Personal details
Full Name:
- Michael Joseph Savage
Lifetime:
- 23 Mar 1872–27 Mar 1940
Prime Minister:
6 Dec 1935–27 Mar 1940
Age on becoming PM:
63
Electorate:
Auckland West
Political Party:
Labour
Michael Joseph Savage, New Zealand’s first Labour PM, was probably also it's best-loved. His avuncular image hung in the homes of the Labour faithful for decades.
Read more...Events In History
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30 March 1940Funeral procession for Prime Minister SavageNew Zealand’s first Labour prime minister, Michael Joseph Savage, died in office on 27 March 1940. His body lay in state at Parliament for two days before his funeral cortège, which was more than 1.6 km long, set off for the railway station at 9 a.m. on 30 March. Read more...
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25 March 1940John A. Lee expelled from Labour PartyA charismatic ex-soldier, orator and writer, John A. Lee had been active in the New Zealand Labour Party since shortly after the First World War. Read more...
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5 September 1939Prime minister declares New Zealand’s support for BritainWhen New Zealand declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage was recovering from an operation for colon cancer. Acting Prime Minister Peter Fraser issued a statement in his place. Read more...
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2 February 1939Welfare plan gets baptism of fireA massive fire destroyed the nearly completed three-storey Social Security building. Just seven weeks later, a replacement building was opened by Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage. Read more...
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14 September 1938Social Security Act passedThe cornerstone of the first Labour government’s welfare programme, the Social Security Act overhauled the pension system and extended benefits for families, invalids and the unemployed. Read more...
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18 September 1937First state house opened in MiramarMost of the Labour Cabinet helped the first tenants move into 12 Fife Lane in Miramar, Wellington. Even Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage carried a cumbersome dining table through a cheering throng. Read more...
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22 April 1936Rātana and Labour seal allianceThe alliance between the Rātana Church and the Labour Party was cemented at an historic meeting between Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana and Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage. Read more...
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27 November 1935Labour wins powerThe 1935 general election has long been seen a defining moment in New Zealand history. Undermined by its failure to cope with the distress of the Depression, the Coalition (‘National’) government was routed by the Labour Party, led by Michael Joseph Savage. Read more...
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.
- Page 2 - The first state housePrime Minister Savage helped out at the opening of the Labour government's first state house in 1937 at 12 Fife Lane, Miramar,
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.
- Page 3 - Unofficial prime ministerial housesFrom 1935 to 1975 our prime ministers lived in a series of 'unofficial'
Election Days
When New Zealanders go to the polls on 26 November 2011, they will continue a 158-year-old tradition of parliamentary democracy in this country. Politics may have changed beyond recognition since 1853, but the cut and thrust of the campaign trail, the power of advertising, and the drama of polling day remain as relevant as ever.
- Page 6 - Radio and TVElectoral advertising was transformed first by radio, and later by
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Main image: First State House
The first of the thousands of homes built under Labour's massive state housing programme was in Strathmore, Wellington.
