Exhibition Housing2 - 1970sprotestphotos

Exhibition: Housing

‘Development for people, not for profit’

Tenants support groups and community action grew in the 1970s in response to the shortage of quality rental housing, high rents, unscrupulous landlords and weak government regulation of housing standards.

Photographs

The Wellington Tenants Protection Association (TPA) occupies an empty house. Squats like this aimed to draw attention to the housing shortage, exorbitant rents, squalid conditions and the large number of government and city council owned houses sitting empty.

HILARY WATSON

Denis O’Reilly (second from right) with John Perapa Smith (right) leader of the Wellington Mongrel Mob, negotiate with Wellington Deputy Mayor Ian Lawrence (second from left), on behalf of young squatters in Wellington City Council owned properties on Hopper St. The land was destined for Council housing but the houses were habitable and empty in the meantime.

HILARY WATSON

Tenants Protection Union (TPU, previouslyTPA) pickets Key’s Real Estate in Wellington protesting in response to many tenant complaints of unreasonable non-return of bonds. Patrick Rippin, (right) was later convicted on two charges under the Rent Appeal Act 1973, in a case lodged by tenants with the support of TPU.

HILARY WATSON

Tenants Protection Association protests outside the Homestead Chicken Bar in Newtown, Wellington in September 1974. Frances Acey, pro-housing Newtown community activist (centre) explains that the Hospital Board had leased the site to the company which demolished three houses to build the new chicken bar.

KEITH STEWART

Protesters gather on Wellington’s waterfront outside the venue of a property investment seminar attended by several prominent business people, city councillors and architects.

HILARY WATSON

Residents with Cr David Shand (left) protest outside the 10-storey Williams Development Holdings’ Melksham Towers in Mt Victoria in 1975. Wellington City Council had approved their application for 36 two-bedroom rental flats, which turned out to be upmarket short-term accommodation for business visitors.

HILARY WATSON

Go to Housing photos in Archive