New Zealand Women's Land Army Explained

The New Zealand Women's Land Army or Women's Land Corps[1] was formed to supply New Zealand's agriculture during the Second World War, with a function similar to its British namesake. The organisation in New Zealand began in an ad hoc manner with volunteer groups set up in various regions as it became apparent that there was an acute labour shortage due to the mobilisation of male farm workers.[2] [3] A group of paid workers was set up in Matamata in November 1940. In November 1941 the Government announced that it would establish a national Women's Land Corps.[4] City girls from the age of 18 and up were "sent to assist on sheep, cattle, dairy, orchard and poultry properties".[5] Recruitment of members was originally undertaken by the Women's War Service Auxiliary, but the scheme was reorganised in September 1942 and redeveloped as the Women's Land Service. With the reorganisation the basic wages were increased, the uniform and working clothes were liberalised, farmers could employ their relatives, and district Man-Power Officers became responsible for recruitment. These changes made the Service more attractive to both women and farmers and membership increased during the following two years.[6] [7] Membership peaked in September 1944, when 2088 women were employed on farms, and declined after that due to the return of servicemen from overseas, women leaving to marry ex-servicemen and women resigning to take up better jobs. Recruitment stopped with the end of the war on 15th August 1945.[8] A total of 2711 women were employed as members of the Service from the time it was reorganised in September 1942,[9] making it the largest of the women's services raised by New Zealand during the war. The Service was disbanded in 1946.[10]

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Notes and References

  1. 1946. Report Of The National Service Department On Activities Under The National Service Emergency Regulations 1940 And The Industrial Man-Power Emergency Regulations 1944. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. Session I, H-11A. 63–64. Paperspast.
  2. News: Land Girls, New Zealand's World War II unsung heroes . Jo . McKenzie-McLean . 25 April 2018 . Southland Times . Stuff.co.nz . 7 March 2020.
  3. News: 14 Nov 1940. Women's Land Army: Work begins at Matamata. New Zealand Herald. 21 December 2021. Paperspast.
  4. News: 8 November 1941. Land Corps. Evening Post. 21 December 2021. Paperspast.
  5. Web site: The Land Girls: In a Man's World, 1939–46 by Dianne Bardsley . Otago University Press . 7 March 2020.
  6. 1946. Report Of The National Service Department On Activities Under The National Service Emergency Regulations 1940 And The Industrial Man-Power Emergency Regulations 1944. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. Session I, H-11A. 63–64. Paperspast.
  7. 15 October 1943. Solving the Farm Labour Problem. New Zealand Journal of Agriculture. 67. 4. 253. Paperspast.
  8. 1946. Report Of The National Service Department On Activities Under The National Service Emergency Regulations 1940 And The Industrial Man-Power Emergency Regulations 1944. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. Session I, H-11A. 63–64. Paperspast.
  9. 1946. Report Of The National Service Department On Activities Under The National Service Emergency Regulations 1940 And The Industrial Man-Power Emergency Regulations 1944. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. Session I, H-11A. 63–64. Paperspast.
  10. Web site: Remembering the land girls of World War II . Tina . White . 11 May 2019 . Manawatu Standard . Stuff.co.nz . 7 March 2020.

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