Records of YMCA work in New Zealand

The first YMCA in New Zealand was founded in Auckland in 1855 by a group of young men who had attended a lecture on the London YMCA and its influence. Its work expanded rapidly, and by 1861 had spread to Dunedin with bible study and prayer groups. The activities later expanded to include public evangelical services. The Christchurch association was founded in 1862 as a group which met for religious fellowship, prayer and bible study. It later grew to include educational classes, athletics and lectures in its activities. A fourth association was established in Taranaki in 1881. From the beginning these associations worked closely with the YMCAs in Australia. The first joint conference was held in Sydney in 1877; at the second in Melbourne in 1880 Australia and New Zealand adopted the Paris Basis, a group of principles guiding the actions of and relationships between individual YMCAs.

In 1886 the National Council of the YMCAs of Australia and New Zealand was formed and affiliated with the World alliance of YMCAs. This council continued to supervise the affairs of both countries until 1916 when New Zealand withdrew from the joint council and formed its own national body. In 1918 for the first time The National Council of Australia and the National Council of New Zealand met separately.

During World War I the New Zealand YMCA participated in an international YMCA war work campaign which sought to minister to sufferers on both sides of warring lines. The New Zealand Red Triangle, a YMCA war relief program, followed its troops to the front lines and worked primarily in England and France alongside other national YMCAs such as the North American YMCA and the English YMCA. The New Zealand YMCA Trench Comfort program made distribution of necessities and comfort items to trenches possible during warfare. Trench huts offered libraries, games, gramophones among other luxuries. They attempted to secure as much comfort as possible for the fighting men. The New Zealand Prisoners of War Department controlled the dispatch of parcels in order to control the overlapping and waste of materials which had been taking place. New Zealand troops overseas also interacted within YMCA camps in France and Cairo, Egypt, among other places, making connections with English and United States YMCAs who were running the YMCA soldiers huts there.

New Zealand YMCA programs also included work with youth, recreation, sports, service clubs, camping and community work. Mobile gymnasiums and trucks enabled the New Zealand YMCA to extend physical education and recreational facilities to new housing areas.Family nights were regular features of many New Zealand YMCAs and some associations had women’s auxiliary groups.

In 1962 Western Samoa, a colony of New Zealand, gained its independence. The New Zealand YMCA supported the development of a Western Samoan YMCA branch. The American Samoa YMCA and the Western Samoa YMCA worked together through the World Alliance of YMCAs, YMCA World Service, the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs, and through the cooperation of The New Zealand YMCA and the North American International Committee of YMCAs, their parent associations. The United States YMCA International and the New Zealand YMCA collaborated on many projects for Western Samoa and the United States Agency for International Development also assisted with rural and youth development programs. In the 1980s, self-support funds and a Food For Future program for South Pacific YMCAs was initiated through this sort of joint effort.

In 1966 the New Zealand National Council of YMCAs opened the first Training Center for full time youth workers to be established in New Zealand, the Youth Leadership Training School. As of 2013 the National Council of YMCAs of New Zealand consisted of 14 local affiliated associations that operated 48 different YMCA centers. The New Zealand National Council adopted four core values, caring, respect, honesty and responsibility, that the individual associations were asked to follow. A common visual standard and national YMCA logo was also adopted as of 2013.

Historical Information largely adapted and quoted from YMCA New Zealand “YMCA National About Us” (www.ymca.org.nz, 2013; retrieved February, 26th, 2013); and from the collection.