User:LegionesCataegis/1932 Queen Street Riot

The 1932 Queen Street Riot
Part of The 1932 Depression Riots
Date	14 April, 1932
Location	Queen Street, Auckland 36.8509° S, 174.7645° E
Caused by	Protests against wage cuts, unemployment, and police repression
Goals	Reversal of wage cuts, better treatment of unemployed workers
Methods	March, protest, violent confrontation with police
Resulted in	Violent clash between protesters and police
Parties
Postal and Telegraph Employees, Unemployed Workers’ Movement New Zealand Police Royal New Zealand Navy New Zealand Army
Lead figures
Jim Edwards (leader of Unemployed Workers' Movement)
Number
15,000+ 30
Casualties and losses
21 officers injured (3 seriously)

The 1932 Queen Street Riot was a significant civil disturbance in Auckland, New Zealand, triggered by widespread unemployment and economic hardship during the Great Depression. Sparked by a public meeting of unemployed workers on Queen Street, the riots highlighted tensions between authorities and marginalized communities.

Background

The Great Depression

The 1932 Queen Street Riots occurred during the Great Depression, a global economic crisis that, for New Zealand, was the most devastating economic experience in its recorded history. The Depression had far-reaching effects worldwide, but New Zealand's heavy reliance on agricultural exports like wool, meat, butter, and cheese made it particularly vulnerable to the collapse of international markets.

The government introduced several cost-cutting measures aimed at stabilizing the economy. These included an across-the-board reduction in wages through labor market interventions and pressuring banks to lower interest rates.

From 1929 to 1932, the price of wool fell by 60%, and the overall export revenue dropped by 45% in just two years. National income plummeted by 40% within three years. Dairy farmers, attempting to mitigate their losses, increased production during the downturn. This strategy backfired, flooding international markets with surplus products and driving the prices of butter and cheese even lower. For instance, butter exports rose significantly from 1.6 million hundredweight in 1929 to 2.6 million in 1933.

As tax and customs revenues declined sharply, the New Zealand government responded with budget cuts in an attempt to maintain fiscal balance. By 1931, the full magnitude of the crisis had become evident, prompting further reductions in public spending.

The government introduced several cost-cutting measures aimed at stabilizing the economy. These included an across-the-board reduction in wages through labor market interventions and pressuring banks to lower interest rates.

Official figures indicate that by September 1932 some 73,650 New Zealanders were registered as unemployed, including 45,100 who were on relief schemes and 22,010 working with state subsidies.

The government's relief measures during this period, including work schemes and limited financial assistance, were criticized for being insufficient and demeaning. Relief payments were meager and often conditional upon labor in harsh and demoralizing work camps. The sharp reduction in wages, coupled with falling living standards, led to growing frustration among the populace.

The Riot

This photograph of Jim Edwards appeared in the Auckland Star on 29 April 1932 with the announcement that a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

At 7:30 P.M. on 14 April, workers from the Postal and Telegraph Employees Association marched from the Chief Post Office (Now Waitematā railway station) to the Auckland town hall to protest against the governments economic measures such as wage-cuts, with a host of speakers including M.P. John A. Lee.

As the civil servants moved up Queen Street, they were joined by groups of unemployed. The Town hall was too small to hold all of the marchers and by the order of the police, the doors were sealed behind the post office workers and the unemployed turned away.

Anger within the crowd grew and the acknowledged leader of the Unemployed Workers Movement, Jim Edwards.