how WW1 impacted on new Zealand's society
World War 1
impacted on New Zealand's society in a variety of ways, both positively and
negatively. The loss of lives was the biggest impact the Great War had on
New Zealand society. New Zealand's population at the time of the war was only
around 1.1 million so when 100,000 military aged men left to fight in the war
it was strongly felt in every part of the country, especially in small
communities. When men set off to fight in the war their families stayed
home often wondering if they would ever see their loved ones again, hoping
that their names would not be in the next newspaper casualty list. Out of
the 100,000 soldiers that left the country 18,166 didn't return home, 2779 of
which died at the battle of Gallipoli. Around 5% of New Zealand's military
aged men died, this significantly impacted on New Zealand as a whole. Lives of
the families whose loved ones never returned were changed forever.
Although the war had a large number of devastating effects on New Zealand’s society there were some positive outcomes. New Zealand’s economy stayed strong throughout the war because of purchasing agreements with Britain. New Zealand is far away from Europe where most of the fighting took place so there were no battles that took place in New Zealand which meant that there was no rebuild cost. As a result of the First World War New Zealand received control of Western Samoa in the Peace settlement. Another positive impact World War 1 had on New Zealand society was that it taught doctors and surgeons who treated wounded soldiers new life saving techniques. When they returned to New Zealand they were able to put their new skills into practice and pass on their knowledge. There was a high demand for prosthetic and dentist work after World War 1 due to many soldiers returning with facial disfigurements.
As lots of military aged men left the country to fight in the war there was a shortage of men available to work. Due to this women had to step up and do jobs which were perceived as male jobs such as bus drivers, office clerks, postal workers and factory workers. Before the Great War a women’s day consisted around raising children, cooking and cleaning. Being able to work gave women the opportunity to learn new skills and show society that they were capable of working in a variety of different jobs. Women had more independence and freedom and were no longer ‘under somebody’s thumb’ relying on a male partner to bring home money. Without the First World War it may have been many more years before women were accepted into the workforce.
It was quite obvious that women had to fulfil a new role in all sorts of jobs or the war couldn't have been fought.
- Historian, Gail Braybon