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UNEMPLOYMENT IN NEW ZEALAND,
1875 - 1914
A thesis presented in partial. fulfilmGnt of the requirements for the degree of raster of Philosophy in Economics at Massey University.
Robert James Campbel l
1976
i i
ABSTRACT
Unemployment, although a common feature of economic and social l ife in colonial New Zeala~d, has rece~vea little attention from historians or economists for th~ period before 1920. While
conctruction of a reliable index of unemployment is not possible from avajlable data, an intensive analysis of publ ished and other official sources establishes the significance of unemploy~snt.
The decade of the 188o~s, follo~ing as it ~id years of large scale immigration and marked as i t vaa by little overall economic
g~owth, dre~ attention to the ins~c~rity of ~~ployme11t for many
frequc~tly encu~. was not su~ficjent i~ the 9bsence of &n or22~lsed
labour ~ovcment, to ~ove policy.
Ncve:::t.heless a::; part of Ci!:l cvcr·all move towar·ds a regulative role
i.:i. many economic and socie l .spheres, Gove!.·n~01•t fot·m:ili:oed
procedures for coping ~ith uneruploy~ent. The activities of the Labour Bureaux in assisting unemployed to find jobs became an
important part of the labour rnarki'Ot, and a15sisted the co-operative works scheme of complet ing necessary public works.
The thesis suggest& that it is this regulative approach of Govern- ment which is the significant feature. Other periods and societies have had a more welfare-oriented appro~ch to unemployment. The ideology of work in a growing colonial economy was fiercely against any form of pauperisation, or even long terra support.
Unemployment, apart from apparent cyclical influences in the
1880
1s and less certainly 1903-1907, was largely of a seasonal orfrictional variety. Availability of sensor.al work in areas surrounding moot to~ns absorbed even skilled workoen who lacked employment for summer months. However, wlnter and any slackening of public con:,truction works , 'urour,ht high le,,-els of unemployment to ma~y to~ns. Often, th~ee probl~ms were exacerbated by new i mmigraPts enterin~ tbe job market.
Because the fluctuationa in employment were so local ised, the efforts of the labour Department in developing e. national labour market were appropri~te though not uniformly successful. These efforts were not geared to find skille~ employment ~here this was desjred in many cases, nor was female unemployment adequately catered for.
Assisting mobjlity and identifying employment opportunities were important contributions of the Department of Labour. Government also played a limited role as an employer of unemployment workers. No government of the period, central or local, w~s clearly and unambiguously in favour of providing work as a means of ccmbatti~g
unemployment. Although the co-operative works system had as one cf its functions the provision of a "buffer" for ma:le unemployment, the system cannot be considered purely as a relief work mechanism.
The last two decades of the period are marked by the articulation and implementation of the problems and policies identifi ed during the 18801s.
iv
"The curse of unemployment falls almozt in
equal ratio on th~ individual, on the city, and on the nation ••• ~o tramp one street after another and from one possible job to another, to go from one city to another, and leave one country for another, and all without success, is in a word, the reality of
unemployment."
Hon. Mr Paul, New Zealand Parlinmantary Debates, ~909, p.
257 .
"The Pcrny"
"Looking for v1ork?11 he went on. We
nodded and asked, "Any work where you come from?"
"Don't kr.ow. I nev~r lcok for it", he
repl ied.
J .A. Lee, Delinquent Days, pp.
72 - 73 .
PREFACE
Unemployment. The very word remains a vote-catcher in New Zealand in
1975 .
In March1976 ,
there are 10,000 or so either 'unemployed or on ~overnment special work. At t lme of last census(1 971)
ther e were 1~,168 sel f-declared unemployed. If ordinary people' or public figures wish to raise the spectre of joblessness they hark back to the
1930
1s . It is salutary to reflect on the ·coloniaJ.economy in which unemployment was an ever-present, if fluctuating, problem.
Inevitably reflection on pre-World War I unempl~Yr.lent leads to reflection on emplov_~~.I',t, the structure of the Jabour market, the very nature and meaning of work i n that cont ext. Speculation, however, must be restrained. This thesis has a much more limited purpose. At cost, i t has traversed grou~d which will makd one small aspect of futur e investigation unnecessary.
This thesis began as a longer project , and c~rtainly the field has
only begun t o be explored. For their assistance in research I should like to thank the following: P.S. Harris. G.R. Hawke, W.R. Oliver, J .W. Rowe , and other colleagues.
TABLE CF CONTEI\TS
Preface:
Chanter One: Int;:-oduction and Scope of Thesis
Chapter Two: Unem~loymcnt in the 18801s
Chanter '!:'hree: Unemployed Agitation
Chapter Four : Unemployment 1892-1914. An Empirical View
Co-operative 0orks and Uneruployment
Che.ptcr .Six: Debate and Unemployment Policy
Ch;=.a~ter .Sever: Cone: 1 ud ing IfotG
Biblio5raphy:
vi
Page v
vii
1
12
36
90
108
131
141
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
LIST OF FIGURES
Men Assisted by the Department of Labour and Census Unemployment Figu1·es.
Men Sent to Govern~ent Works an~
lo Private Employment.
Follo'!.'j ng pj>.
72
73
