"... The department was born out of the idealism and hope of the Liberal Government of the 1890s when that Government moved to improve the conditions of New Zealander's working lives. Throughout its history the department has touched our lives in many ways and continues to do so today by helping the unemployed into work, facilitating immigration, developing safety in the work place and encouraging the establishment of new businesses. There is a large volume of historical material about the Department. Because it was not possible to cover satisfactorily the entire 100 years in this booklet we have concentrated on the first fifty years. However, a full length history is currently being writen by Dr. Martin. In the meantime I would like to thank him for producing such an interesting scrapbook." -- Foreword