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Home , New Zealand Labour Party, Peter Fraser, Walter Nash

CHAPTER SIX

NEW ZEALAND AND THE OCCUPATION OF

Gordon Daniels

During the Second World War His Majesty’s , , , Canada and shared a common seniority in the British imperial structure. All were virtually independent and co-operated in the struggle against the axis. But among these white-ruled states differ- ences were as apparent as similarities. In particular factors of geography and racial composition gave New Zealand a distinct political economy which shaped its special perspective on the . Not only were New Zealanders largely British in racial origin but their economy was effectively colonial.1 New Zealand farmers produced agricultural goods for the mother country and in return absorbed British capital and manufac- turers. Before 1941 New Zealand looked to the Royal Navy for her defence and in exchange supplied troops to fight alongside British units in both world wars.2 What was more, New Zealand’s prime minister from 1940 to 1949 was who had been born and reared in . His dep- uty, , had also left Britain after reaching adulthood.3 Thus political links between Britons and New Zealanders were reinforced by true threads of Kith and Kin which made identification with the mother country especially potent. These economic and political ties were con- firmed by the restricted nature of New Zealand’s diplomatic appara- tus which formed the basis of her view of the East Asian world. New

The author is grateful to the librarian of New Zealand House and Mrs P. Taylor for their help in providing materials for the preparation of this paper. 1 Even as late as 1961 51% of New Zealand’s total exports went to Britain, and the Deputy Leader of the New Zealand , C. F. Skinner, stated ‘Our industries have been built up with the idea of supplying the British market. We have felt that it was almost unpa- triotic to search for new markets elsewhere.’ R. Kennaway, New Zealand Foreign Policy, 1951–1971 ( and , 1972) pp. 81–2. 2 For an introduction to New Zealand foreign policy before 1941 see Ibid. pp. 17–23. 3 Fraser was born at Fearn, Ross-shire, in 1884. He arrived in New Zealand in 1911, J. Thorn, Peter Fraser, New Zealand’s Wartime Prime Minister (London, 1952) p. 13. Nash was born at in 1882, and emigrated to New Zealand in 1909, Robin Kay (ed.) Documents on New Zealand External Relations. Vol. 2 The Surrender and Occupation of Japan (Wellington, 1982) (afterwards cited as DNZER.2) p. 289 f.n.l. For Nash’s wartime views see his New Zealand, A Working (London, 1944). 64 gordon daniels

Zealand had been a signatory of the Versailles Treaty and the League of Nations Covenant but at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack her sole overseas diplomatic office was the High Commission building in London.4 As a result virtually all diplomatic information was provided by London and British officials represented New Zealand throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Yet there was a basis, however indefinite, for the slow emergence of an independent New Zealand foreign policy. From 1926 the Imperial Section of the Prime Minister’s Office had been a miniature foreign ministry, and its leading figure, , was to be a major figure in New Zealand’s wartime and postwar foreign relations.5 By 1943 a Department of External Affairs had been created and diplomatic missions had been opened in Washington and Canberra.6 Furthermore, between the wars, New Zealand had developed distinct reflexes to international affairs which were the direct product of her scale and geography. In the League of Nations she often aligned herself with small powers against Britain, and favoured the imposition of effective sanctions upon Germany, Italy and Japan.7 Such internationalist attitudes were probably strengthened by the rise of the Labour Party in New Zealand’s domestic politics. The rise of Japanese mili- tary power also created fears of a threat from the north and the need for greater protection against a Japanese strike.8 This uneven weave of impe- rial and national attitudes became even more apparent during the Pacific War. The new legation in Washington symbolized the search for a new

4 ‘It was not until 1941 that for the first time we established diplomatic relations with a foreign country – the .’ T. C. Larkin (ed.) New Zealand’s External Relations (New Zealand Institute of Public Administration) (Wellington and London, 1962) p. 32. See also New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, New Zealand in World Affairs Vol. 1 (Wellington, 1977) pp. 13–20. 5 Carl Berendsen (1890–1973) was Permanent Head of the Prime Minister’s Department 1932–43, High Commissioner for New Zealand in Australia, 1943–44, New Zealand Minister in the United States, 1944–48, and Ambassador for New Zealand to the United States, 1948–52. DNZER.2 p. 75 f.n.l. 6 An External Affairs Department had existed as far back as 1919 ‘but its duties had quickly become confined to the Mandate of Western Samoa and hence relations with the League of Nations’, New Zealand in World Affairs. Vol. 1 pp. 12–19, The Department estab- lished in 1943 was designed to fulfil a much broader role. 7 F. P. Walters, A History of the League of Nations (R.I.I.A.) (London, 1952) p. 686, and New Zealand in World Affairs. Vol. 1 p. 17. ‘New Zealand called for League action in support of China; New Zealand urged the League to take up the cause of Republican Spain. New Zealand banned the shipment of scrap iron to Japan as far back as 1936. The policy of appeasement as it was pursued during these years both in Europe and the Far East was vigorously opposed.’ Walter Nash, New Zealand, A Working Democracy p. 36. 8 For a recent survey of pre-war New Zealand-Japanese relations see M. P. Lissington, New Zealand and Japan 1900–41 (Wellington, 1972).