Story: Parenting

Happy family, about 1948

Happy family, about 1948

The happy nuclear family was strong in mid-20th-century New Zealand. This poster from 1948 shows a father still in his work clothes helping his older daughter construct a doll's house. The beautifully groomed mother is entertaining the younger daughter. The poster supports a campaign to retain the six o'clock closing of pubs. It suggests that early closing means that men have little time to spend their money on alcohol and instead put it in the family coffers, improving home life as a result. In reality, many men drank as much beer as they could before pubs closed at 6 p.m.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Eph-C-ALCOHOL-Hours-1948-03

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:

Lesley Patterson, 'Parenting - Mothers, fathers and parenting', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/26333/happy-family-about-1948 (accessed 26 April 2024)

Story by Lesley Patterson, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 26 Jun 2018