The Great Strike
- When
- 18 October 1913 – December 1913
- Where
- Wellington waterfront · Te Whanganui-a-Tara
- Reach
- Several regions
Watersiders and miners struck nationwide; the government swore in mounted special constables — farmers on horseback — who cleared the wharves by force.
The dispute began over a small allowance and became a trial of strength between the radical Federation of Labour and the state. Massey’s specials, quickly nicknamed Massey’s Cossacks, rode through Wellington and Auckland with batons. The unions lost decisively. The lesson many drew — that industrial action alone could not win — pushed the labour movement towards parliamentary politics.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.
Related
The 1951 waterfront dispute
Lockout and strike ran for 151 days. Emergency regulations made it a crime even to give food to a watersider’s children.
Wellington waterfrontRogernomics — the economy is deregulated
A Labour government floated the dollar, removed farm subsidies and tariffs, and sold state assets — the fastest liberalisation in the developed world.
Depression riots
Relief workers and the unemployed smashed shopfronts down Queen Street. Similar riots hit Dunedin and Wellington within days.
Queen Street, AucklandVogel’s public works and immigration scheme
Julius Vogel borrowed £10 million in London to build railways, roads and telegraph lines, and to bring 100,000 assisted migrants.