Holland became PM in 1949. A year later he abolished the Legislative Council, and in 1951, after winning the Waterfront Dispute, he increased his majority in a snap election.
Fintan Patrick Walsh, c1956. Walsh is perhaps best remembered as a controversial opponent of striking waterside workers during the bitter 1951 waterfront dispute.
As a leading trade unionist from the 1930s until his death in 1963, Fintan Patrick Walsh established himself as one of the most powerful figures in New Zealand. The ruthless way he dealt with opposition aroused great loathing in his enemies.
At almost 76, Walter Nash was New Zealand’s oldest incoming PM and the last foreign-born one. He had two wives, Lotty, and Parliament. He was still an MP when he died aged 86.
The watersiders’ militancy had isolated them from most unionists and Walter Nash’s Labour Party Opposition sat uncomfortably on the fence, denouncing government repression but refusing to back either side.
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 greater share in the spoils of victory.
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.
