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Work in New Zealand

From gum digging in early New Zealand to the many occupations in today’s world, this topic covers Labour Day, the 40 hour week, equal pay rights, Careers NZ, and work in New Zealand from farming to community roles and public service. SCIS no. 1822222

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Dunedin Tradesmen

Dunedin Tradesmen

Five sketches of assorted tradesmen. Quantity: 1 drawing(s). Physical Description: Ink in bound album, page size 173 x 252 mm

Paid work

A newspaper delivery round was one of the ways that boys earned money in the mid-20th century, when this photograph of Peter Williams on his delivery round was taken. Accompanying him is his pet po...

Social security certificate

Social security certificate

Images of a Social Security Certificate from 1939.

Men At Work

Created in appreciation of the hardworking team who built the awesome DigitalNZ sets functionality.

Work

Night work

In country areas like Tāneatua in the Bay of Plenty work was scarce, and a job that fitted into a family’s routine was particularly valued. When a local company was taken to court for employing wom...

Job Advertisement

Job Advertisement

Advertisement for a hospital housekeeper from 1971.

Police make a song and dance about recruitment

New Zealand police have busted out some new moves to recruit officers, making a video of uniformed staff dancing - and it's gone viral.

Factory work

Women worked at the Frimley Canning Factory in Hawke's Bay, canning peaches, pears, apricots, tomatoes, beans and peas, and making jams, pickles, spices and baking powder. By 1910, when this photog...

Labour Day today

Labour Day today

Cartoon referring to Labour Day.

Weekend trading poster

Anti weekend poster printed in 1976.

Police looking for canine recruits

Police looking for canine recruits

The Auckland Police Dog Section needs two new German Shepherds for their training programme.

Miners

Two miners work a large drill into an underground rock face.

Friut pickers

Cartoon referring to fruit pickers in New Zealand.

Dressmakers and their work

Dressmakers and their work

Pacific career expo draws young people and families

Pacific career expo draws young people and families

Youth leaders on Auckland's North Shore worried about job prospects for young people in their community held a career expo.

Women’s war work

Newspaper article about suitable jobs for women.

Equal pay for equal work

Equal pay for equal work

Brochure promoting equal pay and opportunity.

Challenging the Pātea freezing works closure

In 1982 the freezing works in the small Taranaki town of Pātea was shut down by its owners. This was just one of a long series of similar factory closures during the 1980s, which threw thousands of...

History of New Zealand dairy farming

Dairy farming has changed significantly over the centuries, from hand milking to machine milking. The size of farms and the expectations on farmers have also changed with time. Could fully automate...

The Air Force needs Men!

The Air Force needs Men!

Advertisement inviting men to join the Air Force.

Caught! danger of loose clothing'

Caught! danger of loose clothing'

Poster printed to promote workplace safety.

Fatality while bush-felling

CTU wants safer working conditions in NZ

CTU wants safer working conditions in NZ

Today is Workers' Memorial Day - an international day of remembrance for workers killed at work.

Engineering workshop

Engineering workshop

Photograph of an engineering workshop taken in the 1900s.

Gumdiggers at Work

Gumdiggers at Work

Group of gumdiggers digging for kauri gum, Northland. Three men in suits are watching. Photograph taken by ca. 1910s by the Northwoood Brothers of Kaitaia. Date estimated by cataloguer. Source o...

Women working in a factory during World War 2

Women working in a factory during World War 2

Unidentified women working in a (munitions?) factory during World War 2. Location unidentified. Photograph possibly taken by John Pascoe. Quantity: 1 b&w original photographic print(s). Physical ...

A day in the life of a working mother

A day in the life of a working mother

Coming home with shopping.

Work gang

A group of Māori workers, possibly a shearing gang, pose on an East Coast farm in the early 20th century. From the 1880s agricultural work, including shearing, became an important source of income ...

Popping the question

Popping the question

Shows two men, John Bull and a man who represents New Zealand, dressed in military uniforms standing next to nurse. John Bull is handing a piece of paper to the nurse, who has a petition in her poc...

Relief workers

As portrayed in Renee’s play Wednesday to Come this Labour Party pamphlet protests against the appalling conditions in some of the New Zealand relief camps during the Great Depression. In these cam...

Budget hurts working school kids

Budget hurts working school kids

Protests are continuing following yesterday's Budget, which is being dubbed “zero growth" and "zero hope" by the opposition.

Women packing chocolates at Atlas biscuit and confectionery company

Women packing chocolates at Atlas biscuit and confectionery company

Women packing chocolates into boxes at Atlas Biscuit and Confectionery Company, Christchurch, taken 1910 by Steffano Webb. Inscriptions: Photographer's title on negative - above image: Atlas Con F...

Getting the top job

Getting the top job

Although far more women teach than men, men are more likely to reach positions of authority. In 2006, of the 4,600 men teaching at primary level, 24% were principals, while of the 21,600 women teac...

Unusual job

Ian Park talks about his job as a construction blaster.

New Zealand wants domestic servants

New Zealand wants domestic servants

This poster reveals New Zealand’s need for domestic servants early last century. The poster was designed to entice unmarried British women to come and work in New Zealand. The large house, attracti...

Domestic servants

Domestic servants

Farmers, South Island

Farmers, South Island

Pacific migrants

Pacific migrants

Tokelauans Ario Galo and Saroa Lafu arrived in Wellington in January 1963 seeking jobs, and worked initially at the Public Service Boys’ hostel. Labour shortages in the 1960s and 1970s spurred the ...

This story describes the significance of the tradition of tattooing within Samoan society. Login required.

8 hour work day

How the 8 hour working day came to New Zealand.

Employment New Zealand

This site provides information about the rights of employers and employees.

Christchurch earthquake job losses dole 'disaster'

Article about job losses as a result of the Christchurch earthquake.

This government organisation helps New Zealanders make informed learning and work decisions.

Government job vacancies

Website that lists government job vacancies.

Statistics and graphs relating to work in New Zealand.

How to research a job and write a CV

Tips for how to research and write your CV.

Find out about what it takes to be a truck driver.

The gender pay gap is a high level indicator of the difference between women and men’s earnings.

Are New Zealanders overworking?

Many Kiwis are struggling to cope with the relentless pressures of the job.

Employment relations authority

The Employment Relations Authority helps to resolve employment relationship problems.

Just the job - ambulance officer

Find out about what it takes to be an ambulance officer.

An educational tool promoting self-help for solving discomfort and injuries in the workplace.

Revealed: NZ's most dangerous job

Latest figures show cleaners, rubbish collectors, and labourers have the highest rate of injury while at work.

Information about how you can volunteer for the Department of Conservation.

Working in dairy farming

Useful information about working in the dairy farming industry.

What makes a great NZ entrepreneur?

Sam Morgan reveals the secrets of entrepreneurial success.

Employment Relations Act 2000

The Employment Relations Act 2000.

Salary data & career research center (New Zealand)

Dive into the most extensive database of job salaries available.

Chooks! Pigs! Cows! cartoon

Chooks! Pigs! Cows! cartoon

Today’s office is far removed from this example from the 1940s where people were free to smoke. Today office space is either open plan or arranged in small self-contained cubicles as shown in this ...

Work is nigh

A glum holiday maker wearing a t-shirt that reads 'Work is nigh' walks along the beach front considering the fact that he has soon to return to work after his Christmas holiday. Quantity: 1 digita...

Māori farmers

A far cry from today’s farms, and farming technology, this photograph really reveals our humble pastoral origins. Life for our early farmers was characterised by isolation and intense physical work...

Neil Currie

Neil Currie oversaw 18 months of voluntary work on this rescue boat by replacing the engines and upgrading the interior. Work on restoration projects (often voluntarily) is another occupation New Z...

Painting the Plunket rooms

Painting the Plunket rooms

Community work has long been a valued social resource. It helps hold and bind communities together; individuals learn new skills while helping the community benefit from shared goals. Here voluntar...

Sheep at Wairakei farm settlement

Sheep at Wairakei farm settlement

This classic photograph reveals how New Zealand was largely perceived by the outside world in the 1960s—a nation of farms, rolling countryside and millions of sheep. In the decade before this photo...

Freezing works

Steffano Webb’s photographs explored both domestic and commercial interiors in and around a bustling Edwardian Christchurch. This remarkable photograph, the inside of the Belfast Freezing Works, re...

Nice work poster

Nice work poster

A surge in jobs after World War II meant many married women entered the workforce where previously they had been expected to remain at home. Income generated by this employment helped families purc...

Norman Kirk

Fences, decks, barbeques, and do-it-yourself (DIY) is a strong cultural trait in a New Zealand psyche based around self-reliance and self-sufficiency. Even prime ministers have been known to do a s...

Women and computers

Women and computers

By the 1970s new technology was making inroads into the manual and service jobs performed in factories and offices—as this image shows. From the first electronic calculators, to the electric typewr...

Mine Creek

Extractive industries like coal mining impacted on both the landscape and society– particularly on the West Coast. Here you can clearly see that coal mining also meant removal of forest and large q...

Scene outside a house

Scene outside a house

For many last century the good old days weren't particularly good. Unpaid and overworked, many women at home struggled in substandard living conditions (by today’s standards) to raise, clothe and f...

Importing domestic servants

Importing domestic servants

British domestic servants arrive in Auckland on the Ruapehu in June 1925. There had been frequent calls for special schemes to bring out women who would help solve the ‘servant problem’, and at tim...

Pay equity cartoon

Pay equity cartoon

Under the heading 'She's got your number', shows a billboard featuring the New Zealand ten dollar note with the startled face of Kate Sheppard. John Key and another figure are using red paint to re...

Migrant workers 'ripped off'

Prosecutions over migrant worker exploitation are only the tip of the iceberg, according to a union leader who says Christchurch employers are getting a bad reputation.

More women working NZ farms

More women working NZ farms

New Zealand is seeing a rise in the number of women working in farming.