United Party Prime Minister George Forbes had convened an inter-party conference with the goal of forming a coalition government that would ‘share the responsibility’ of dealing with the Depression.
Reform Party
Events In History
Articles
Election Days
When New Zealanders go to the polls on 26 November 2011, they will continue a 158-year-old tradition of parliamentary democracy in this country. Politics may have changed beyond recognition since 1853, but the cut and thrust of the campaign trail, the power of advertising, and the drama of polling day remain as relevant as ever. Read the full article
Page 5 - Peddling politicians
Given the printing technology of the time, early election posters and hoardings were inevitably simple.
The New Zealand Legion
The year 1933 witnessed an unprecedented eruption of protest amongst urban businessmen and professionals in New Zealand. The most prominent manifestation of this protest was a radical conservative movement named the New Zealand Legion. Read the full article
Page 2 - Origins
The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 is generally recognised as the event that triggered the Great Depression. In New Zealand, the effects of the crash were not immediately
A history of New Zealand 1769-1914
In the period between the first European landings and the First World War, Aotearoa New Zealand was transformed from an exclusively Māori world into one in which Pākehā dominated numerically, politically, socially and economically. Read the full article
Page 1 - History of New Zealand, 1769-1914
In the period between the first European landings and the First World War, Aotearoa New Zealand was transformed from an exclusively Māori world into one in which Pākehā dominated
Biographies
Gordon Coates seemed unbeatable. Tall and handsome, this affable war hero embodied modernity – he was the ‘jazz premier’. In 1925’s presidential-style election voters elected to take their ‘Coats off with Coates’.
In 1912 William Herries became Minister of Native Affairs in the Massey government, an office he held until 1921.
William Massey is our second-longest serving leader. Although he was reviled by the left for crushing workers in 1913 with his ‘Massey’s Cossacks’ (strike-breakers), his legacy is being re-evaluated.
Sir Francis Bell was PM for only 16 days, but he held several distinctions – the second oldest (74), the first New Zealand-born, and the last from the Legislative Council.
As Minister of Defence from 1912 until 1920, James Allen was responsible for the organisation of New Zealand’s military forces during the First World War.
Main image: Bellamy's cartoon, 1912
Reform leaders William Massey and James Allen head for Bellamy's to celebrate their victory over the Liberals and their assumption of government in 1912.
