Hard News: When we had hope and change
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The NZ accent, as portrayed in the TVNZ clip, seemed a bit more "English" in 1972 than today? At least among the majority of those speaking on camera?
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Recommend the Voyage for any Wellingtonians interested in a roundup of our situation you won't read in the newspapers. Michele A'Court was also concisely insightful about the topic at the Auckland version. More than entertainment.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
The NZ accent, as portrayed in the TVNZ clip, seemed a bit more “English” in 1972 than today? At least among the majority of those speaking on camera?
Yes. We've discussed that before here. Like many other things, the accent seemed to change around 1980, perhaps because the US and Australia became bigger cultural influences in our lives.
Partly, it's just the fact that we tended to have a "proper" voice for TV and radio, but I think the New Zealand accent has been quite different within out lifetimes.
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Also worth a look is Labour's remarkable cinema / television campaign advertisement from the 1969 election. Admittedly it didn't work quite as well as Labour hoped as they lost the election but in terms of its message, the extraordinary multiple split-screen technique on 35mm film (very innovative for the time) and a catchy song that didn't suck, it marked the start of a new era of political advertising.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/video/labour-party-tv-ad-1969
Labour must have had a great deal of faith in Kirk to keep him as their leader after losing the 69 election. These days losing an election normally means it curtains for the Leader of the Opposition. -
It's incredible looking back that NZ went through five PMs in only three years. Holyoake resigned in early '72 with "Gentleman" Jack Marshall taking over, then Norman Kirk winning the '72 election, with Wallace "Bill" Rowling succeeding him as PM after his deeath in '74, then, of course, Robert David Muldoon trouncing Rowling in '75.
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the accent seemed to change around 1980
An indefinite article is possibly more representative of emerging variants than the definite. Compare Tim Shadbolt/ Helen Clark/ Tom Scott. Jen?
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Tom Scott (baby-boomer cartoonist) and Tom Scott (Gen Y rapper) make an interesting comparison.
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
I think those election ads were the work of young Bob Harvey. They were certainly memorable, and I still know the words. Kirk certainly had charisma. (But also some strange family members). The election system wasn't entirely fair either. Those were the days when it took fewer votes to elect a rural MP - the National Party ones - and it was generally much harder to enrol and have your vote counted. Conscription was a big issue as all 18 year old males were balloted, but couldn't vote. In the 1972 election some of the local anti-conscription activists were arrested and jailed so that they could not vote on election day, and in the event David Shand lost Wellington Central (a National seat) by only a handful of votes.
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linger, in reply to
We’ve discussed [accent in NZ broadcasts] before here.
Specifically, in the discussion on this thread.
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The Norman Kirk government would provide me with an instant answer for one of those on the whole pretty bad "What makes you proud to be a New Zealander" ads - the sending of a frigate to protest French nuclear testing in the Pacific was not only a wonderful piece of showmanship, but the first time I can recall New Zealand having a grown-up, independent foreign policy initiative.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
I think those election ads were the work of young Bob Harvey
Who went on to do the 'Little Olivia' campaign in 1984.
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Sacha, in reply to
"What makes you proud to be a New Zealander"
Yes, funny how that crucial question is not addressed by today's parties.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
. . . the sending of a frigate to protest French nuclear testing in the Pacific was not only a wonderful piece of showmanship, but the first time I can recall New Zealand having a grown-up, independent foreign policy initiative.
The Whitlam Government took a much lower profile, sending an Australian Navy refueling ship to support the NZ action. At around the same time though Whitlam was carrying out a radical liberalising of Australia's abortion laws, something that the socially conservative Kirk refused to countenance in NZ, along with homosexual law reform. Ruth Kirk was a high-profile campaigner for and patron of the anti-abortion lobby.
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mark taslov, in reply to
Tom Scott (baby-boomer cartoonist) and Tom Scott (Gen Y rapper) make an interesting comparison.
True, nice. The clip you posted is a great slice.
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I recall we were going to sing ‘Big Norm’ as a key part of a school production - which not surprisingly got quickly canned when the news came through Kirk had died. The old Kirk house in Hillsborough Tce, Christchurch still stands. In fact we know the owners and are frequent visitors. Much of the older part of the house is little changed from 1974, especially the study.
This was in the day when the PM would take the bus from the airport to get home, satchel in hand, no minder or security whatsoever. How times have changed. My friends display a range of Kirk biographies in the hall including one I think written by Bob Harvey. The occasional (and unexpected) tour group sometimes turn up for a look 'at' or through.
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This was in the day when the PM would take the bus from the airport to get home, satchel in hand, no minder or security whatsoever. How times have changed.
I’d be interested to know when and why the paranoia kicked in.
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Blame the American obsession with security and control + various NZ politicians with an inflated sense of their own importance?
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
This was in the day when the PM would take the bus from the airport to get home, satchel in hand, no minder or security whatsoever.
The one time I saw Kirk was when he was opposition leader, in the Robbers Roost burger bar in Ferry Road, Woolston, collecting a huge takeaway order. At the time I thought that he must have been reasonably well off to afford so many burgers.
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mark taslov, in reply to
Sounds bang on. Under whose leadership did this become the norm?
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Sounds bang on. Under whose leadership did this become the norm?
I'd say Muldoon laid the groundwork for it, particularly during the 1981 Tour.
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Steve Ballantyne, in reply to
but also some strange family members
Oh lord yes – I know this is nothing but the most morbid curiosity – but whatever did happen to that awful John Kirk?
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Mike O'Connell, in reply to
I think John Kirk ended up leaving the country, to where I'm not certain. His brother Bob was a well-respected academic (coastal geographer) and then became one of the best performing regional councillors with Environment Canterbury from 2004 through to when the government brought in Commissioners...but that's a whole different story.
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Martin Lindberg, in reply to
At the time I thought that he must have been reasonably well off to afford so many burgers.
I wonder how many burgers John Key could afford?
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If I recall correctly, John Kirk disappeared in the general direction of the US following incidents – my memory becomes vague here – involving dishonesty and some intemperate opinionating at variance with his role as MP in his late father's seat.
We seem to have done a really thorough job of effortlessly stuffing him down the memory hole, not that he didn't deserve it. But I've just read a short article on the BBC's website about the difficulty of erasing Jimmy Savile from the public record. Perhaps we could teach them a thing or two about creating non-persons?
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
We seem to have done a really thorough job of effortlessly stuffing him down the memory hole, not that he didn't deserve it.
My best recollection of John Kirk's downfall is that he racked up massive debts in ski-related tourism ventures, while flagrantly neglecting his duties as MP for Sydenham. I believe that one of his registered companies went by the title of Been There Done That.
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