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Home < Publications < Our Journals < Kotuitui:New Zealand journal of Social Sciences Online < 2008

Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 2008, Vol. 3: 99–100
1177–083X/08/0302–0099 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2008

PDF file of entire paper: Print-quality (215K)

Kōtuitui

New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online

Book review

The Fabric of Welfare: Voluntary Organization, Government and Welfare in New Zealand, 1840–2005 by Margaret Tennant

Bridget Williams Books, Wellington. 2007. 296 p. NZ$49.99 (paperback). ISBN 9781877242373

This meticulous and well-conceived historical account of the interface between government and voluntary organisations in New Zealand from 1840 to 2005 provides a classic resource for students, scholars, and the wider community. Margaret Tennant has made her name in researching the history of social policy in New Zealand (Paupers and Providers; Past Judgement. Social Policy in New Zealand History (Dalley & Tennant (ed.)), as well as that of social and philanthropic organisations (including the children’s health camp movement) which have been active in creating and shaping contemporary society and our mixed economy of welfare.

Margaret Tennant has also taught the history of social policy to many social work, social policy, and history students over the years. She understands the value of a good grounding in historical information to help contextualise present societal arrangements and at the same time ensure that practices which were once socially accepted are not (mis)judged by present standards.

A unifying thread for this publication is a metaphor concerning fabric and its creation. Tennant herself is an expert seamstress and is as comfortable in the medium of her metaphor as she is in her research and its presentation. This becomes evident if one takes the time to carefully read the unusually long section of acknowledgments. It provides a thought-provoking account of the assistance required by anyone attempting a task as ambitious as this one is. It does more besides. As one keeps reading, a picture emerges of the detailed research undertaken and the resourcefulness of the researcher, not to mention the whereabouts of so many repositories of information, some apparently insignificant in isolation, but together adding to the richness of the whole.

The book is divided into four parts, each with its own version of the metaphor. In the first section, the weaving of the mesh begins in the 19th century, with its British inheritance and the gradual emergence of voluntary agencies, religious as well as secular. In the second section, the dominant strand has to be the State, given the severe effects of war and depression, which necessitated an expanding role for the State in its relationship with the voluntary organisations. In the third section, "partnership or entanglement?", the period of the 1940s to1980s is depicted as one in which the classic welfare state and the voluntary agencies grow and consolidate their roles in the communities they serve; at the same time, the fabric of society is strained by dissension and debate which results in a "refashioning of the social fabric" (p. 126). The fourth and final section is the shortest, and brings us from the late 1980s to 2005, with the metaphor of threads broken, threads re-woven. Tennant depicts the emergence of our now familiar contract culture in which the boundaries between the State and voluntary sectors are reshaped; perhaps we cannot yet know the end of this part of the story.

Each section is presented with its identifying characteristic themes and these have been beautifully illustrated using detailed case studies and images—cartoons, posters, photos, and even a stamp!

This book will be invaluable to students of history and social movements, as well as of social work and social policy. It will fascinate those who have an interest in the organisations, policies, and people mentioned and studied. While displaying her prowess in the use of primary sources, Tennant also refers to a wealth of published resources for anyone eager to delve deeper into the fabric of welfare.

MARY NASH

Massey University