The significance of the riots impacted the people of New Zealand on how they viewed their society and how the violence would be forever etched in their minds.
After the initial Queen Street riot many Aucklanders flocked to the street to witness the wreckage. The Auckland Star 15th April 1932 (pg 9) declared, “incredulity and dismay were written on every face”. This is significant because it shocked the New Zealand society that such a large amount of violence could take place in a couple of hours in one of the countries biggest cities. The ordinary morality had been flung away and developed into an ugly psyche. This violence has been etched into the minds of the citizens of New Zealand as long as they lived. Many would have feared that similar riots would occur again making them anxious for the countries future. The number of unemployed people who took part in the riots would have been significantly less than the number of people who did not participate. From an onlookers perspective they would have thought their country was on the brink of anarchy. For a period of time many of New Zealanders that did not participate in the riots feared their peers and future social anarchy.
The Labour Government answered the unemployed people’s cry for benefits creating New Zealand into a welfare state and significantly impacting modern society.
The Labour Government made New Zealand into a welfare state because of the Depression, those unemployed who rioted wanting benefits and to demolish Scheme 5. It was significant because it installed faith back into the society about the Government. Many people were for New Zealand to be a benefit state rather than opposed to it because it would help those who were unemployed and living in poverty. Many people today are able to have benefits to assist their living. New Zealand was able to make social security a legitimate circumstance, this is paid for from tax and gives citizens the common way of living that they deserve to have. These benefits created in 1938 are still around today in the modern world, some improvements have been made or more have been created. The social welfare of New Zealand creates benefits to care for single mothers, unemployed, retirement pension, widow’s benefit, child support, maternity leave and many more. If the Labour Government did not create New Zealand as a welfare state due to the riots and meeting the unemployed demands, today’s society would not have the benefits they needed to live and survive off every week. However having so many benefits in New Zealand society today could be a negative thing. When New Zealand was recovering from the Great Depression, these benefits were helping people to get back on their feet and in doing so significantly reduces the rates of riots. While today it may have caused some New Zealand citizens to be too dependent on state handouts and this welfare state of New Zealand is significantly expensive to run. However during the depression it created a safety net for the people of New Zealand making them feel significantly safer in their country.
Many unemployed felt that the Government did not listen to their demands in the riots and suicide became a common method to end the Depression for many people.
Suicide is significant because it gives us an interesting angle on the hardships that people faced and their perspectives. There became a peak in New Zealand suicides coinciding with the year of the riots. Many felt that their voices had not been heard and that the Government was destroying their livelihoods, they would not listen to those suffering during the riots. The only way out of this heartache and hardship was suicide. In 1932 it was the most serious year with the largest amount of suicides being committed largely by men. The suicide rate was predominantly male because they were the gender with the highest unemployment rate because majority of women did not have jobs or suffered from unemployment themselves. The suicide rate is frequently linked to the unemployed; this because there has been evidence that can link unemployment with the suicide rate. An odds ratio of 2.5 shows that those who were unemployed were more susceptible to committing suicide. The rate leaped from 1.2 per 10,000 people in the 1920s to 1.65 in 1932. Migration statistics also rose during the 1930s with many people choosing to migrate from New Zealand hoping for escape from their hardships.
The psychological effect of the riots was felt by every single person in New Zealand and affected how they viewed themselves and society.
The views and attitudes of New Zealanders were forever changed by the Great Depression riots. The feeling that the Depression era and riots left behind in New Zealand was grayness. Many of those who were unemployed were called layouts as apposed to victims of the economic crisis. However this view changed after the riots because many people witnessed how all those unemployed were victims. This is why those were unemployed blamed it on the economic crisis rather than blaming it on their own personal reasons. Many people suffered from adversity and extreme loss, half of New Zealand suffered greatly because of the Depression. Those who were struck the most were the women, youths, the unskilled and the Maori’s because they were less skilled or educated than middle aged men. A few swaggers still roamed New Zealand in search for a job and food feeling that life would be better for them if they abandoned the city. The middle class society had to adapt to the changes, however the changes they made were milder. The mindset of the country changed and the appreciation for living rose. The Great Depression and the riots impacted members of the New Zealand society psychologically. The lives of many people would be forever touched and scarred by the riots and the Depression. It didn’t matter who you were in the community, a child, a businessman or an unskilled worker. The day of the riots would never be forgotten, what they were fighting for would never be forgotten. Even though the Labour Government was able to pull New Zealand out of the Depression and on its way to recovery many people still held anxieties and created an obsession over security of themselves and their money. Within the New Zealand community they felt united with the working class and managed to evolve class-consciousness through many citizens.
Many people were still furious over what they had lost because of the Coalition Government. The only means of voicing themselves was by rioting. Through riots they were able to show how they felt and how the Coalition Governments terrible choices impacted all their lives for the worst. Jobs were lost along with peoples savings, farms, businesses or their homes because they could no longer afford the interest gathering on their mortgages. Many people also lost confidence in health, education, skills and businesses, they felt like they could no longer trust a service or people. This is significant because all this frustration boiled over into violence and rioting. The people of New Zealand were pushed into doing something they would not usually do, they were under dire circumstances. The significance of the Depression riots on New Zealand society was that it represented a harsh outburst of hatred towards the government from decent civilized people. It was a form of expression to portray anger of the starvation in New Zealand. The riots became significant in becoming a central part of the depression belief formed in many New Zealanders lives.
Many people were still furious over what they had lost because of the Coalition Government. The only means of voicing themselves was by rioting. Through riots they were able to show how they felt and how the Coalition Governments terrible choices impacted all their lives for the worst. Jobs were lost along with peoples savings, farms, businesses or their homes because they could no longer afford the interest gathering on their mortgages. Many people also lost confidence in health, education, skills and businesses, they felt like they could no longer trust a service or people. This is significant because all this frustration boiled over into violence and rioting. The people of New Zealand were pushed into doing something they would not usually do, they were under dire circumstances. The significance of the Depression riots on New Zealand society was that it represented a harsh outburst of hatred towards the government from decent civilized people. It was a form of expression to portray anger of the starvation in New Zealand. The riots became significant in becoming a central part of the depression belief formed in many New Zealanders lives.