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Themes from the Dictionary of NZ Biography Volume 5, 1941–1960
Protest and Dissent in the 1940s and 1950s
Wartime restrictions | Holmes 'Satchel Snatch' | 1951 Waterfront Dispute | Nelson railway protest | Further reading | Biographies
The Second World War saw an unprecedented expansion of government control over the lives of New Zealanders. Under the pragmatic leadership of Prime Minister Peter Fraser, the Labour government introduced military conscription, industrial 'manpowering' and a comprehensive economic stabilisation system.
Most New Zealanders wholeheartedly supported the war effort, and dissent was muted. There was, however, a darker side to the government's wartime leadership: strict censorship was imposed; 'enemy aliens' were interned; and (although their treatment was much more humane than during the First World War) over 800 conscientious objectors were sent to detention camps.
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Group of conscientious objectors at Hautu Military Camp
(Click on thumbnail for enlargement and reference)
Leading pacifists were arrested and gaoled for speaking out against the war. In 1941, after speaking at Wellington's Pigeon Park in defiance of a ban on pacifist meetings, Archie Barrington was arrested and sentenced to a year's imprisonment with hard labour. The following year Ormond Burton, a Methodist minister and decorated First World War veteran, was gaoled for 2½ years for publishing a 'subversive' document—a Christian Pacifist Society bulletin.
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Archie Barrington with 'Peace Caravan'.
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[Hear extracts from a radio interview with Archie Barrington
(transcribed)]
New Zealanders generally accepted the hardships and restrictions of the war years as necessary in the fight against fascism. But after the war many began to demand a greater share in the spoils of victory. Reluctant to ease wartime controls, an ageing and uninspired Labour government faced mounting criticism, particularly from militant trade unionists.
As the Cold War intensified in the late 1940s there were widespread fears of communist influence in unions. Industrial conflict was endemic on the waterfront, and in 1949, controversially, the government deregistered the communist-led Auckland Carpenters' Union.
The Public Service Association, led by the capable Jack Lewin, was also pursuing pay demands with increasing militancy. In November 1948 Cecil Holmes, a National Film Unit documentary-maker and Public Service Association activist, had his satchel snatched from his car outside Parliament, apparently by a member of the Prime Minister's staff. The bag contained Holmes's Communist Party membership card, and correspondence about a planned stop-work meeting at the NFU in which he brashly suggested that Lewin should 'Butter the buggers up a bit'.
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Newspaper advertisement making fun of the Holmes Satchel Snatch case
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The contents found their way to union leader Fintan Patrick Walsh, an enemy of Lewin's, who sensed an opportunity to embarrass his rival. At Walsh's urging, acting Prime Minister Walter Nash released the documents to the press, successfully tainting the PSA and Lewin with the communist smear. Holmes was suspended from the NFU, and although later reinstated, the talented film-maker left for Australia, never to return.
In 1949 Sidney Holland's National Party swept to power, determined to confront militant unionism—in particular the stroppy Waterside Workers' Union, led by Jock Barnes, Toby Hill and Alexander Drennan. In 1951 these tensions erupted in a bitter waterfront dispute lasting 151 days.
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Ships lined up in Wellington Harbour
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It began in early February when the union and port employers clashed over the application of an Arbitration Court wage order. The wharfies applied pressure by refusing overtime. Employers argued that this amounted to strike action and responded by dismissing unionists, who in turn claimed they were being locked out. Soon the wharves were at a standstill.
[ Hear radio documentary extract about different perspectives
of the dispute (transcribed)]
Holland and his tough Minister of Labour, William Sullivan, denounced the wharfies' leaders as 'communist wreckers' (although neither Barnes nor Hill were communists) and linked the dispute to the Korean War. Declaring a state of emergency, they deregistered the union and ordered troops to man the wharves. Draconian emergency regulations imposed rigid censorship, gave police sweeping powers, and made it an offence for citizens to assist strikers—even giving food to their children was outlawed.
[ Hear declaration of state of emergency (transcribed)]
Other unionists, including coal miners, freezing workers, drivers and seamen, went on strike in protest at the government's action. At the height of the dispute some 22,000 workers were involved. Women played an active role: Freda ('Fuzz') Barnes organised the wharfies' Auckland Women's Auxiliary, which assisted workers' families.
However, the labour movement was deeply divided. The watersiders' militancy had isolated them from most unionists, who were affiliated to the more moderate Federation of Labour. Controlled by F.P. Walsh, the FOL called on wharfies to 'abandon their Communist-dominated misleaders'. Meanwhile, Walter Nash's Labour opposition sat uncomfortably on the fence, denouncing government repression but refusing to back either side.
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Cartoon of Fintan Patrick Walsh
(Click on thumbnail for enlargement and reference)
Attempts at mediation were undermined by the ideologies, intransigence and egos of those involved. The dispute dragged on, amid widespread intimidation and sporadic outbursts of violence. On several occasions unionist street marches—notably in Auckland on 1 June, 'Bloody Friday'—were broken up by ranks of baton-wielding police.
By the end of May, with new unions of strike-breakers ('scabs') registered in the main ports, the wharfies' position was increasingly hopeless. Eventually, after a five-month struggle, they conceded defeat on 15 July.
[Hear extract from radio documentary about conflict
between the FOL and wharfies (transcribed)]
Militant unionism was dealt a crushing blow and many workers were blacklisted for years afterwards. In November 1951 the National government called a snap election, and the electorate delivered them a resounding victory. Nevertheless, for many unionists the watersiders' loyalty card, bearing the words 'Stood loyal right through', was a prized badge of honour.
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Watersider's loyalty card
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The decade after 1951 was generally a period of quiet prosperity and stability in New Zealand. However, in 1955 a group of Nelson women attracted international attention when they staged a remarkable sit-in protest against the government's decision to close the local railway line.
After a series of angry rallies in Nelson, on 23 September Ruth Page and four other women drove over 40 miles to the tiny station at Kiwi, where they sat in a goods shed and on the railway lines to block the demolition crew. A week later the women (there were now nine of them) were arrested for trespass, convicted and fined. The demolition went ahead and the railway was scrapped.
Although ultimately unsuccessful, the protest was a dignified attempt by a local community to resist the will of central government and contest the erosion of regional resources. One of the protesters, Sonja Davies, later became a prominent trade unionist and politician.
Looking back, the period from 1940 to 1960 is often seen as a 'golden age' of stability, consensus and prosperity in New Zealand, and in many ways it was. However, as the events discussed above show, society was deeply divided on matters such as pacifism, class and ideology, and regional interests, and many New Zealanders were prepared to stand up for what they believed in. Over the following decades New Zealand would experience many more protests, over issues such as sporting contacts with South Africa, the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons and the environment.
Neill Atkinson
These biographies can be found at the online DNZB site: www.dnzb.govt.nz
These biographies can be found at the online DNZB site: www.dnzb.govt.nz
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