Registering Interest

This study is bookended by two major events in New Zealand’s maritime history. The first is the 1951 waterfront dispute that led to the dissolution of the Waterside Workers’ Union (WWU) and the creation of twenty-six port unions in its place. The second is a mirror event occuring in 2001, where a reconsitituted WWU and two other unions competed for members, leading to widespread protest. Though historians have treated the events leading up to 1951 with interest, little attention has been given t