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Kōrero: Divorce and separation

Bone of contention

Image
Bone of contention

Bitter fighting over custody of, and access to, children has been common for divorcing couples. This photo of a couple arguing over their distressed child was used three times in a Wellington newspaper in the late 1970s to illustrate stories about the proposed introduction of the Family Court to handle child-custody disputes and reduce the adversarial nature of these disputes.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1977/2015

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Megan Cook, Divorce and separation – Children and divorce, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/29845/bone-of-contention (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Megan Cook, i tāngia i te 21 April 2011.