E aweawetia kahatia e te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao ō tātou whakaaro mō te “wā pakanga”.

E whakakitea ana e ngā hōtaka pouaka-whakaata he whāmere e pānui ana i ngā niupepa i runga i te ngākau pōuri, e noho ngātahi ana rānei i te taha o te waerehe e whakarongo ki ngā rongo o te whawhai; he taitamariki tāne e kaikaha ana ki te whawhai, he werawera nō ngā rae o ngā tāngata e mahi tahi ana kia hinga te hoariri.

I waenganui o te tau 1940, i te kake haere ngā Tiamana, ā, ko te āhua nei, i tata a Piritana te hinga.  Nā te nui o te āwangawanga, ka karanga a Kīngi Hōri VI kia karakia ngātahi āna tāngata i te Rātapu, i te 26 o Mei, kia tukuna rātou i te kino.  He ngākau nui tō Piritana ki tēnei rā karakia ā-motu, heoi i Aotearoa nei hoki i kīa ai, i kikī ngā whare karakia i taua rā.

I te tīmatatanga o te Pākanga Tuarua o te Ao i te tau 1939, 1.6 miriona ngā tāngata tōpū o Aotearoa; e 90,000 ngā tāngata Māori. Pērā me ngā tāne, i tonoa ngā wāhine ki te mahi.  E kitea nuitia ana ngā wāhine e mahi ana ki ngā hōtēra, ki ngā wheketere, ki ngā tari ā-umanga hoki.