Early European-style timber frame construction was not as effective as traditional Māori methods at keeping the heat in buildings. Specified levels of thermal insulation were not required by law until 1978.
Maori Housing
Events In History
Articles
State housing
New Zealand's first state house was formally opened on 18 September 1937. But the government has provided rental housing for New Zealanders for more than a century. Explore the history of this country's various state housing schemes and their contribution to the New Zealand way of life. Read the full article
Page 4 - Designing communities
Community has many different meanings. People might live in a particular community, but have little contact with their neighbours, preferring instead to pursue their social life
Page 5 - Building families
An essential aim of state housing was to provide suburban homes for families, a place where children could grow up in safe and spacious surroundings, away from the dangers of the
Page 6 - Making ends meet
For low-paid workers and beneficiaries, making ends meet has always been a constant struggle. Life can be even tougher for those without a home of their
Page 7 - State house style
The design of state houses has been fodder for armchair and professional critics since the beginning. Detractors slagged the first workers' dwellings for being 'too swell' and
Page 8 - Outside the mainstream
Many of us associate the beginning of state housing with the hipped-roof cottages built by the first Labour government of the 1930s and '40s. But the origin of state housing has
Life in the 20th century
Exploration of everyday life in New Zealand from 1900 to the mid-1980s Read the full article
Page 5 - A home of one's own
New Zealanders have called many structures home. Some have been solid and permanent: kauri villas set in lawns and gardens, row houses on cramped Dunedin sections, sprawling state
Biographies
Jack Hunn commissioned a series of wide-ranging studies on Māori population, housing, education, employment, health, crime and land titles.
