strikes

The 1912 Waihi strike

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  On 'Black Tuesday', 12 November 1912, in the midst of a bitter six-month strike by miners in the small New Zealand goldmining town of Waihi, striker Fred Evans was killed - one of only two fatalities in an industrial dispute in New Zealand's history.

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• Page 2 – Further information

  Find out more about the Waihi Strike

The 1951 waterfront dispute

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  The 1951 waterfront dispute was the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand’s history. Although it was not as violent as the Great Strike of 1913, it lasted longer – 151 days, from February to July – and involved more workers.

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• Page 2 – Countdown to confrontation

  New Zealanders generally accepted the hardships and restrictions of the war years as necessary in the fight against fascism. After the war, though, many began to demand a

• Page 3 – War on the wharves

  With New Zealand’s vital export trade at stake when the wharves came to a standstill, the government declared a state of emergency on 21 February.

• Page 4 – Division and defeat

  The watersiders’ militancy had isolated them from most unionists and Walter Nash’s Labour Party Opposition sat uncomfortably on the fence, denouncing government

Cook Strait rail ferries

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  On a fine, calm day ‘Cruising on the Interislander’ can be like a luxury Mediterranean cruise. But on a bad day Cook Strait can be one of the world's roughest stretches of water: seasickness, dodgy food and wildcat strikes have all been part of the colourful Cook Strait ferry story.

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• Page 6 - Strikes and strandingsCook Strait ferries were vital to the flow of freight and passengers between the North and South islands, and  interruptions because of bad weather, mechanical problems or