, suffered the experiences already described. This meant they were much more open to ideas of government intervention and allowed Savage a chance to put into practice major social reforms. He gained the love of the people quickly, with one of his first actions after the November election being to return all men from relief camps back to their families before Christmas, providing free transport and bonus cash grants.
More action followed, with compulsory trade unionism being introduced that same year to help protect workers and improve their working conditions. Unions were an effective way of doing this, and they became powerful tools in the mid 1900s, as unions would go out in sympathy in large numbers, forcing employers to give in to their demands. Most remained in place for some time, however, unions can cause wage price spirals, which have a negative effect on the economy and after many disputes, losses of power, and removal of legal protection, almost all unions, once numbering in the hundreds (10), were obliterated by the 2000s. A few unions such as the PPTA still exist, however, but are weakened and play a reduced role. Unions were a significant consequence of the Great Depression as they continued to have influence for many decades afterwards, affecting working conditions for many and being instrumental in events such as the 1951 Waterfront Dispute between employers and unions. Many more laws were passed in order to better protect workers, such as a Profiteering Prevention Act (1936), The Agricultural Workers Act (1936) to improve conditions for rural labourers, and The Shops and Officers Amendment Act (1936) to prevent long work weeks for those in banking and insurance. Sustenance for the unemployed was also introduced, where weekly payments ranging up to £2 17s. depending on marital status and family size, were paid out and, to encourage work, was paid to those who also earned up to between £2 and £3 18s. (again, depending on marital status and family size) elsewhere (11). This was a significant step, as not only did it help to increase spending, and decrease suffering and thus help pull the country out of Depression, but it was also the beginning of welfare payments which would develop over the coming decades into the current system, which provides many New Zealanders with various forms of government support. This was the end of the practice of refusing to offer help to citizens who had not done any work, and relief camps of the nature that had existed in the early 1930s no longer were needed.
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The Labour government was, however, determined to get people working again. One of their main plans for doing so was to pump money and jobs into the economy by spending on public works. This involved spending money, even though it may mean a budget deficit, on infrastructure so that jobs would be created, providing income that would increase consumer expenditure which would in turn create jobs producing the goods and services that people could now afford. This method appeared very successful, although it can be argued that the Great Depression was coming to an end regardless. This action was in line with Keynesian economics, which came about in 1936, and was a very significant effect of the Great Depression, as it demonstrated that the strategy was effective. This became very significant in the late 70s, when New Zealand was faced with oil shocks that many feared would make prices unreasonable and cause shortages. Muldoon, Prime Minister of the time, aimed to overcome this problem by becoming less dependent on foreign energy, and so enacted “Think Big”, a strategy which involved building infrasture in New Zealand, (just as Savage’s strategy had involved) namely dams for generating hydroelectricity. Although this plan involved borrowing money from overseas and going into debt, it was still decided to be a good idea, due to the influence of the success of Labour’s spending. It is a matter of debate whether this was ultimately a positive decision, but it was significant regardless, as it established many structures still existing today, and increased the percentage of energy generated by renewable resources in New Zealand - hydroelectricity made up 53% of power generated in New Zealand in 2012 (14). Overall, the first Labour government’s intervention in the economy that was caused by the Great Depression influenced subsequent politicians and voters to lean more towards intervention than previously, having seen it in action, and this helped to shape the direction of politics in New Zealand. The election of the Labour Party and dramatic success it achieved during the recovery from the Great Depression allowed it to remain in power for 14 years and consolidate itself as a major Party, and thus many more changes were able to be made, such as the imporvments made in health throughout the 40s, eg. the introduction of free x-rays in 1941. In 1945 and 1946 legislation was put in place to make the 40-hour work week, established as a 5 day week with 8 public holidays, universal in all work settings. This significantly affected the lives of New Zealanders, providing a frame for the New Zealand lifestyle and a standard for what is considered reasonable, which New Zealanders still use today. The Great Depression has had a lasting significance in politics, as the Labour Party today remains one of the major political parties, something enabled by its success in the 1930s and 1940s. Michael Joseph Savage is remembered as one of New Zealand's greatest leaders, and the significance of his election is exemplified by the large memorial in Auckland where he is buried, showing how grateful the people of New Zealand were.
Hitler's Rise to Power
The Great Depression was a major influencing factor in not just New Zealand, but in many other affected nations. Significantly, it was a factor in Hitler’s rise to power in Germany, which lead to the second World War. Hitler and the Nazis had advocated a not uncommon explanation for Germany’s weak position in the wake of WW1, that the jews were to blame. Hitler promised to return Germany to glory at a time when it faced grim prospects, with impossible debts in the wake of the Great War. With the increased hardship and desperation created by the Great Depression, Hitler’s ideals, which offered a scapegoat and a way out, were able to gain more support, pulling in 18.3% of the vote in 1930 and then 37% in 1932 (more than any other party), up from 2.6% prior to the onset of the Depression in 1928 (6). This allowed Hitler to gain some power as Chancellor, leading to his establishment of a one party state by 1933, and rapid remilitarization. Much of this was also motivated by a want of land for food production, something made more important to Germany by the Great Depression. All of this makes the Great Depression a contributing cause of World War 2, an event in New Zealand history which further touched the lives of New Zealanders. 11,900 New Zealanders died fighting against Germany and its allies in World War Two (7) and many more were wounded. It is an event which has had a deep and lasting effect on the nation, with survivors still alive today, and commemorations and memorials still deeply significant to New Zealanders, as well as the many overseas nations which were also deeply affected.
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Britain
The Great Depression was significant in that it exposed problems with New Zealand's trade relationship with Britain. The fact that such a high percentage of exports went to Britain had made New Zealand vulnerable to the Depression in the first place, and when Britain attempted to impose a meat quota and proposed a butter quota during the Depression, New Zealand exporters questioned the way they had been simply exporting endless amounts of products into Britain. After the Great Depression, as shown on the graph on the previous page, there is a general trend of a lower percentage of exports destined for the UK, and a more balanced dispersal between various other nations. Although this can be put down largely to various other factors, the Great Depression is shown to be somewhat of a turning point in the trade relationship.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Great Depression has been a very significant event throughout the history of New Zealand, having a deep effect on those who lived through it, as well as influencing the political landscape in various ways from the time of the event until the present day. In many ways the significance of the event has decreased, as those who were alive at the time die off and the memories and impacts of the event are slowly lost. The topic of what caused the Depression, and what ended the Depression, however, has remained important since the event, as society aims to avoid another such disaster, and continues to debate and weigh up various economic policies and ideas, such as the extent to which government should be involved in things like welfare. The Great Depression has played and will continue to play a role in the decisions that are made by politicians and voters alike, shaping the world through the decades, even as it and the events which it spurred, such as WW2, become less personally connected to the people of New Zealand.