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Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana's 60th birthday

This formal group portrait, taken on the occasion of Ratana's 60th birthday, includes Paraire Karaka Paikea and Tiaki Omana (back row, from left); and Haami Tokouru Ratana, Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana and Eruera Tihema Te Aika Tirikatene (front row, from left).

Reference: C 1933, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

© Copyright image. All rights reserved. Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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Ratana on the road

Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana (seated in the back of a car holding a flag) publicising the Ratana movement at Taupo during one of his early 1920s motor tours. By 1928 the Ratana faith was said to have more than 28,000 followers or morehu (survivors), about a third of the total Maori population. That year, Ratana announced his intention to enter politics and campaign in the four Maori seats, which he called the 'four quarters' of his body.

Eruera Tirikatene won a Southern Maori by-election in 1932, and the then Ratana-Labour alliance completed a clean-sweep of the four seats in 1943, when Tiaki Omana defeated Sir Apirana Ngata in Eastern Maori. Labour was to hold all of the Maori seats until 1993.

Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
Reference: 1/2-089569-F
Further information and copies of this image may be obtained from the Library through its 'Timeframes' website, http://timeframes.natlib.govt.nz
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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Ratana and Labour seal alliance

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.

In 1932 Eruera Tirikatene became the first Rātana MP when he won a by-election for Southern Maori. He was instructed to support the then Labour opposition. Rātana favoured the Labour Party because it had consulted his supporters when devising its Māori policy. When Labour won a landslide election victory in 1935 the Rātana movement took a second seat, Western Maori.

At the 1936 meeting Rātana presented Savage with four symbolic gifts. Three huia feathers, representing Maori, protruded from a potato, which symbolised the land taken from Maori, leaving them unable to grow the staple crop. A pounamu (jade) hei tiki represented Maori mana (prestige), which had also been lost. A broken gold watch handed down to Rātana by his grandfather represented the broken promises of the Crown. A pin with a star and crescent moon was the symbol of the Rātana Church, Tohu o te Māramatanga. It is said that these items had such a profound impact on Savage that when he died in 1940 they were buried with him.

In 1943 the Rātana–Labour alliance succeeded in capturing all ‘four quarters’ when Tiaki Omana defeated Sir Āpirana Ngata for the Eastern Maori seat. Labour was to hold all the Māori seats until 1993.

Image: T.W. Rātana (See full image on Timeframes)

Eruera Tihema Te Aika Tirikatene

Eruera Tirikātene, of Ngāi Tahu, was born near Kaiapoi in 1895. When the First World War broke out in 1914 he enlisted in the army and served with distinction in France.

After the war he set up a number of profitable businesses, including a dairy farm, a timber mill and a fishing fleet. While visiting Rātana pā in 1921 he became attracted to the teachings of the religious leader and prophet T. W. Rātana, and began living there. He particularly admired Rātana's use of the Treaty of Waitangi as a way of seeking justice for Māori and settling land claims. Rātana's emphasis on land claims particularly appealed to him, as Ngāi Tahu had been actively seeking redress for their claims since the 1840s.

Tirikātene became one of Rātana's key advisers, and led the movement's inner councils. When Rātana decided to win the four Māori Parliamentary seats, Tirikātene was the obvious candidate for Southern Māori. He narrowly missed in the 1928 and 1931 elections. In 1932 he won a Southern Māori by-election caused by the death of the sitting member, Tuiti Makitānara. This was the first parliamentary seat for the Rātana movement.

One of the first steps Tirikātene took was to present a petition seeking statutory recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi. After that he took every opportunity to speak of the Treaty during debates, and frequently reminded the House of Ngāi Tahu's claims.

Another major concern was the poverty of his people, Māori unemployment and discriminatory rates paid to Māori for relief work.

Tirikātene felt that working with Labour was the best way to achieve his aims. He helped build an historic alliance between Labour and Rātana. By 1943 all four Māori seats had been won by Rātana/Labour candidates. In 1936 Tirikātene became chairman of the new Labour government's Māori policy committee. As the historian Angela Ballara notes, his speeches after 1936 reflect his joy and gratitude at the racial equality promoted by Labour's social welfare programme.

When Rātana died in 1939, Tirikātene led the political section of the movement. In 1943 he became member of the Executive Council representing the Māori people, and later chaired a parliamentary committee overseeing the Māori war effort. He tried to retain the Māori war effort organisation as a peacetime body, to give Māori real control over their own affairs. But this aim was only partly achieved with the Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945. He was also disappointed not to be made Māori Affairs Minister.

Tirikātene had more success in settling the Ngāi Tahu claims. A 1944 settlement, which the iwi never considered to be full settlement of their claims, resulted in a £300,000 payment, to be paid in a series of annual £20,000 payments. He was appointed chairman of the Ngāi Tahu Trust Board, set up to manage this fund for the benefit of the tribe. He was also involved in a settlement of the Waikato confiscation claims in 1946.

From 1949 to 1957 Tirikātene was in the Parliamentary Opposition. When Labour won back the Treasury benches between 1957 and 1960 he once again failed in his aim to become Māori Affairs Minister, and in having Waitangi Day declared a public holiday. The most that Prime Minister and Māori Affairs Minister Walter Nash would allow was for 6 February to be "a national day of thanksgiving". It did not become a public holiday until the 1970s. Tirikātene was knighted in 1960. He died in 1967.

See also: biography of Eruera Tihema Te Aika Tirikātene at DNZB website

Eruera Tīhema Te Āika Tirikātene

I whānau a Eruera Tirikātene ki te takiwā o Kaiapoi i te tau 1895. Nō Ngāi Tahu ia. I te tau 1914 ka kuhu a ia hei hōia i te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao; hau ana te rongo mō tana toa i ngā pakanga ki Wīwī.

Ka mutu te pakanga, ka whakatū ia i ētahi pakihi whai hua, ko ētahi he pāmu miraka kau, he mira kani rākau, he waka hī ika. I tētahi haerenga ki te pā o Rātana i te tau 1921 ka kawea ia e ngā tohutohu a Tahupōtiki Rātana, te kaiārahi whakapono, he matakite. Ko te hūnuku tērā a Tirikātene ki reira noho ai. Ka whakamihi a Tirikātene mō te whakamahi a Rātana i te Tiriti o Waitangi hei huarahi whakaū i ngā tika, whakatau i ngā kerēme whenua a te Māori. Ka tino rata ia ki te hiahia o Rātana kia whakataungia ngā kerēme mō ngā whenua Māori, i te mea i te rapu a Ngāi Tahu i tētahi paremata mō ā rātou kerēme mai anō i te tekau tau atu i 1840.

Ka riro ko Tirikātene tētahi o ngā kaitohutohu matua a Rātana. Nāna ngā whakahaere o te rōpū i taki. Ka puta te whakatau a Rātana kia riro mai ngā tūru Māori e whā i te Pāremata. Kāore he mea i tua atu i a Tirikātene mō te tūru o Te Tai Tonga. Tata tonu ka toa ia i ngā pōti o 1928 me 1931. Ka mate te Mema Māori mō Te Tai Tonga, a Tuiti Makitānara i te tau 1932, ka toa a Tirikātene i te pōti whāiti mō te tūru wātea. Ko ia te Mema Pāremata tuatahi a te rōpū Rātana.

Ko tētahi o ngā mahi tuatahi a Tirikātene, he tāpae i tētahi pitihana ki mua i te Pāremata kia whakamanatia te Tiriti o Waitangi i raro i te ture. Kāore i mimiti ana kōrero ki te Whare mō te Tiriti, tae atu ki ngā kerēme a Ngāi Tahu.

Ko ngā take nui ki a ia ko te rawakore o tōna iwi, te hunga Māori kāore he mahi, me ngā utu iti ki te kaimahi Māori mō ngā mahi whakahirihiri.

Ka whakapono a Tirikātene, mā te mahi tahi me Reipa ka tutuki ōna whāinga. Ka āwhina ia kia tū he kotahitanga a Reipa rāua ko Rātana. Kia taka ki te tau 1943 kua riro i a Reipa/Rātana ngā tūru Māori e whā o te Pāremata. I te tau 1936 ka eke a Tirikātene hei heamana o tētahi komiti a te kāwanatanga Reipa hou mō ngā take Māori. E ai ki te tumu kōrero a Angela Ballara, whai muri i te tau 1936 ka rongo tonu koe i roto i ana kauhau te harikoa me te whakamihi mō te taurite o ngā kaupapa toko i te ora a Reipa ki te Pākehā me te Māori.

I te matenga o Rātana i te tau 1939, ko Tirikātene ka ārahi i ngā take tōrangapū. I te tau 1943 ka kuhu a ia hei mema o te Kaunihera Whiriwhiri hei kanohi mō te iwi Māori. Ko ia te heamana o tētahi komiti o te Pāremata ka whakahaere i ngā mahi a te iwi Māori mō te whawhai. Ko te hiahia o Tirikātene kia noho te rōpū Māori mō te Whawhai mō ngā rā o te āio, kia whai mana ai te iwi Māori ki runga i āna ake whakahaere. Heoi, kāore i eke pū ki runga i tāna i hiahia, tāpae ki te putanga o te Ture Whakapakari i te Ora me te Ōhanga o te iwi Māori o te tau 1945. Ka pōuri ia kāore ia i tohungia hei Minita mō ngā Take Māori.

Hāunga tērā, ka hua ngā mahi a Tirikātene ki te whakatau i ngā kerēme a Ngāi Tahu. I te tau 1944 ka takoto te whakaritenga mō te tahua e 300,000 pāuna, e 20,000 pāuna ka tukua ki te iwi ia tau. Ka tohungia a ia hei heamana o te Poari Kaitiaki o Ngāi Tahu, i whakatūria ki te tiaki i te tahua hei painga mō te iwi. I te tau 1946 i roto anō ia i te whakataunga o ngā kerēme raupatu a ngā iwi o Waikato.

Mai te tau 1949 ki te tau 1957 ko Tirikātene i te Pae Ātete i te wā ko Nāhinara te kāwanatanga. Ka hoki anō a Reipa hei kāwanatanga mō te wā 1957-1960. Kāore tonu a ia i arongia hei Minita mō ngā Take Māori, kāore hoki i eke tana kaupapa kia tū te rā o Waitangi hei rā hararei ā-motu. Paku noa te neke a Waata Naahi (Walter Nash), te Pirimia me te Minita mō ngā Take Māori, i tāna i kī ka tū te rā 6 o Pēpuere hei “rā whakamoemiti puta i te motu”. Kia tae rā anō ki te tekau tau atu i 1970 ka whakataungia te rā o Waitangi hei rā hararei mō te motu katoa. Ka whakawhiwhia a Tirikātene ki te tohu Tā i te tau 1960. Nō te tau 1967 ka mate ia.

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Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana

Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, of Ngāti Apa and Ngā Rauru, was born at Te Kawau, near Bulls, in 1873.

In November 1918 he described a vision of the Holy Spirit, which had come to him in the form of a strange whirlwind-like cloud. After this he was known as the Māngai (mouthpiece) of the Holy Spirit, and was said to have the gift of healing through prayer. His reputation spread rapidly, and a village grew where he lived, becoming known as Rātana pā (midway between Whanganui and Marton). In 1921 and 1922 he travelled throughout New Zealand. Thousands attended his meetings, and many became his followers.

During the early 1920s the Rātana religious movement became more organised and political. An office was set up at Rātana pā, and members began publishing a newspaper, Te Whetū Mārama o Te Kotahitanga. In 1924 Rātana took a petition to London, signed by more than 30,000 Māori. They called for the return of confiscated lands, and implementation of the Treaty of Waitangi. He was not allowed to speak with King George V. A member of the group also tried and failed to present the petition to the League of Nations in Geneva. But Rātana’s actions did help persuade the New Zealand government, in 1926, to set up a commission of inquiry (the Sim Commission). It was to investigate land confiscation, and it later upheld many Māori grievances over land.

The Rātana Church was formally established in 1925. In 1928 Rātana became involved in politics. He referred to the four Māori seats as the four quarters of his body, which he aimed to win through the voting power of his followers – who were said to number 40,000 by 1934. Rātana favoured the Labour Party, who had consulted Rātana supporters in devising their Māori policy.

In 1932 Eruera Tirikātene became the first Rātana MP (representing Southern Māori), with instructions to support Labour. A Rātana candidate also won the Western Māori seat in 1935. In 1936 Rātana and his family declared themselves Labour Party members. At an historic meeting in 1936 he presented the Labour leader, M.J. Savage, with gifts symbolising the partnership between Rātana and Labour. By 1943 all four Labour seats were held by the Rātana/Labour alliance. Rātana died in 1939.

See also: biography of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana at DNZB website

Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana

Ka whānau mai a Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana i Te Kawau, e pātata ana ki Te Ara-taumaihi (Bulls) i te tau 1873. Ko ōna iwi ko Ngāti Apa, ko Ngā Rauru.

I te marama o Nōema o te tau 1918 ka whakaaturia mai te Wairua Tapu ki a ia, hei tāna, he pēnei i te kapua āwhiowhio te āhua. Nō muri ka mōhiotia whānuitia ia ko te Māngai o te Wairua Tapu. Ka taea e ia te whakaora tangata mā roto i te karakia. Kāore noa i roa ka hau whānui te rongo mōna, ka tipu tētahi hapori i tōna kāinga, mōhiotia ai ā tōna wā ko Rātana pā (tata ki te tāone o Marton). I ngā tau o 1921 me 1922 ka takahia e ia te mata o te whenua. Ka muia ana hui e te tini me te mano, taka tonu te rahi ki raro i ana tohutohu.

I te tōmuatanga o te tekau tau atu i 1920 ka whakatikatika te Hāhi Rātana i a ia, ka ruku ki ngā kaupapa tōrangapū. Ka whakatūria he tari ki te pā o Rātana, ka whakaputahia he nūpepa, ko Te Whetū Mārama o Te Kotahitanga. I te tau 1924 ka heria e Rātana tētahi pitihana ki Rānana, e 30,000 te hunga haina. Ko te whāinga o tēnei pitihana kia whakahokia ngā whenua o te Māori i raupatutia, kia whakamanatia te Tiriti o Waitangi. Kāore i whakaaetia kia tūtaki ia ki a Kingi Hōri V. Nā tētahi o tōna rōpū i heri te pitihana ki Geneva, me kore e taea te tāpae ki te aroaro o te Rīki o ngā Iwi o te Ao; hauwarea. Heoi, nā te pitihana i whakakorikori te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa kia whakatū kōmihana (te Kōmihana o Sim) hei rangahau i ngā mahi raupatu whenua. Ka whakaae te kōmihana nei ki ētahi o ngā nawe i whakaarahia e pā ana ki te whenua Māori.

Nō te tau 1925 ka tū te Hāhi Rātana hei hāhi whai tikanga i raro i te ture. I te tau 1928 ka kuhu a Rātana ki te ao tōrangapū. Ka whakaritea e ia ngā tūru Pāremata e whā o te iwi Māori ki ngā wāhanga e whā o tōna tinana. Ka whai a Rātana kia riro aua tūru e whā, mā te tohutohu ki ana pononga me pēhea tā rātou tuku i ā rātou pōti. Tae atu ki te tau 1934 e 40,000 te rahi o ana pononga. Ka hiahia piri a Rātana ki te rōpū Reipa, he haere pea nō Reipa ki te kōrero ki a Rātana i te whakahiatotanga o ā rātou kaupapa here ka pā ki te iwi Māori.

I te tau 1932 ka pōtitia a Eruera Tirikātene ki te Pāremata mō te tūru Māori o Te Waipounamu; ko ia te mema Rātana tuatahi; ko ngā tohutohu atu ki a ia kia tautoko i a Reipa. Ka riro i a Rātana te tūru Māori o Te Tai Hau-ā-uru i te tau 1935. I te tau 1936 ka pānuitia e Rātana tā rātou kuhu ko tana whānau hei mema o te Rōpū Reipa. I tētahi hui whakahirahira i te tau 1936, ka tukua e Rātana ētahi taonga ki te kaiārahi o te rōpū Reipa ki a Te Hāwiti (Savage), he tohu i te mahinga tahitanga a Rātana rāua ko Reipa. Tatū ki te tau 1943 kua taka ngā tūru Māori katoa ki raro i te hononga Rātana/Reipa. Kei te mau tonu rāua ki taua ritenga i ēnei rā. Nō te tau 1939 ka mate a Rātana.

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Paraire Karaka Paikea

Paraire Paikea, of Te Uri-o-Hau, was born at Ōtamatea, Kaipara, in 1894. He trained for the Methodist ministry, and was ordained in 1920. Later he was attracted to the teachings of Tahupōtiki Rātana, the religious prophet and faith healer, and began to take a prominent role in the Rātana movement. In 1924 he helped prepare a petition seeking compensation for Treaty of Waitangi grievances, which Rātana attempted to present to King George V. In 1925 Paikea became a minister in the Rātana church.

After 1928 Paikea played a greater role in the political side of the Rātana movement. He made special efforts to resolve the grievances of Ngāti Whātua - in particular ongoing land loss at Orakei, in Auckland. He also worked as Rātana's private secretary, and by 1930 was a member of the Tokowhitu (Committee of Seven), which formed the Rātana executive.

He played a leading role in forging the historic alliance between Rātana and Labour in 1936. In 1938 Paikea won the Northern Māori seat, and entered Parliament as a Rātana/Labour member. In 1941 he was appointed to Cabinet as a representative of the Māori people. During World War II he worked hard to set up and coordinate the Māori War Effort Organisation. Over 300 tribal committees were tasked with recruiting Māori for the armed forces and essential industries. As the war progressed more responsibilities were added. As the historian Claudia Orange notes, many Māori welcomed this rare chance to show that they could perform demanding duties.

Paikea wanted to turn the War Effort Organisation into a peacetime body which would help Māori to control their own affairs. This was not to be, as Māori hopes were dashed by the watered-down Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945. Paikea died suddenly in 1943.

See also: biography of Paraire Paikea at DNZB website

Paraire Karaka Paikea

I whānau a Paraire Paikea ki Ōtamatea i te takiwā o Kaipara i te tau 1894. Ko Te Uri-o-Hau tōna iwi. Ka whakangungua ia hei minita mō te hāhi Wēteriana, nō te tau 1920 a ia ka whakawahia. Nō muri ka whakawhirinaki ia ki ngā tohutohu a Tahupōtiki Rātana, te matakite nāna tōna ake hāhi i waihanga. Ko te tīmatanga tēnei o tana kuhu haere ki ngā whakahaere o te rōpū Rātana. I te tau 1924 ka āwhina ia ki te whakatakoto i tētahi pitihana e rapu paremata ana mō ngā takahitanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi. I kawea e Rātana ki Ingarangi hei whakatakoto ki mua i te aroaro o Kīngi Hōri V. I te tau 1925 ka whakawahia a Paikea hei minita i te hāhi Rātana.

I te tau 1928 ka kaha ake te whai wāhi a Paikea ki ngā mahi tōrangapū a te rōpū Rātana. I ngana ia ki te whakatau i ngā nawe o Ngāti Whātua mō te rironga tonutanga o ō rātou whenua kei Ōrākau i Tāmaki-makau-rau. Ko ia hoki te hēkeretari tūmataiti a Tahupōtiki. I te tau 1930 kua uru ia ki te Tokowhitu, ngā kaiwhakahaere o te rōpū Rātana.

He wāhi nui tōna i te hononga o Rātana me Reipa i te tau 1936. I te tau 1938 ka pōtitia a Paikea ki te Pāremata hei Mema Māori mō Te Tai Tokerau. I te tau 1941 ka kuhu ia ki te rūnanga kāwanatanga hei kanohi mō te iwi Māori. I te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao ka pau tana kaha ki te whakatū i te kaupapa o ngā Mahi a te Māori mō te Whawhai. Neke atu i te 300 ngā komiti Māori i whakatūria ki te rapu tāngata hei hōia, hei kaimahi i ngā ahumahi ka āwhina i te pakanga. Ka haere te pakanga ā, ka nui atu ngā kawenga i runga i ngā komiti nei. E ai ki te tumu kōrero a Claudia Orange, ka hiahia tonu ngā Māori tokomaha ki te whakaatu i tō rātou kaha ki ngā mahi ahakoa te taumaha.

Ko te hiahia o Paikea ina mutu te pakanga, kia haere tonu te kaupapa ngā Mahi mō te Whawhai, hei āwhina i te iwi Māori ki te whakahaere i āna ake kaupapa. He aha hoki. Ka puta te Ture Whakapakari i te Ora me te Ōhanga o te iwi Māori 1945, he waimehatanga kau o tāna i tūmanako ai. Ohorere te matenga o Paikea i te tau 1943.

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Eruera Tirikatene

Eruera Tirikatene was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Southern Maori from 1932 to 1967 and leader of the Maori War Effort Organisation after the death of Paraire Paikea in 1943.

Tirikatene became the Ratana movement's first MP when he won a Southern Maori by-election in 1932. Ratana formed an alliance with Labour in 1936, and by 1943 it had secured all four Maori seats. Labour's iron grip on all of the Maori seats was not loosened until 1993.

Alexander Turnbull Library,
Reference: PAColl-6388-26
Further information and copies of this image may be obtained from the Library through its 'Timeframes' website, http://timeframes.natlib.govt.nz
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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1924 - key events

Mangahao hydro scheme opened

Hydroelectricity was a key driver of economic growth in the 1920s. Early in the decade Public Works Minister Gordon Coates set up a regulatory framework for electricity generation and reticulation, and initiated several major state hydro schemes. The power station at Mangahao in the Tararua Range near Shannon was opened by Prime Minister William Massey on 3 November. Construction had been hampered by the risk of sudden flooding and the difficult tunnelling required – seven workers were killed on the job. At the time Mangahao was New Zealand’s largest power station; today it is one of the smallest still operating.

All Black ‘Invincibles’ begin triumphant tour

Between September 1924 and February 1925 the All Black rugby team played 32 games in Britain, Ireland, France and Canada, including four test matches (against Ireland, England, Wales, and France). Scoring 838 points and conceding only 116, they won all their games, earning the nickname of the ‘Invincibles’. The 19–0 victory over Wales in Swansea on 29 November exacted some revenge for the controversial defeat suffered by the 1905 ‘Originals’. England was defeated 17–11, Ireland 6–0 and France 30–6. The touring team was captained by Cliff Porter, and included renowned players such as fullback George Nēpia, five-eighths Mark Nicholls and Bert Cooke, and forwards Cyril and Maurice Brownlie.

Rātana tries to petition the King

Māori spiritual leader Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana took a petition signed by more than 30,000 Māori to London. The petition called for the return of confiscated lands and for the Crown to honour promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi. Rātana hoped to meet King George V but was not allowed to. A member of his group also tried and failed to present the petition to the League of Nations in Geneva. But Rātana’s actions did help persuade the New Zealand government to set up a commission of inquiry into Māori land confiscations (the Sim Commission) in 1926.

Riding the Night Limited

The Night Limited Express between Auckland and Wellington, which was to become probably New Zealand’s most famous train, made its first run on the North Island main trunk line in December. The service was introduced at the urging of Railways Minister Gordon Coates, who sought to revitalise New Zealand Railways in the face of mounting motor competition. By limiting the number of stops and carriages, the train made the journey in 14¼ hours, instead of the 18 hours taken by the normal expresses. A Daylight Limited trialled in 1925–26 proved less popular and was later mainly confined to holiday periods. The Night Limited ran until 1971, when it was replaced by the all-sleeper Silver Star (1971–79) and the overnight Northerner (1971–2004).

Other events in 1924:

New Zealander Arthur Porritt won the bronze medal in the 100-m dash at the Paris Olympics. The race was later dramatised in the film Chariots of fire. Porritt went on to serve as New Zealand’s Governor-General from 1967 to 1972.
The first trans-global radio transmission was sent from New Zealand to London. Amateur radio operator Frank Bell sent the ground-breaking Morse code message from his family’s sheep farm in Shag Valley, Otago.
Professor Robert Jack of the University of Otago began experimenting with television. Four years later he transmitted pictures within his laboratory.
As the number of cars, trucks and motorcycles grew rapidly, the Motor Vehicle Registration Act 1924 provided for a centralised system of vehicle registrations administered by the Post Office.
Compulsory voter registration was introduced for all eligible European electors (but not Māori, as there were still no electoral rolls for Māori seats).
A strike by the 11,000-strong Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS) ended in defeat.
The Arawa District Trust Board (later Te Arawa Maori Trust Board) was established following a settlement with the government over ownership of the Rotorua lakes.
The Maori Purposes Fund Control Board was set up to administer funds from unclaimed rent payments on Māori land and other sources.
Pensions for the blind were introduced, following lobbying by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and other groups. By 1929, 282 people were receiving blind pensions.
‘Granny’ Maher became the first woman to be licensed as a professional racehorse trainer in New Zealand.

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.

Maori MPs - Parliament's people

Maori in the House

Apirana Ngata

Important leaders of Maori society have represented their people in the House: Maui Pomare, James Carroll, Matiu Rata and, most famously, Apirana Ngata. These and other men – and they were all men until 1949 when Iriaka Ratana was elected – could be lonely Maori voices in a Pakeha-dominated House. It was not until the 1980s and the later introduction of mixed member proportional representation (MMP) in 1996 that more Maori entered the House and represented electorates other than traditional Maori seats.

The Maori seats

Through the 1850s and 1860s Maori pressed for political representation as a right of British subjects. Some politicians supported general Maori representation, but in the end Parliament decided to have separate Maori seats in which only Maori could vote. It was thought that the greater number of Maori in some areas would swamp the Pakeha vote. Four Maori seats were established, three in the North Island and one in the South Island, in time for the first elections for Maori members in 1868. The Maori seats were only meant to be a five-year trial, but in 1876 they became permanent. There were still only four seats a century later, and it was not until MMP that there were more – five in 1996 and seven in 2002.

The first Maori Members of Parliament

Mete Kingi Paetahi

Frederick Nene Russell, Mete Kingi Te Rangi Paetahi, Tareha Te Moananui and John Patterson took their places as the first Maori Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House in 1868. Te Moananui was the first to speak, and he urged the government to enact wise laws to promote good, and for Maori and Pakeha to work together. The speech was in te reo, and his words were translated by an interpreter organised at the last minute. Owing to the difficulties of language and being a Maori minority in a white Parliament, these and other early Maori MPs struggled to make a difference.

Paremata Maori

Many Maori gave up on the 'Pakeha Parliament' in the 1890s, for it was not seen to be serving Maori interests. The confiscation of Maori land following the wars of the 1860s and the continued taking of Maori land led the Kotahitanga movement to hold a number of Maori Parliaments (Paremata Maori) as alternative forums. Prominent politicians, including James Carroll, visited the Maori Parliament, but Premier Richard Seddon remarked that it was really only a runanga – there was 'only one parliament in New Zealand, and it would never give up control of the Maoris or their lands'. A proposed boycott of the Land Court failed, and the Kotahitanga movement faded away.

Early Maori MPs encountered problems in the House. There was the language barrier for a start, although interpreters were provided in the House. Maori MPs faced a hard road in taking government policy out to their people, for bills and other parliamentary papers affecting Maori were seldom translated into te reo. Between 1889 and 1910, an annual series of relevant legislation was printed in Maori, and between 1881 and 1906 there was a Maori Hansard, Nga Korero Paramete, which contained the speeches of Maori MPs.

The Young Maori Party

In the early 1900s a new group of dynamic Maori MPs emerged who would have a profound effect on Maori society and politics for years to come. The Young Maori Party was a loose association of like-minded individuals who were committed to working within the system to improve Maori health, develop Maori land with state assistance and foster Maori arts and crafts. Perhaps the most prominent of the men was Apirana Ngata, who was elected for Eastern Maori in 1905 and promoted to Cabinet in 1909 as Minister for the Public Trust Office. Ngata continued to promote Maori land development, and on becoming Native Minister in 1928 (as the Minister of Maori Affairs was called until the 1940s), he initiated many land schemes. He was knighted in 1927 but had to resign from Cabinet in 1934 because of irregularities in the administration of the schemes. He retained his seat until 1943, by which time he was 'Father of the House', the title given to the longest-serving politician.

A Maori prime minister

James Carroll

James Carroll, who had once worked as an interpreter in the House, was a key Maori politician a century ago. He was the first Maori to win a general rather than a Maori seat; no other Maori MP would do this until 1975. Carroll's central place in the Liberal party in the 20th century was recognised when he became acting prime minister in 1909 and 1911. He was the first Maori to hold that position. In 1892 he was appointed as a member of the Executive Council representing Maori, and from 1899 to 1912 he was Minister of Native Affairs. Carroll saw the need for compromise in dealings between Maori and Pakeha although he could never hold at bay the continual demands of government and Pakeha settlers for Maori land.

New alliances

A new group of Maori MPs appeared in the 1930s when the first MP with a connection to the Ratana religious movement was elected to Parliament. The Ratana Church forged an alliance with the Labour government, elected in 1935, and for many years after this Labour's Maori MPs were Ratana members. It had been the goal of Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana, the founder of the faith, to have his handpicked members – the Four Quarters – in all the Maori seats. This was achieved by 1943.

These MPs pressed for greater recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi, but their sway in government was limited. It was the Minister of Maori Affairs who wielded the real power in Maori matters in Parliament. Nearly 50 years were to elapse between the appointment of Ngata as Minister of Native Affairs in 1928 and the next Maori promoted to this portfolio. Matiu Rata, appointed as the Minister of Maori Affairs in 1972, steered through some significant measures, including the creation of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1975. His tenure was brief as Labour lost the election in 1975. He resigned from the Labour Party in 1980 to found the Mana Motuhake Party, which focused on issues of importance to Maori.

In turn, Mana Motuhake, along with other small parties, entered the Alliance party in 1991. In 1993 Sandra Lee became its first MP. She was also the first Maori woman to win a seat in a general electorate. Mana Motuhake was the first, and longest lived, of a small cluster of Maori parties that emerged in the 1980s to try to represent Maori issues in the House.