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Story: Government and sport

Learn to swim classes

Video file

After the Second World War the New Zealand government put considerable resources into teaching children to swim. The government provided susbidies for swimming pools and began classes. In this 1947 film we see the Wellington Education Board taking responsibility for teaching 6,000 pupils in local swimming pools. Later the role was taken over by the National Water Safety Council (now Water Safety New Zealand), which received financial support through the Department of Internal Affairs.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 290. National Film Unit, 1947

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

David Green, Government and sport – Support for adult sport, 1937–1972, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/41705/learn-to-swim-classes (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by David Green, published 20 May 2013.