Establishment of Māori Women's Welfare League
The Māori Women's Welfare League, established in 1951, is a national organization in New Zealand dedicated to enhancing the wellbeing of Māori women and their families. As the first national body for Māori women, it emerged from a historical context where earlier organizations struggled to provide adequate representation and support for Māori women's issues, particularly during the urban migration in the mid-20th century. The League was formed in response to the pressing need for a forum where Māori women could address health, welfare, and social concerns in a culturally relevant manner.
Headquartered in Wellington, the League has grown to encompass over 3,000 members across various branches in New Zealand and Australia. Its initiatives focus on a range of issues, including domestic violence, social justice, and health promotion, while also emphasizing traditional Māori roles and values. The organization has evolved to include programs targeting young families, health awareness campaigns, and recreational events, demonstrating its commitment to community engagement and empowerment. Today, the Māori Women's Welfare League remains a vital advocate for the rights and wellbeing of Māori women, striving to balance cultural preservation with contemporary societal challenges.
Subject Terms
Establishment of Māori Women's Welfare League
The Māori Women's Welfare League is a national organisation in New Zealand whose mission is to improve the physical, social, economic and spiritual wellbeing of Māori women and their families. The first national organisation for Māori women, it was established in 1951 to give Māori women a forum to address concerns and promote wellness in accordance with Māori traditions and values.
Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, the league has more than 3,000 members in branches throughout New Zealand and in Australia.
Background
During the 1920s, Māori women in rural areas formed several groups to improve the welfare of Māori women and their families. The Women's Division of the New Zealand Farmers' Union (later changed to Rural Women) was founded in 1925. The Māori Women's Institute was founded in 1929. In 1937 Ruby Cameron founded the Women's Health League (WHL). These organisations were able to effect changes within their tribal areas but usually were not involved in issues beyond those areas. Nor did they have the autonomy of an exclusively female or exclusively Māori group. Instead, they often worked under the direction of the male tribal executive officers or with government agencies and pākehā individuals whose values and goals were not always consistent with those of Māori women.
During the 1930s, many Māori began migrating to towns and cities. Urban migration increased during World War II, with Māori women working in formerly male-dominated jobs. Migration brought with it many challenges, including issues related to education, health and discrimination in housing and employment. Māori women often had difficulty adjusting to an urban lifestyle and lacked the structures and support systems of their homelands. Thus grew the need for a national organisation to address Māori women's concerns regarding health, welfare and social issues.
In 1943, the Māori War Effort Committee recommended the Department of Māori Affairs appoint welfare and liaison officers to assist Māori with these concerns. As a result, the department introduced legislation that led to the Māori Social and Economic Advance Act 1945. After its passage, the Māori Social and Economic Welfare Organisation was established and several welfare officers were hired. They visited tribal areas and worked with Māori on health and welfare issues.
Te Rangiātaahua Royal, the controller of the Department of Māori Affairs, realized that while the Māori Social and Economic Welfare Organisation helped improve Māori welfare, it did not provide Māori women the voice and involvement they needed. Under his direction, female welfare officers organized Māori women into Women's Welfare Committees (WWCs) to deal with issues such as housing, children and family life. By 1950 there were about 150 WWCs throughout New Zealand. Some members of the Department of Māori Affairs wanted the WWCs to unite as a national organisation under the auspices of the government. Many Māori women felt an organisation independent of the government would be more empowering. At the time, the government often sought to encourage Māori to adapt to pākehā customs rather than preserve and practice their own. Some branches of the WWC considered joining with the Women's Health League to create a national organisation, but decided against it in order to have greater autonomy, as the Women's Health League was overseen by the government.
Forming the League
In 1950, welfare officers working with the WWC committees drafted a constitution for a national organisation at a conference in Rotorua. During the next several months, they helped to form new branches, expand existing ones and create district councils. In June 1950, Royal asked the WWCs to decide on a name for the national organisation as well as a motto, a badge, a flag, a song and colours.
By September 1951, there were 2,503 members of the WWC, with 217 branches and twenty-two district councils. Māori Affairs Minister Ernest Corbett convened a conference of WWCs at the Ngati Poneke Hall in Wellington in September 1951 to form the Māori Women's Welfare League. Over three days, ninety women delegates ratified the constitution, established a national executive council and elected the league's first president, Whina Cooper.
The constitution had fifteen objectives, which reflected the goals of the government workers who had drafted it. The first objective was "to promote fellowship and understanding between Māori and European women," which reflected the Department of Māori Affairs's goal of integration of Māori women into the broader society while maintaining Māori cultural traditions. Most goals stressed the traditional roles of Māori women as mothers and homemakers and did not accurately reflect the actual affairs of the various league branches. The Māori delegates approved these terms rather than press for revisions that more accurately reflected their own objectives. They did, however, advocate for the inclusion of Māori language in schools and the teaching of Māori language, arts and literature in schools. These issues were not resolved at the conference. Instead they were turned over to the Minister of Education, who recommended Māori language be a required subject in schools and teachers in training should receive instruction in Māori arts and crafts.
Within a few years, the Māori Women's Welfare League had more than 4,000 members, 300 branches and eighty-eight district councils that worked to promote health and address concerns of Māori women. During the subsequent decades, it expanded its activities to encompass issues related to domestic violence, social justice and politics. It also partnered with the National Māori Congress and the New Zealand Māori Council to establish a national Māori health authority, Te Waka Haurora.
Māori Women's Welfare League Today
The Māori Women's Welfare League continues to be a vital force today in promoting the physical, social and spiritual wellbeing of Māori women and their families and communities. It offers a wide array of health services, including programs that target high-risk families with young children and that provide disease management. Other initiatives include hosting fundraising and awareness events about breast cancer, participating in marathons, organizing and coaching sports teams and sponsoring an annual national speech conference for students. The league has partnered with other groups to hold immunisation clinics and run awareness campaigns. It has created cookbooks about healthy eating and held nutrition workshops. It also hosts recreational and family events, such as outdoor movie events. Branches have targeted issues unique to their communities, such as antiviolence and preventing gang involvement, through marches and youth activities.
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