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1921 Turangawaewae home of the Māori King
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Tūrangawaewae marae in Ngāruawāhia was adopted as the traditional home of the Māori King movement, on land regained in the aftermath of the wars and confiscation of the 1860s.
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New Zealand
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Time Line of events 1900 - 1950
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1923 Ongarue railway accident
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On 6 July the North Island main trunk express slammed into a huge landslide at Ongarue, north of Taumarunui. With 17 deaths, this was the first major loss of life on New Zealand’s railways.
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New Zealand
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Time Line of New Zealand disasters
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1926 Royal Commission on land confiscations
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The rise of the Ratana vote boosted the determination of another politician, Sir Maui Pomare, for an inquiry into the 1860s confiscations. Pomare encouraged Māori dairy farmers to donate money for an inquiry and convinced Prime Minister Gordon Coates of its value. The Royal Commission, set up with limitations on resourcing, its time frame and terms of reference, recommended compensation for some confiscations, which it found to have been excessive. Taranaki Māori accepted an annual payment of £5,000 from 1931, but negotiations for the other settlements were delayed until 1944. A political movement called Muru Raupatu, seeking more compensation for lost land, grew in the wake of Sir Maui's work.
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New Zealand
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Time Line of events 1900 - 1950
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1929 Māori land development schemes set up
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The first Māori land development scheme was set up by Native Minister Sir Apirana Ngata. The Government provided funds for the development of Māori land and sometimes contributed small areas of Crown land to the schemes. The tenure of the farmers on the schemes, though commonly chosen from among the landowners, was not always satisfactory. Inadequate Crown management of at least some schemes resulted in large accumulating debts, which had to be borne solely by iwi. In some instances, for example the Ngāti Manawa Development Scheme, the debt has only recently been paid off. Māori started to move off the land in the 1930s, an urbanisation greatly accelerated by the Second World War.
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History
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New Zealand
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Time Line of events 1900 - 1950
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1929 Murchison earthquake
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On 17 June an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck the north of the South Island, killing 17 people.
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History
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New Zealand
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Time Line of New Zealand disasters
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1929 The Great Depression
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Following a stock market crash on Wall Street in New York, New Zealand followed the rest of the world into a huge economic depression. Initially impacting on New Zealand through a 40 percent drop in export prices between 1928 and 1932, other effects included a reduction of some 20 percent in real incomes for those who remained in work. The worst years were 1931-33, with up to 80,000 (or 12 percent of the workforce) unemployed. Not until the onset of World War Two in 1939 did mass unemployment end.
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History
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New Zealand
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Time Line of events 1900 - 1950
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1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake
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On 3 February New Zealand’s deadliest earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, devastated the cities of Napier and Hastings.
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History
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New Zealand
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Time Line of New Zealand disasters
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1934 First celebration of Waitangi Day
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Two years after James Busby's former residence at Waitangi was gifted to the nation by the Governor General, Lord Bledisloe, Waitangi Day was formally celebrated for the first time, on the site where the Treaty was signed. Busby's home became known as the Treaty House and construction of a whare rununga began beside it. This Māori meeting house was finished in time for the 1940 Centennial, which celebrated the signing of the Treaty as the nation's founding moment.
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History
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New Zealand
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Time Line of events 1900 - 1950
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1938 Kopuawhara flood
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On 19 February a flash flood swept away a Public Works railway construction camp at Kopuawhara on the East Coast, killing 21 workers.
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History
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New Zealand
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Time Line of New Zealand disasters
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1939 – 45 World War Two
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Once again, New Zealand responded readily when Britain needed soldiers, 105,000 serving overseas. Of these about one-third were killed, wounded or imprisoned. Again a Māori battalion was formed, and again Māoridom was divided. For example, the Waikato leadership was reluctant to participate while the East Coast, the Bay of Plenty and Northland were the most enthusiastic. In all, 17,000 Māori enlisted.
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History
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New Zealand
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Time Line of events 1900 - 1950
