12: Post-War New Zealand

The 50s and 60s were decades of huge cultural change. Māori were moving  into the cities in large numbers for the first time. Meanwhile, there were communist scares, industrial disputes, moral panics about rowdy teenagers - and the beginning of a new kind of kiwi identity. 

Topics covered

• The post-war Baby Boom
• Māori urbanisation
• The Cold War, concerns about communist agents and the ANZUS Treaty
• The formation of the NZ National Party
• The Waterfront Dispute
• Concerns about teen “immorality” moral panic and crackdowns
• The shift from British to Pākehā identity, growing enthusiasm for “kiwi” culture
• Samoan independence.
• The Dawn Raids and Polynesian Panthers
• The Māori Renaissance and activism, including the 1975 Land March and Bastion Point Occupation
• The Treaty of Waitangi Act and the role of the Waitangi Tribunal

Photo: RNZ/NZ On Air