Making New Zealand 1930–1949
Abstract
The 1930s and 1940s witnessed a formative era in nation-building, through the conscious ‘making’ of New Zealand. At the same time, New Zealanders had to ‘make do’ through depression and another world war, and these global onslaughts only intensified the quest for security at home and abroad. Making do and creating a nation moved in symbiosis, because, as often happens with the evolution of a sense of national identity, panic, crisis, anxiety, or rupture produces stories and rituals to soothe and explain. This context saw the rise to power of the first Labour government, which resolved to pick up where the 1890s’ Liberal model of state development left off.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Australian History and Society
Cultural History and Identity Formation
New Zealand Economic and Social Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Pages
- 165–192
- Publication date
- 9 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter