A Significant Movement for the New Zealand Society
The Depression Riots is a significant historical event as it involved many New Zealanders, it had deep consequences for the people involved and has had a lasting impact on the New Zealand society as its effects were fundamental in creating the social welfare state we have today.
The Depression was an event which rocked the whole world and created a global scale economic crisis. New Zealand was significantly affected by this along with many other countries because New Zealand is an exporting nation who relied heavily on other countries such as Britain and Australia for economic growth. When the economies of such countries took a downturn, New Zealand was hugely affected as well. All of the society was affected but those who felt the worst of it was the working class. People began to spend less and save more because there wasn’t much income coming in and this led many shopkeepers, importers and exporters of goods into financial ruins. The government in response established a number of work schemes in order to combat the rising number of unemployed however these soon made the people resent the government because they felt as if their needs were not adequately being met and that the government was not doing all they could to help.
The conditions for relief work and the places to which they had to be displaced created issues with the people who were before this accustomed to regularity and comfort. Further changes made by the government to ensure that there would be no pay without work and the introduction of new sustenance rules made the government increasingly unpopular with the people. People had to do hard labour, often without purpose, making them feel undignified and underclass. The frustrations of the people built up overtime and bitter resentment at the government erupted into large scale riots across the four main centres of New Zealand.
They included many of the unsatisfied relief workers and the unemployed as well as many of the general public who also saw the unfairness of the system. Across the four centres, thousands of people took part in the protests and they were all met with harsh responses from the police force and Specials ordered in from other corners of the country to assist in keeping order. Many were injured and had to be hospitalised. Thousands of windows were smashed and goods looted, putting increased strain on already struggling shopkeepers. The riots however did die down as fast as they began, partially due to the fact that while people were ready to blame the government, they were not prepared to commit themselves to fighting the government and the state authority when it came with personal expenses, whether it was injury or imprisonment. It was also partially due to the fact that immediately after the riots, the government imposed legislations restricting the amount of public meetings which could take place and gave police draconian powers to disperse crowds. Such regulations also significantly curtailed the Unions’ powers and their rights to strike. Many of those who took part and were seen as leaders of the riots, for example Jim Edwards in Auckland and many other members of the Unemployment Workers Union, were sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour.
The Depression riots were significant in creating a sense of unity within the working class and an overall sense of increased social awareness within the New Zealand society. Socialism was a driving force behind the riots and this became even more popular within society as more people were determined to make this an equal society for all classes. The increased awareness for social equality ultimately led to the success of the Labour Party in the 1935 elections which they won with a great majority. People began to see them as a stable group that was concerned with the social welfare of the whole society, rather than the radicals they started as. The Labour Party’s passing of the Social Welfare Act immediately after being elected in made them increasingly popular with the people as they felt as though their needs were finally being addresses and that the government was seeing their perspective for the first time. This Act and the improvements made to it in the long term has largely helped establish the social welfare system that we still have in New Zealand today.
The Depression was an event which rocked the whole world and created a global scale economic crisis. New Zealand was significantly affected by this along with many other countries because New Zealand is an exporting nation who relied heavily on other countries such as Britain and Australia for economic growth. When the economies of such countries took a downturn, New Zealand was hugely affected as well. All of the society was affected but those who felt the worst of it was the working class. People began to spend less and save more because there wasn’t much income coming in and this led many shopkeepers, importers and exporters of goods into financial ruins. The government in response established a number of work schemes in order to combat the rising number of unemployed however these soon made the people resent the government because they felt as if their needs were not adequately being met and that the government was not doing all they could to help.
The conditions for relief work and the places to which they had to be displaced created issues with the people who were before this accustomed to regularity and comfort. Further changes made by the government to ensure that there would be no pay without work and the introduction of new sustenance rules made the government increasingly unpopular with the people. People had to do hard labour, often without purpose, making them feel undignified and underclass. The frustrations of the people built up overtime and bitter resentment at the government erupted into large scale riots across the four main centres of New Zealand.
They included many of the unsatisfied relief workers and the unemployed as well as many of the general public who also saw the unfairness of the system. Across the four centres, thousands of people took part in the protests and they were all met with harsh responses from the police force and Specials ordered in from other corners of the country to assist in keeping order. Many were injured and had to be hospitalised. Thousands of windows were smashed and goods looted, putting increased strain on already struggling shopkeepers. The riots however did die down as fast as they began, partially due to the fact that while people were ready to blame the government, they were not prepared to commit themselves to fighting the government and the state authority when it came with personal expenses, whether it was injury or imprisonment. It was also partially due to the fact that immediately after the riots, the government imposed legislations restricting the amount of public meetings which could take place and gave police draconian powers to disperse crowds. Such regulations also significantly curtailed the Unions’ powers and their rights to strike. Many of those who took part and were seen as leaders of the riots, for example Jim Edwards in Auckland and many other members of the Unemployment Workers Union, were sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour.
The Depression riots were significant in creating a sense of unity within the working class and an overall sense of increased social awareness within the New Zealand society. Socialism was a driving force behind the riots and this became even more popular within society as more people were determined to make this an equal society for all classes. The increased awareness for social equality ultimately led to the success of the Labour Party in the 1935 elections which they won with a great majority. People began to see them as a stable group that was concerned with the social welfare of the whole society, rather than the radicals they started as. The Labour Party’s passing of the Social Welfare Act immediately after being elected in made them increasingly popular with the people as they felt as though their needs were finally being addresses and that the government was seeing their perspective for the first time. This Act and the improvements made to it in the long term has largely helped establish the social welfare system that we still have in New Zealand today.