Most 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.
State Housing
Events In History
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. 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
