Events In History
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27 February 1951Troops deployed in waterfront dispute
The waterfront dispute of 1951 was the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand’s history, lasting for five months, from February to July. At its peak, 22,000 waterside workers and other unionists were off the job. Read more...
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20 December 1913Waterfront strike ends
The Great Strike of 1913, which had begun in late October when Wellington waterside workers stopped work, finally ended when the United Federation of Labour conceded defeat. Read more...
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24 October 1913Violence flares on Wellington wharves
Violent clashes between unionised waterside workers and non-union labour erupted two days after Wellington’s ‘wharfies’ held a stopwork meeting in support of striking shipwrights. Read more...
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12 November 1912Striker fatally wounded at Waihī
Striking worker Fred Evans was badly injured in the Bay of Plenty goldmining town of Waihī. He died next day. Read more...
Articles
The 1912 Waihi strike
On 'Black Tuesday', 12 November 1912, in the midst of a bitter six-month strike by miners in the small New Zealand goldmining town of Waihi, striker Fred Evans was killed - one of only two fatalities in an industrial dispute in New Zealand's history.
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Page 2 – Further information
Find out more about the Waihi Strike
The 1951 waterfront dispute
The 1951 waterfront dispute was the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand’s history. Although it was not as violent as the Great Strike of 1913, it lasted longer – 151 days, from February to July – and involved more workers.
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Page 2 – Countdown to confrontation
New Zealanders generally accepted the hardships and restrictions of the war years as necessary in the fight against fascism. After the war, though, many began to demand a
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Page 3 – War on the wharves
With New Zealand’s vital export trade at stake when the wharves came to a standstill, the government declared a state of emergency on 21 February.
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Page 4 – Division and defeat
The watersiders’ militancy had isolated them from most unionists and Walter Nash’s Labour Party Opposition sat uncomfortably on the fence, denouncing government repression but
Cook Strait rail ferries
On a fine, calm day ‘Cruising on the Interislander’ can be like a luxury Mediterranean cruise. But on a bad day Cook Strait can be one of the world's roughest stretches of water: seasickness, dodgy food and wildcat strikes have all been part of the colourful Cook Strait ferry story.
- Page 6 - Strikes and strandingsCook Strait ferries were vital to the flow of freight and passengers between the North and South islands, and interruptions because of bad weather, mechanical problems or
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Main image: Blackball miners' strike cartoon
A victory for the strikers.