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Story: Economic history

Patriotic postcard, 1939

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Patriotic postcard, 1939

This postcard, issued at the beginning of the Second World War, expresses a national pride in the increase in industrial capacity in New Zealand. The sentiments were consistent with the policy of the Labour government of the time, which sought to encourage manufacturing through the introduction of controls on imported goods in 1938.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: Eph-A-WAR-WII-1938-02

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.

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How to cite this page

Brian Easton, Economic history – Industrialisation, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/24348/patriotic-postcard-1939 (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Brian Easton, published 12 April 2010.