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Story: Auckland region

Savage memorial

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Savage memorial

This profile of Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage appears on his memorial at Bastion Point, where he is buried.

Savage represented Auckland West for the Labour Party from 1919. He led the party to government in the 1935 general election, overseeing radical reforms that created New Zealand’s welfare state. His death in 1940 led to a mass outpouring of grief throughout the country and the building of the memorial.

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How to cite this page

Margaret McClure, Auckland region – Government, education and health, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/15943/savage-memorial (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Margaret McClure, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 August 2016.