This thesis considers aspects of both the formal and informal perspectives
of immigration to New Zealand, looking at legislation and the attitudes and the
messages created and sent within a society about migration and their
implications for national identity, a perpetually evolving concept. It proceeds
from the premise that the notion of protection embodied in nationalism
conceivably involved a reluctance to allow immigration in large numbers for
fear that it would endanger employment and living standards, and a concern
that the 'racial purity' of the majority population would be impaired.
The main body is divided into sections, which indicate a racial division between (those who could be considered "white" English-speaking Europeans,
and those who could not), and also two contrasting viewpoints. Section One
presents a study of both the policy and practise of British immigration in the
interwar period. How New Zealand citizens saw their country's role within the
international situation was as important as the perceived skills of individual
migrants. These chapters identify the three main types of immigrant
considered suitable, and their adaption to the New Zealand environment.
Migrants were all different but they were shaped equally by the need to
frame New Zealand's cultural identity. For the purposes of Section Two the
focal point is on those migrants who were conceptually viewed as unsuitable.
It addresses the process by which “aliens" were defined, and unwillingness of
policy-makers to actively help “ aliens" to become assimilated. The implications
of a preconceived idea of The Other are also examined. Ultimately it concludes
that the process of alien immigrant selection on a case by case basis failed to
appreciate the changing dynamics of the international situation. While the
restrictive policies of the 1930s reflected economic concerns, their very rigidity
could not guarantee the “suitability" of immigrants