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.
Housing
Events In History
Articles
Assisted immigration, 1947-75
New Zealand is a country of immigrants. Wave after wave of peoples have settled here: Polynesian, British, European, Asian. Read the full article
Page 2 - Peopling New Zealand
The Labour Department was responsible for setting up and administering the assisted immigration
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 1 - State housing in New Zealand
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
Page 2 - The first state house
Prime Minister Savage helped out at the opening of the Labour government's first state house in 1937 at 12 Fife Lane, Miramar,
Page 3 - The state steps in and out
The National government introduced full market rents in 1991 to reduce the state role in housing provision. From the start, public debate over state housing policy in New Zealand
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
Page 9 - Timeline
Key events in the development of state
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
Children and adolescents, 1930-1960
The need for the New Zealand government to promote national interests during the Depression and the Second World War created a renewed appreciation of the role of the family within society. Read the full article
Page 1 - Children and adolescents, 1930-1960
The need for the New Zealand government to promote national interests during the Depression and the Second World War created a renewed appreciation of the role of the family
Page 4 - The post-war family
As a consequence of the post-war economic boom there was increasing demand for consumer goods. The 1956 census revealed that more than half of New Zealand homes possessed
Page 5 - Further information
Further information for Children and adolescents,
Armistice Day
After four terrible years, fighting in the First World War finally ended with the signing of an armistice between Germany and the Allies on 11 November 1918. New Zealanders celebrated enthusiastically, despite having recently celebrated the surrenders of the three other Central Powers and the premature news of an armistice with Germany. Read the full article
Page 7 - New Zealand in 1918
Some facts and stats about New Zealand in the year the First World War
Housing the Prime Minister
Almost 150 years after the government purchased the first official premier's residence on Tinakori Road, Wellington, the address of Premier House remains the same. But in the intervening years the building has been extended, renamed, abandoned and refurbished. Read the full article
Page 1 - Housing NZ's prime ministers
Almost 150 years after the government purchased the first official premier's residence on Tinakori Road, Wellington, the address of Premier House remains the same. But in the
Page 2 - The first premier house
Our first premiers had to find their own digs. That changed in 1865, when the government bought the premier a simple 22-year-old wooden cottage in Thorndon’s Tinakori
Page 3 - Unofficial prime ministerial houses
From 1935 to 1975 our prime ministers lived in a series of 'unofficial'
Page 4 - Vogel House and Premier House
Since 1975 the official prime minister's residence has been at Vogel House and, since 1990, Premier
Page 5 - Further information
Further information about New Zealand's prime ministerial
Container shipping
Forty-five years ago, on 19 June 1971, the first all-container ship to visit New Zealand arrived in Wellington. Columbus New Zealand was part of a worldwide revolution in shipping. These simple steel boxes would change our transport industry, our ports and how we work and shop. Read the full article
Page 6 - Afterlife of shipping containers
Most containers pass into the hands of a new industry that has arisen to modify them for other uses, or sell or lease them. The term ‘container architecture’ was coined to cover
Main image: The first Premier House, Tinakori Road
The original Premier House building in Tinakori Road
