NZHistory, New Zealand history online - housing

Thermal insulation required in NZ homes

Māori houses (whare) were made of natural materials that had good thermal performance (such as raupō reeds) or kept out the wind (such as earth). European-style timber frame construction was not as good at keeping the heat in, but it was not until 1978 that higher levels of thermal insulation were required for new houses.

Raupō reeds, and other natural plant materials, trap air and can provide reasonable thermal insulation. But they also catch fire easily and burn quickly; moisture can lead to rot; and vermin enjoy living in the many gaps. While indoor fires did nothing for air quality, the smoke at least acted as a preservative and helped control insects.

European-style timber framing provided a more durable house, but gaps let through wind and allowed heat to escape. By the 1940s the ceilings and walls of over 50% of new dwellings were suffering from mould, and researchers concluded that the solution was to increase both thermal insulation and ventilation. However, until the early 1960s all house insulation material had to be imported and thus was available only to wealthy or knowledgeable builders and owners.

In 1971 Waimairi County, on the northern fringes of Christchurch, became the first local authority to implement a thermal insulation by-law in an effort to address the region’s recurring air pollution problems. Better insulation would reduce the need for heating, and hence the size of fires and the resulting air pollution. In 1972 Christchurch City Council followed Waimairi’s lead.

In April 1975, following the 1973/74 ‘oil shock’ and with hydro lakes at low levels, the government introduced an interest-free loan scheme to encourage the insulation of houses to minimum levels. Houses built by or for the Housing Corporation also had to meet standards.

On 25 November 1977 legislation was introduced making it compulsory for new homes to be insulated. The Minister of Local Government announced that the loan scheme had already helped insulate more than 50,000 homes; a similar number had been insulated outside the scheme. But only about 20% of new homes were being insulated, and as ‘in practice walls can only be insulated at the time a house is built’, a mandatory requirement was needed ‘for the purpose of preventing or reducing heat losses in residential buildings as an energy conservation measure’.

The Local Government Amendment Act came into force on 1 April 1978, since when all new houses have had to have minimum levels of thermal insulation. These requirements were increased in 2000, 2004 and 2007.

Contributed by Nigel Isaacs

Image courtesy Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) .

Shipping container house, Wellington

Built in 2006, the Stevens container house at 173 Happy Valley Road, Wellington, uses three 40-foot refrigerated shipping containers to make effective use of a very narrow section at the foot of a cliff. The house has four bedrooms.

Credit:

Gavin McLean

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container shipping

Afterlife of shipping containers

Concreted container in Oamaru Harbour

Exposed to harsh sea conditions and handling, containers have a fixed life with shipping companies and box leasing firms. Every year about a million leave the transport sector. Some are lost at sea (either with their ships or by being swept overboard, where they can become a hazard to navigation) and others are written off in handling accidents. Some very badly damaged or corroded boxes are scrapped, but most pass through the hands of an entirely new industry that has arisen to modify containers for other uses or to sell or lease them. In response, architects have coined the term ‘container architecture’ to cover this expanding field.

Shipping container house

What are they used for? Just about everything. Containers serve as sleep-outs, garden sheds, workshops, artists’ studios, outdoor storage facilities, sales offices, ticket offices, cafes, site offices, portable toilets and as shower blocks. A British country house used refrigerated containers to kill bugs infesting antique carpets. Container hotels can be found in London and student dormitories in Amsterdam. Over the last 20 years Safmarine Container Lines has donated more than 8000 redundant containers through its ‘Containers-in-the-Community’ programme for use as houses, hostels, restaurants, schools, pharmacies, shops and healthcare centres.

Christchurch containers

Closer to home, in 2009 the New Zealand government began converting containers into prison cells: Unit 11, the first 60-bed container unit, opened a year later at Rimutaka Prison. After the 22 February 2011 Canterbury earthquake, authorities placed walls of containers behind houses to protect them from rock falls; elsewhere, they are scattered through the city streets, keeping roads safe from dangerously damaged buildings and providing safety spaces for recovery workers. Westpac Bank converted a box into a ‘money box’ for use at the city’s damaged shopping centres. A shipping container was also used to seal off the Pike River coal mine following the explosions in November 2010.

In Wanganui, a local company erected walls around the Masters Games venue to reduce sound levels for local residents. In Wellington, the company atelierworkshop markets the Port-a-Bach, containers converted into luxurious holiday homes. And in another part of the city, in Happy Valley, there is a much-photographed family home made almost entirely from shipping containers.

Container stories

Can you tell us about other examples of how people have used shipping containers? Please contribute your stories below, or email us your images to [email protected]

Vogel House

Vogel House in Lower Hutt. From 1976 to 1990 this house was used as the official prime minister's residence.

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/4-023548-F
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

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The first premier house - housing NZ's prime ministers

Nathan Levin's residence

Our first premiers had to find their own digs. Before Parliament moved from Auckland to Wellington in 1865, they had to hunt for housing before taking their seats.

That changed in 1865, when the government bought the premier a simple 22-year-old wooden cottage in Thorndon’s Tinakori Road. This was a damp, flood-prone gully, but it was close to Parliament. A Wellington newspaper, elated by the city’s new status, thought the £2900 price ‘cheap’. An Auckland paper called it a ‘monstrous waste of public money’.

Premier House, around 1865

Premier Frederick Weld did not enjoy his house for long. In October 1865 the press reported that he had been turfed out by his successor, Edward Stafford, who harvested the vegies that Weld had planted. ‘Truly one man sows that another may reap.’

The Vogels live it up in ‘The Casino’

The house changed little until Julius Vogel and his wife, Mary, arrived in 1872. Within a year they had turned it into an eight-bedroom mansion complete with conservatory and ballroom.

Premier House, around 1880

The ballroom got a hammering. They made ‘The Casino’, as critics dubbed it, the social centre of Wellington. In July 1876 Lady Vogel sent out 250 invitations to a calico fancy dress ball, ‘the most brilliant of its kind yet seen in this city’. The Vogels also imported New Zealand’s first lawn tennis set, though Sir Julius was too unfit to chase the ball far.

In 1884 the Vogels returned for another three years. Sir Julius was obese and gouty, so Cabinet often met in an office built in the house. In 1886 he added a lift to take him from the dining room up to his bedroom.

Tinakori Road’s mixed fortunes

After the Vogels moved out, the government tried to sell the property. But the press and public fought back. Wellington people valued its spacious grounds as a public amenity. Only the furniture was sold.

Some suggested turning the site into an old men’s home or a university, but it stayed empty. MPs’ salaries had been cut, and the Liberal ministers of the 1890s had to live cheaply. Premier Richard John Seddon lived in a modest ministerial residence at 47 Molesworth Street. ‘This isn’t at all a nice house; it is surrounded, like a nunnery, with a high and close and ugly wooden fence, and presents a dismal appearance’, a voter complained. Seddon’s son remembered it fondly as ‘a political house. Politics was the sole subject day after day – at breakfast, dinner and tea.’

The Tinakori Street residence, vacant since 1893, was leased out from 1896 to 1900, when it became a ministerial residence again.

Tinakori Road’s second heyday

Joseph Ward and family

The house’s fortunes recovered when Seddon’s deputy, Joseph Ward, moved in. Ward, soon to be Sir Joseph, and prime minister from 1906, named it Awarua House. Like Vogel, he enjoyed the good life. The Wards threw ‘at homes’, garden parties, receptions, garden fetes, balls and wedding receptions. Sometimes over 1000 people gathered there. When Governor Ranfurly dropped in for a chat, they served him whisky in special large glasses.

Sir Joseph liked to free office hours for talking or socialising. So he spent the early morning in his study in pyjamas and dressing gown, signing the documents delivered by his chief secretaries.

William Massey, the house’s next lengthy occupant, renamed it Ariki Toa, ‘home of the chief’. During the First World War the Masseys used it for patriotic activities.

In 1925, Gordon Coates called Ariki Toa ‘a happy home … a haven of rest’. That year he rebuilt the conservatory and added an enclosed veranda above it. Four years later Cabinet again tried to sell it. ‘Sunless and damp, and the gardening costly and unnecessary’, an official sniffed. But again, public protests prevented a sale.

Housing NZ's prime ministers

Premier House around 1906

New Zealand's earliest premiers (prime ministers) had to find their own places to live. That changed in 1865 when the government purchased the first official premier's residence on Tinakori Road, Wellington. Almost 150 years later, the address of Premier House remains the same, although in the intervening years the building has been extended, renamed, abandoned and refurbished. Today it is registered as a Category I historic place.

From the 1930s to the 1970s there was no official prime minister's residence. Instead, a series of private homes were bought by the government and occupied by the government leaders who served during those years. In 1976 the government took over Vogel House in Lower Hutt. This became the official prime ministerial residence until 1990 when Premier House in Tinakori Road was renovated as a sesquicentennial project.

New Zealand in 1918

It is hard to imagine what New Zealand must have been like in 1918. The First World War was finally over, leaving more than 18,000 New Zealanders dead and tens of thousands more seriously wounded – over 5300 soldiers died in 1918 alone. Between October and December another 8600 people (including 2160 Maori) died during the influenza pandemic.

Population

The New Zealand population on 31 December 1918 was about 1,150,000 (so multiply the figures above by four to get some idea of the relative impact today). Of this total about 50,000 were Maori, the majority living in rural areas away from the main centres. About 60% of the population lived in the North Island. Auckland was the biggest region (with 308,766 people), followed by Wellington (232,114) and Canterbury (181,869).

Little more than half of the European population lived in urban centres. Influenza historian Geoffrey Rice tells us, 'Boroughs varied greatly in size in 1918, ranging from the typical small country town of up to 2,000 people, like Temuka, to the regional centres, which were often twice the size of the next largest town in the region. Only six of these regional centres topped the 10,000 mark in the 1916 census. Wanganui was the largest, with a population of 14,380. There were another six smaller regional centres, while twelve more boroughs would qualify as larger towns or ports; these included places like Hastings and Oamaru. The rest (more than eighty per cent) were small market towns, mining or timber settlements, with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants'.

Politics

William Massey had been Prime Minister since 1912 (and would remain so until 1925). Although he was leader of the Reform Party, Massey's Ministry from 1915 until 1919 – referred to as the 'National Government' – was an uneasy wartime coalition with the opposition Liberal Party. Sir Joseph Ward, the leader of the Liberal Party, served as deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

Labour stalwarts Peter Fraser, Harry Holland and Bob Semple were all first elected in 1918 via by-elections.

The King's (and British government's) representative in New Zealand was Lord Liverpool. His title had been upgraded from governor to governor-general in 1917, though this move didn't change anything in practice.

Religion

Almost half the population said they were Anglicans, while another 25% were Presbyterian. The other two main religious denominations listed were Catholic (about 15%) and Methodist (about 10%). Only 0.39% of the population said they had no religion. In November 1918 Tahupotiki Ratana began his Maori religious movement after experiencing a vision of the Holy Spirit, which had come to him in the form of a strange whirlwind-like cloud. Earlier in the year the Maori prophet Rua Kenana was released from jail early, having been arrested and charged with sedition in 1916.

Alcohol

A massive prohibition petition with 242,001 signatures was presented to Parliament in 1918. Six o'clock closing in pubs, which had initially been imposed as a wartime measure, was made 'permanent' (it was to remain in force until 1967). Women other than those related to or employed by the licensee were not allowed to be in or 'loiter about the entrance' of any licensed premises after 6 p.m.

Crime

Only one person was convicted for murder and one for manslaughter in 1918, though punishment for the former was execution.

Victor Spencer from Invercargill (Otago Regiment) was executed for desertion in February 1918, despite suggestions that he was severely traumatised by shellshock, having fought in and survived several campaigns. He was the last New Zealand soldier to be executed during the First World War.

There were only 54 convictions for offences against property (including theft and burglary offences). There were 78 convictions for ‘sly-grogging’ (selling alcohol without a licence).

Divorce

Of the 380 petitions for divorce filed in 1918, 194 were for adultery and 146 for desertion; the others were mainly a combination of these two and/or drunkenness and cruelty. Out of this total, 279 petitions were granted.

Employment

Unemployment was about 1.5%, though 83% of women were classified in the Census as 'dependents'. The biggest single employment sector was agriculture, mining and other primary production, which employed 22% of the male population. Just 3% of women and 4.5% of men were listed as being in 'Professional' employment.

Housing

There were nearly a quarter of a million houses with an average of 4.52 occupants per dwelling (occupants per dwelling had been on the decline for the past five censuses). Of these houses, 92.21% were built of wood; 2.97% were brick and 1% (2391) were of canvas. The majority (160,000 out of 238,000) of these houses had four to six rooms.

Economy

About 85% of New Zealand's exports came from the pastoral sector (wool, frozen meat, butter and cheese). The majority of these went to the United Kingdom (£18.2 million out of a total of £28.5 million), though in 1918 a much higher percentage than in earlier years went to the United States, Canada and ‘other’ countries.

The main imports were clothing and textiles and metals and machinery. Imports of automobiles had increased steadily since 1911, though only the better-off could afford them – most people relied on horses and bicycles for transport.

Technology

More than 12 million telegrams were sent during the year. Only 6.5% of the population had telephones. Electricity generation and domestic usage was increasing steadily, though, and in December the first power boards were created to control electricity distribution.

Education

More than 83% of the population could read and write. Public schools were free and ‘purely secular’. It was compulsory for children aged from 7 to 14 to attend a registered school. There were 2280 tertiary education students. The School Journal, then in its 11th year, included special numbers issued for Empire Day and Arbor Day. A total of 170,900 copies of the three-part November 1918 issue were printed.

Most of the information on this page is taken from the 1919 Official New Zealand Year Book. Feel free to add other 1918 information to the Community Contributions area at the bottom of this page.

Further information - children and adolescents, 1930-60

Books

Brookes, B., C. Macdonald & M. Tennant eds. Women in history 2: essays on women in New Zealand. Wellington, 1992
Dalley, B. Family matters: child welfare in twentieth century New Zealand. Auckland, 1998
Dunstall, G. 'The social pattern'. In The Oxford history of New Zealand. 2nd ed. Ed. G.W. Rice. Auckland, 1992
Manning, A.H. The bodgie: a study in abnormal psychology. Wellington, 1958
McClure, M. A civilised community: a history of social security in New Zealand 1898–1998. Auckland, 1998
Taylor, N.M. The New Zealand people at war: the home front. Vol. 2. Wellington, 1986
Tennant, M. Children's health the nation's wealth: a history of children's health camps. Wellington, 1994
'Youth without a purpose'. New Zealand Listener, 8 August 1958: 5
Yska, R. All shook up: the flash bodgie and the rise of the New Zealand teenager in the fifties. Auckland, 1993
Zelizer, V.A.R. Pricing the priceless child. New York, 1985

The post-war family - children and adolescents, 1930-60

Families after the Second World War

As a consequence of the post-war economic boom there was increasing demand for consumer goods. The 1956 census revealed that more than half of New Zealand homes possessed washing machines, refrigerators and electric ovens. For those families who could afford these time- and labour-saving luxuries, so-called 'women's work' became easier. In addition, women who had been mobilised during the war had a taste of life outside the home.

Although many relinquished their jobs at the end of the war in favour of returning soldiers, some chose to remain, if only part-time, in the paid workforce.

Changing family dynamics

Full employment meant that many families moved to or stayed in cities, purchasing homes in new, low-cost subdivisions. While rural children were usually still required to work around the farm after school, increasing prosperity released many urban children from their commitment to the household economy and they began to enjoy more leisure time and (in some cases) money.

The increasing number of women in the workforce meant that many children were left to their own devices in the late afternoon. Concerns were raised in parliament that the higher cost of living, brought about partly by the increasing desire for material goods, was forcing women into paid employment. Hilda Ross, Minister for the Welfare of Women and Children, commented in 1955, 'Seven or eight beautifully furnished rooms do not make a good home'.

Adolescent culture

Greater freedoms for adolescents led to the emergence of a new market for music, fashion and entertainment. By the 1950s a technological revolution meant that the overseas media began to have a real impact. Rock and roll captured the imagination of many New Zealand young people. Dancing was an important social activity, and milk bars attracted 'teenagers' (as they were now called).

The picture theatre had been a source of youth entertainment for some time; in the 1950s American films such as Rock around the clock and The man with the golden arm introduced new attitudes and fashions. Teenagers adopted a new look—longer hair, brighter clothing—the styles of the 'bodgie' or 'widgie'.

The Mazengarb report

These developments led to the fear that New Zealand youngsters were becoming delinquent—an idea reinforced by sensational news stories.

In June 1954, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker of Christchurch were convicted of killing Parker's mother. In September that year, Hutt College students were discovered to be having sex in darkened picture theatres and on the banks of the Hutt River. Public concern led to a commission of inquiry into the moral delinquency of New Zealand's youth, led by Oswald Mazengarb. The resulting 'morals report' was distributed free to all New Zealand's 300,000 families receiving the family benefit in November 1954.

Blame was placed on working mothers, excessive wages for teenagers, a decline in family life, and the undue influence of film, comics and American literature. Responding to community fears, the film censor Gordon Mirams banned The wild one, starring Marlon Brando as the leader of a teenage motorbike gang, in 1954, 1955 and 1959. Rebel without a cause, starring James Dean, was banned in 1954 but passed for screening in 1956.

The politics of juvenile delinquency

Into the late fifties juvenile delinquency remained a volatile political issue. In 1955 teenager Paddy Black was sentenced to death for the 'Juke Box Killing' and in the same year, twenty-year-old Eddie Te Whiu became one of the last four people to be hanged for murder in New Zealand.

Mabel Howard, the Labour government's Minister for the Welfare of Women and Children from 1957, challenged the view that parents were to blame for delinquency, and chose to meet with bodgies and widgies to discuss the issues with them. Her attempts to communicate with New Zealand youth met with mixed reactions. Many young people were impressed, but the older generation generally saw her attitude as irresponsible.

Changes in attitudes of and about teenagers in the 1950s were indicative of broader shifts in New Zealand society. Various welfare reforms and economic improvements in New Zealand, coupled with the impact of global youth culture and social upheaval, created new opportunities and challenges for New Zealand adolescents. The expectations and frustrations that resulted were to be influential beyond the fifties.

Shirley Williams

Pole house in Titirangi

Pole house, Titirangi, 1980.

Credit:

Archives New Zealand/Te Rua Mahara o te Kawanatanga
Photographer: S. Raynes
Reference: AAQT 6421, B19843

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NZHistory, New Zealand history online - housing

Thermal insulation required in NZ homes

Shipping container house, Wellington

Afterlife of shipping containers

Container stories

Vogel House

The first premier house - housing NZ's prime ministers

The Vogels live it up in ‘The Casino’

Tinakori Road’s mixed fortunes

Tinakori Road’s second heyday

Housing NZ's prime ministers

New Zealand in 1918

Population

Politics

Religion

Alcohol

Crime

Divorce

Employment

Housing

Economy

Technology

Education

Further information - children and adolescents, 1930-60

Links

People from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume 5

Books

The post-war family - children and adolescents, 1930-60

Families after the Second World War

Changing family dynamics

Adolescent culture

The Mazengarb report

The politics of juvenile delinquency

Pole house in Titirangi