waterfront dispute

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

• Page 5 – Further information

  Recommended links and publications relating to the 1951 waterfront dispute

The Cold War

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  Although the origins of the so-called Cold War can be traced back to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, this intense ideological struggle between the Western powers and the Soviet Union really began after the Second World War.

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• Page 8 – War at home

  Apart from a period during the 1950s, New Zealanders remained relatively tolerant of communism.