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Historical Cause and Effect

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Historical Cause and Effect

Read the short case file, then investigate how causes and effects connect. More than one cause can contribute to an event, and one event can have several effects. Use evidence from the case file and explain your reasoning.

Case file: The 1912 Waihi strike

In 1912, many miners at Waihi in Aotearoa New Zealand belonged to the Waihi Miners’ Union. The union argued for better pay and safer conditions. Mining companies and union members disagreed about wages, workplace rules and the union’s influence. Some workers left the union and joined a new organisation. Tensions rose between the groups. In May, union members stopped work. The strike lasted for months. Police were sent to Waihi, and clashes occurred between strikers and people who supported the new organisation. One striker, Fred Evans, died after being injured during a clash in November. The strike ended soon afterwards, and many miners returned to work under changed arrangements. The event became an important example of conflict between workers, employers and the state.

1.Which statement best describes a historical cause?

A factor that helps bring about an event
A consequence that happens after an event
A date recorded on a timeline
A person who studies the past

2.From the case file, identify two factors that contributed to the Waihi strike. Explain briefly how each helped lead to the stoppage.

3.Match each event or factor to its most direct effect. Write the correct letter beside each number.

1. Miners stopped work in May
2. The strike continued for months
3. Police were sent to Waihi

B. A prolonged dispute developed
C. Mining work was disrupted
A. The state became involved in the conflict

4.True or false? The death of Fred Evans was a cause of the miners’ original decision to stop work in May 1912. Explain your answer using the order of events.

5.Use the four squares to show a cause-and-effect chain from the case file. The first two stages are: disagreement over pay, conditions and union influence → miners stop work. Complete the final two squares with what happened next.

6.Select two effects of the Waihi strike described in the case file.

Police were sent to Waihi
The strike caused the original disagreement over union influence
Fred Evans died after being injured in a clash
The miners’ union was founded in 1912

7.Give one example from the case file where an effect became a cause of a later event. Describe the connection.

8.Which conclusion is best supported by the case file?

The strike had one simple cause and one effect.
Several disagreements contributed to the strike, which then had multiple consequences.
The strike was caused only by the arrival of police.
The events at Waihi had no consequences beyond the mine.

9.A historian says, “The strike ended, so the conflict had no lasting significance.” Use the final sentence of the case file to challenge or support this claim. Explain what it suggests about the event’s wider significance.

10.Write a two-sentence mini-explanation of the Waihi strike. Sentence 1 should describe a cause; sentence 2 should explain an effect and link it to the cause using “because”, “therefore” or “as a result”.