NZHistory.net.nz, New Zealand history online - michael joseph savage

The first state house - state housing in New Zealand

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

A State House story

Prime Minister Savage helps out at 12 Fife Lane

Unofficial prime ministerial houses

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

Hill Haven, Northland

The first state house, 1937

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

Michael Joseph Savage's Hill Haven home

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

This house at 66 Harbour View Road, Northland, Wellington, was purchased by the government for the use of Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage in 1939, shortly before his death. Savage's successor, Peter Fraser, also lived there.

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-C-028332-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.

Ratana and Labour seal alliance

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

The alliance between the Rātana Church and the Labour Party was cemented at an historic meeting between Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana and Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage on 22 April 1936.

In 1928 T.W. Rātana announced his intention to enter politics, referring to the four Maori seats as the ‘four quarters’ of his body. He aimed to win these seats through the voting power of his followers, who were said to number 40,000 by 1934.

Michael Joseph Savage

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

Michael Joseph Savage, New Zealand’s first Labour PM, was probably also it's best-loved. His avuncular image hung in the homes of the Labour faithful for decades.

Michael Joseph Savage

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

This portrait of Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage was taken in 1935, the year the Labour government he led swept into power. This government is best remembered for its landmark social welfare reforms, especially the Social Security Act of 1938 and the state housing scheme.

PM declares NZ's support for Britain

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

When New Zealand declared war on Germany on 3 September the country's Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage, was recovering from an operation to treat colon cancer. The acting Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, issued a statement to the public in his place. Two days later Savage addressed the public from his sickbed at his home in Northland, Wellington. The address was broadcast across the national radio network that evening, and was widely reported in newspapers in the days that followed.

John A. Lee expelled from Labour Party

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

A charismatic ex-soldier, orator and writer, John A. Lee had been active in the New Zealand Labour Party since shortly after the First World War. Following Labour’s landslide victory in 1935, he fully expected to be in Cabinet. But Prime Minister M.J. Savage no longer liked or trusted Lee, with whom he had clashed over both policy and tactics. Lee believed Savage was unnecessarily cautious; Savage thought Lee was too wild and unconventional.

Funeral of Labour PM Savage

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

The train carrying Savage’s body north from Wellington to Auckland made 20 stops, allowing thousands of people to pay their last respects. Huge crowds lined the route to his burial site at Bastion Point, above Waitematā Harbour.

Born in Australia, Michael Joseph Savage came to New Zealand in 1907 and quickly rose through the ranks of the Auckland trade union movement. He was elected to Parliament as Labour Party MP for Auckland West in 1919 and succeeded Harry Holland as party leader on the latter’s death in 1933.