Waihi Miners' Strike - Aftermath

Aftermath

Evans was later held by the hardliners up as a hero and a martyr, with Bob Semple saying that Evans had been "doing his duty and should have shot more of them". Despite this, however, many people in the union movement actually moderated their positions after the strike — it had, after all, failed to achieve its goals. The strike also contributed to unity in the New Zealand labour movement — the Socialist Party, which had backed the strike, moved towards merger with the more moderate United Labour Party, which had not. The resultant Social Democratic Party later formed the basis of the modern Labour Party.