Before World War II

New Zealand gave full support to British imperialism. Ten contingents of troops were sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War, 1899–1902. The Cook Islands were annexed in 1901. In 1907 New Zealand achieved dominion status. In World War I it furnished troops for the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) expeditionary force. Also, New Zealand occupied Western (German) Samoa, over which the League of Nations gave it a mandate after the war.

In the early 1930's the worldwide economic depression was felt acutely in New Zealand. In 1935 the Labour party, which had promised to create a welfare state, came to power. Under Michael Savage as prime minister and Walter Nash as minister of finance, socialized medical and hospital care was introduced, public works and public housing programs were started, and wage-and-hour laws were enacted. Railways and most of the large coal mines were nationalized, and agriculture, especially dairy farming, was subsidized. A social security system was established in 1938.

Important dates in New Zealand (1900-1950)
1907 New Zealand became a dominion within the British Empire.
1914-1918 New Zealand fought in World War I on the side of the Allies.
1915 Anzacs landed at the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey as part of an Allied invasion of the Ottoman Empire.
1935 The Labour Party won the national election.
1939-1945 New Zealand fought in World War II against Germany.
1947 New Zealand became a fully independent nation.