Story: Suburbs

Women in the suburbs, 1950s

This 1954 government newsreel, promoting the design of houses being built by private developers with state assistance, assumes that women’s main interests are housework and childcare.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Pictorial Parade 28. National Film Unit, 1954

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

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Mark Derby, Suburbs – Life in the suburbs, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/25064/women-in-the-suburbs-1950s (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Mark Derby, published 4 February 2010.