Publicly accessible
URL: http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/collections.html
copyright 2013, by the Victoria University of Wellington Library
All unambiguous end-of-line hyphens have been removed and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line, except in the case of those words that break over a page.
Some keywords in the header are a local Electronic Text Collection scheme to aid in establishing analytical groupings.
Build your future banking association with the BNZ ... for both Cheque and Savings Accounts.
Bank of New Zealand
Preparations for the rally which will precede the Vietnam protest march to Parliament on Saturday, are almost complete.
The rally will begin at 11 a.m. in the courtyard between Rankine Brown and Easter-field Buildings.
A Blues band, the
They will be supported by folk-blues guitarists including
There will be opportunity for questions and discussion as time permits, but the marchers will leave for Parliament Grounds at 1 p.m.
If the weather is wet, the rally will be held in the main Easterfield Building lecture theatre (E06).
Requires a part-time woman student from September 2. Four hours daily, which must include lunch-hour period. Can continue over long vacation. 90 cents per hour.
Write To The Librarian Box 1190, Wellington
Or Visit The Library
No Telephone Calls Please
The ski tournament is to be held at New Zealand's principal ski area; the only mountain to have double chairs, a gondola, a restaurant, and snow, Coronet Peak—wonderland of the South, mecca for the world's most mediocre skiers.
Tournament begins with training at the weekend of 16 and 17 August. The Grand Slalom is to be held on Monday, the Downhill Tuesday and the slalom on Wednesday. Thursday seems to he devoted entirely to the Beer Slalom. Drinking Horn and Tournament Dinner; the latter being held at the Arthur's Point Pub.
The team's fortunes depend largely on chance—it will win tournament only if the top guns from Otago and Canterbury manage to fall.
Auckland appears to be troubled by the cost of travel to Coronet.
Massey seems to be lauding its men's learn but only
From Christchurch have come vague rumours that the top skiers from last year will have difficulty in retaining their places in the team. They usually have a collection of skiers of uniform ability who can often all finish and win the combined title without outstanding individual results.
Lincoln College's chances cracked with Dave Reid's leg on Coronet two weeks ago.
The Otago team will surely be the strongest. Tony Chance recently won the Southern Districts title and
The women's team boasts
The Victoria ski team has had difficulty in selecting its members and training because of the pitiful snow falls on Ruapchu. Two places will be decided after trials at Coronet Peak.
The pool of probables is quite talented and includes
The women's team of Betlina Pike is sure to be placed in the top three.
The men's team, with
The Students' Association fee may rocket from $13 to as much as $18 as a result of rapidly increasing Student Union and Association needs.
"A fee increase has got to come and it looks like it's got to be a big one", women's Vice-President Candy McGrath told
Students were lucky the fee had been so long kept at its present low level.
But, if they wanted the services the fee provided, they would have to pay for them.
Pressure for an increase is coming from at least five sources: Student Union operations costs, long-term Student Union development needs, Students' Association administration costs, soaring cultural club giant applications, and the desire of some members of the Publications Board for a larger production budget and better technical facilities.
At present, of the 13 Studass fee dollars, five go to the Association's general account, three to Union maintenance, three to a building fund, one to Salient, and one to a trust account.
News that the maintenance allocation was no longer adequate is contained in the proposed 1970 Union budget.
Steeply rising costs and a deteriorating financial situation recently.
But the position will take a drastic turn for the worse when maintenance begins on the current Union extensions.
On the established basis of a 50-50 split between the University and the Association, the. Association contribution will rise from $16,150 this year to $21,405 in 1970.
This recommended budget implied a raise in the Students' Association fee, said Mr.
A raise of only one dollar would barely cover next year's costs and would soon be inadequate if costs continued to rise by about 9% per year.
In addition, development funds were needed for the Union.
The present three dollar Building Fund allocation was committed to paying off the existing building and to furnishing and decorating the extensions.
It would prove quite insufficient to finance further large building schemes which may be necessary by the late 1970s.
One million dollars would not be an exaggerated price for the proposed second Student Union Building in Wai-te-ata Road, an Association Officer told Salient.
Facilities suggested for the second SUB include a squash court and a swimming pool.
The Victoria fee was low by New Zealand standards and very low by Australian standards, Managing Secretary Boyd pointed out.
Apart from Waikato, where few facilities were offered. NZ fees ranged from $16 at Auckland to $21 at Otago.
Anstralian fees ranged from $22 to $72.
Studass President
But early evidence had indicated that a fee raise would be necessary.
The fee could of course only he raised by an amendment to the constitution at a general meeting of students.
S.R.C.-Memorial Theatre, Thurs. 1 p.m.
I found Mr Berryman's reflections on scientific method enormously entertaining and amusing. The bigot's view expressed with enthusiasm always makes a delightful satire on itself—perhaps it was so intended.
However it occurs to me that some readers may have taken the article seriously. (I find it hard to believe that anyone with such an impressive command of the bigger words of our language and such a readable prose style—both of which I envy greatly could possibly hold such inane views.) Thus I feel it may be useful to point out some of the misconceptions upon which Mr Berryman's iconoclastic edifice is based.
Mr. Berryman's first sentence is: "The term scientific refers to a method or a way." This is inadequate. The best way to characterise the sciences is by the logical status of the statements they comprise. These statements are not held to be true nor even susceptible to being proven true; however they may be proven false. Thus there can be no ultimate statements in science; it is logically impossible for science to "arrive at ultimate reality".
The scientist, when confronted with unexplained phenomena formulates an explanatory hypothesis (and this may often require feats of imagination in no way inferior to those of the creative artist); in many sciences the scientist can then test his hypothesis. This process was clearly described by Professor Barber; it involves using the hypothesis to make predictions of what should happen under certain conditions. If these predicted events fail to occur the hypothesis has been falsified; but if they do occur, the hypothesis cannot be regarded as true. The more generally accepted statements, or "laws" of science are those hypotheses which, although well tested, have not yet been falsified.
The political scientist is less fortunate than many of his fellows; he does not have a laboratory in which to run carefully controlled tests of his hypotheses. Mr Berryman's suggestion that they want to use people or countries for experiments is simply ludicrous. However it is clear that this arises from his lack of understanding of the nature of science and the place of scientific method.
When an hypothesis has withstood many and varied experiments it may often be used, with reasonable confidence, to make predictions. Now contrary to what Mr. Berryman might like to believe, human behaviour en masse, is often finite predictable, For a simple example, a brands share of the women's hair spray market follows very closely (but with a small time lag) the brand's relative promotional expenditure; thus the latter can be used to predict the former. Naturally, as he can only use history and not a laboratory for testing his hypotheses, the political scientist's will not be as reliable as the physicist's; but this is no reason to deny their usefulness.
Mr, Berryman's accusation of prejudice on the part of the political scientist, although cleverly argued, is trivial. It is based on a confusion—albeit, a well contrived confusion—between two different applications of the word 'dispassionate'. It is quite possible, and indeed among scientists quite common, for a man passionately interested in his subject, to take a "dispassionate look at the facts". Thus he can have ample motivation and still keep his scientific objectivity.
A further confusion apparent throughout Mr. Berryman's reflections, is between the scientist and the technician. The politician, qua politician, is a political technician, not a political scientist; he implements the more accepted developments of political science. Democracy, communism, and Keynesian monetary theory are good examples.
Yet another confusion is apparent in Mr. Berryman's characterization of the political scientist as one who "'reduces man to a social digit". Of course man is many faceted, and the field of politics is correspondingly complicated. But as Mr. Berryman points out: "analysis is merely a simplification of the political structure to enable men to understand its workings more easily." (Analysis not to be confused with scientific method.) Surely such understanding is desirable.
Many of the major problems facing the world today are political. The political scientist, in promoting a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in these problems, does more than anyone else toward producing their long term solution.
Just fifteen mouth from tomorrow
Ye hazordouf miffion commenceth in the forenoon tomorrow when ye goode shippe "Endeavour" do blast off ye slippe att Plymouthe at ye death-defying speede of sourre (yesse Fourre!) miles per weeke. Breaking free of ye terrtorial wartef of ye Realm ye shippe will heade out toward ye terrifying void of Oceania: Lande of ye griffin and ye dreaded Fofer's Lager. Once ye courfe correctione if made there will be little employment for ye aquanaulf for ye next thirteene monthf fave that of indulging in ye unfavourie feafaring habitf. To witte ye homo sexualitie and ye "Hitting ye Piff" (invented by Sirre F. Drake)
Then when lande iss sighted ye commande shippe wille circumnavigae ye terrain whiche floateth upfidedowne af iff by Magicke!! Donning ye spiked shoes for walking on ye invered surface Cook and Hickf wille leave ye shippe in ye fspecial dinghy and make for ye steaming maff. Af ye dinghy groundeth on ye beach, jamef Cook will put ye recently-discovered megaphone to his sips and point it at ye command shippe, which will be navigating in ever-diminishing circlef under ye hand of Aquanaute Banks who by this time will be verrie piffed, shouting "Ye Cook if in ye Kitchen."
He will then place his right foote into ye hotte poole with ye words"* * * * Kinge George!" Next he wille 'naile ye plaque onto ye nearese native, inscribed with ye words "Ye sections for sale: applie ye secretary of state for ye Colonies Whitehall London W.C.I" After ye short reft periode ye two heroef wille attempt to rape ye Maori maiden. In ye event of this proving impossible. Cook will grab ye handful of pubyckr haire from her lye contingencie sample), stuff it into his cocked hatte and make ye bolte for it. Should there be a hole in ye dinghy at this stage the aquanautf wille be shit out of lucke, verilie.
After "docking" with ye mother shippe ye intripide ambaffadorf of humanitie will face ye boring journie back to Englande and ye perilouf re-entry into ye fogge of Whitby where two million grate tulle citizenf wille not be awaiting theyre arrival.
At foon af Cook ande Hickf frep afshore they will be flung into ye cellarre of ye Herbert Grott Home for ye Difeafed as ye precaution against ye "Poxe Antipodeus Horrenduf". Forty years later they will be released— God willing deade.
—God save ye Kinge!
Sludge
I have found this year's recipient for the best barman of the year award. And how appropriate that he should receive it in the year 1969 Picture a very drunken Tums with an equally drunk Big Mitch in the Battle Bar of the Waterloo. I had just purchased a round when this tart walked in with four letters written figuratively across her forehead. The Big Fella and I were transfixed. No so the barman, as he pushed my sixty-nine cents change towards me.
'"Soixante-neuf, sir?" he enquired.
This Battle Bar is really a first class place. There is the must amazing painting on the ceiling which I interpret as a satire on the fumbling stupidity and profiteering involved in war. After a while it freaks you out. A lovely black bar adds to the charm.
For those who want to strike up a conversation, the barman's name is John. Five points.
* * *
I called in at the public bar of the Grand on Saturday night and listened to the Varsity rugby people. Apologies to
"Good game today."
"Yeah."
"Should beat Onslow next week."
"Yeah."
"Going to a show tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Taking a dolly?"
"Yeah."
"Ho, ho, ho."
"Yeah."
A saving grace is that Waikato beer is on tap, and fairly good meals can be obtained at relatively cheap prices. The barmaids do not like sauce. I don't like the Grand. Two points.
Athough I haven't yet investigated the bars of the Clarendon Hotel in Taranaki Street. I give top marks to the lady in the bottle store. Her male assistant was just wrapping me up a bottle of wine when she asked whether I was drinking it that evening. I said I was, so she went and got me a chilled bottle instead. Very nice touch.
* * *
'The Barrets'. The very name has a romantic flavour to it that smacks of wood panelling and old plus furniture redolant with hazy drinking memories. Names can be deceptive. The Barretts has no such delights. It is just another pub.
But, and this is a most important but, they do have the most extraordinary counter meals served in the Pacific Bar. Served a la Kinks with a plastic knife and fork. Obviously it's plain tack.
But I have never seen such an enormous quantity. Your plate literally runneth over. All for less than 30 cents. Amazing. 3½ points.
* * *
You will have observed that all of this column's action takes place this week in local hostelries, with nary a mention of a restaurant. This is the result of a most unfortunate occurrence which culminated in my being put away ha ha. Even now I get a little upset at the thought of it, but I'll do my best to recount exactly what happened in a clear and impartial fashion.
I am a great believer in not interfering with the immutable laws of nature, one of which is gravity. Whenever I drink in a pub with more than one floor. I always start at the top, and sort of flow down naturally to the lower ban, and so it was when I Returned To The Royal Tavern.
I started upstairs in the Royal Room. I managed to stay upright during the 20 minutes or so that I waited for a drink, and sat down on a rock hard red and black chair at a red and black table with no ashtray. Sokay, I look round cautiously and there are all these polystyrene foam knights hanging from the wall staring blankly back at me. One of them was missing a leg. This half-hearted attempt at making cripples feel at home also had a cigarette butt tucked in the crook of his arm. So. These have got to be the biggest ashtrays in the Southern Hemisphere.
My stomach told me that it was time in switch to another bar, so I wandered downstairs to a bar which contained no foam knights, but which the management in their wisdom have called the Knights' Bar. The orange and purple decor could have been chosen for an entirely different sort of person than the ones who drink there, but I rather fancy it is just bad taste. The chairs at least looked mure comfortable here. My fundament soon informed me that the opposite was the ease. They do have a most friendly and chatty barmaid. But I was starting to feel distinctly paranoid at this stage, so I went down to the Dungeon Bar.
I really can't adequately describe the revolting brickwork with which this bar is lined. It is just incredibly bad, and is beginning to come away from the walls. The seats here have their upstairs counterparts beaten hands down when it comes to discomfort. I determined to have one beer and depart. So I got my beer and sat down. It was [hen that it happened. I looked up and there was the spook out of the Wizard of Id just sitting there chained to the wall. I don't quite know what happened after that. I vaguely remember being trussed up screaming into the alleyway which leads to the dart board by two knights in white coats and having a clothes peg clipped neatly onto my tongue and then everything goes blank. I don't think I'll go back to the Royal Tavern again.
Yours till the walls pad.
Editor:
Layout and design:
Assistants:
Contributors:
Reviews:
Typist:
Photographers: Murray Victors (editor), Peter Craven, Peter McLeod.
Secretary:
Business Manager:
Advertising:
An editorial scholarship from Rothmans is made available annually.
This is to be regarded as one of the sporting spheres where Victoria should perform well and can be given an extremely good chance of coming out on top again.
The men's team in particular has an extremely well performed membership. From veterans.
The women's team of
Victoria's men's team has had a fairly successful season in Wellington this year, winning the 'C' grade championships.
Tournament chances look to be quite promising this year.
In addition the men's team has been strengthened by the inclusion of fresher
The women's team comprises
Strongest opposition is expected to come from Auckland with Otago also expected to be a force
Traditionally Victoria has finished among the top two teams in past tournaments and this has been due in no small degree to the solid core of experience players who have been available.
This year the situation is very different with a team of relatively inexperienced players.
So unless something untoward happens one cannot see the Soccer team performing as well as in past years.
Victoria's tentative team is:
On the basis of Victoria's success in the local competition this season, it could be expected that the team would do well at Tournament.
But several key players are unable to make the trip south to Dunedin.
This will considerably weaken the team and lessen its chances of success.
Also, there will not be any easy games either as the other competing university sides have, all had considerable success in local competition.
Victoria's tentative team is:
• Main Report, P. 14.
Barry & Sargent Ltd. Opticians
118 Willis St. - Tel. 45-841
Victuallers
Reginald Collins Ltd.
Wholesale wine and spirit people. Vintners to the Student's Association. Carry stocks of all brands of ale, spirits, table wine (from 55c), sherry in flsgons ($1.60) or quart bottles,
Free Delivery—Cellars located at
No. 3 Ballance Street
(Customhouse Quay end)
Daysh, Renouf & Co.
Members Wellington Stock Exchange
National Mutual Centre
Featherston Street
Tel. 70-169
Downstage Theatre Cafe
At the Star Boating Club
Peter Shaffer's
" The White Liars" "Black Comedy"
Directed by
Dinner 6.45 - Show 8.15
All Reservations 559-639
86 Upland Road Butchery
*
For The Best Meat
Sports The Sports Depot
(Witcombe & Caldwell)
Long-standing connection with University sport. Every one of Vic's 24 sports catered for.
Suit Hire
•
Ralph Wilkins
Corner Manners and Farish Streets
Hotel St. George The "Seven Seas Bar"
Best in New Zealand
• Nearest to University.
• Modern, comfortable surroundings.
• Cool, bright, fresh beer on tap always.
• Food available from our "Food Bar", 11.45 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.
• Mixed drinking—all facilities.
Entrees, Cold Buffet,
Vegetables, Hot Pies
H. W. Moss Ltd.
Wholesale Wine and Spirit Merchants
89 Thorndon Quay
Open Saturdays
a speech by Duncan Innes President of the National Union of South African Students
Some people may wonder why I as a student, have chosen a topic such as this for my talk today; these people may ask why as students we are concerning ourselves with our country and not concentrating on our studies.
To these people I would say that I believe firmly that a university can only reflect the aspirations of the society in which it exists and thus to study the one without the other is to do only half the job. Each one of us here will shortly be leaving out university to take our places in out society, and it is, therefore, imperative that we are aware of the stale and health of that society, Furthermore, with the present political trend in South Africa, students stand clearly in the political spectrum of our society and so a proper understanding of the society in which they operate is essential.
But first let us analyse briefly our own position—the position of the student in South Africa. For example, how many students are there studying at universities in our country?
Last year, in 1968, there were 74,330. Of these students the racial breakdown was as follows:
Whites, 65.745: African, 1530; Asiatic, 3219; Coloured, 3836.
Total non-whites, 8585.
That means that of the total percentage of students studying at institutions of higher learning in South Africa last year, only 11.5 per cent were non-white, and of that percentage 3 per cent were Africans.
Why, we must ask ourselves, is the rate of education of the non-white and particularly the African so low? The Government submits again and again that it is doing all it can to increase educational facilities for the non-White. They point to the establishment of the University College of Zululand, of the University College of the North, of the University College of the Western Cape, and they cry, "look what we are doing for the non-White!" and indeed, giving credit where credit is due, we will admit that the establishment of three non-While colleges, which are now almost fully-Hedged universities is a fine record. But then we study the enrolment figures at these institutions and we sec that:
In 1960 the U.C.W.C. had 161 students, and in 1968 it had 669 students, an increase of 508 students.
We see that in 1960 the U.Z. has 41 students, and in 1968 it had 368 students, an increase of 327 students.
Then we look at Fort Hare and sec that in 1960 Fort Hare had 360 students, and in 1968 it had 451 students, an increase of 91 students.
These figures we feel do not denote great progress, but giving the Government the benefit of the doubt, we presume that universities simply grow slowly, so we look at the White universities to see how they have increased their enrolment in the same eight years.
We note that Natal increased by 2008; Wits by 3081; U.C.T. by 2058; Potchefstroom by 1547; Pretoria by 4103; Stellenbosch by 2735.
It would seem that, from these figures, the Government is doing all it can to improve the standard of white education in South Africa, while neglecting the non-Whites almost entirely.
But Mr
We sec that in Sub A there are 580.533 African children. But by the time we reach Matric we see that there are only 2075.
Why is there this tremendous drop, we ask?
The answer is very simple, some Government source informs us. They just can't keep up. They just don't have the brain-power to match us Whites.
But what he doesn't tell us is that the ratio in these classes is I teacher to 58.8 children.
What he doesn't tell us is that the reasons why there are more children per teacher this year than there were last year is because an African teacher gets paid less than half the salary of a white teacher with equal qualifications. He doesn't tell us that a non-white artisan with a Junior Certificate can get a larger salary than a teacher with a Senior Certificate and 2 years' training. For the non-While, where is the incentive to teach? This is why last year there were 1570 teaching vacancies among non-Whites.
Our helpful Government sources will forget to tell us as well that although books are free at Government Schools for While children, non-While children have to pay for theirs.
He also won't tell us that the parents of most of these youngsters live in abject poverty, and that they just cannot afford to let their children go on educating themselves. They have to go out and work or the family will starve.
And then, we look at the overall hard facts, and we see that out of an African population of 12,750,000 in 1967 only 17.49 per cent were at school. That is 2 million children. Of these 2 million, over 1 million, or more than half, are in Sub A. Sub B. Std. I and Std. 2.
Thus, although the Minister of Bantu Education can proudly claim that 78 per cent of African children receive schooling, he forgets 10 mention that less than 39 per cent ever get over Std. 2 and in fact that only .08 per cent ever reach Matric.
If, despite all these facts and figures, our learned Government source still tries to tell us as they do, that the Government it doing all it can for non-White education in South Africa, then we must ask him one last question. How much money per pupil is spent on education? His own answer will destroy him.
In 1960, which was the last time the Government issued these comparative figures, R144.57 was spent per white child; R59.13 was spent per coloured child: R12.46 was spent per African child. I need not continue with this topic.
The education of the non-White, and particularly the African, in South Africa, is a myth and a lie. It is something the Government can proudly point to when it is questioned in the United Nations, but when one delves into the intricate cobwebs of half-truths one is confronted with the painful truth: the Government docs not want to educate the Black man.
Those who do manage an education, those who gain Matric, those who go on to get degrees and to become doctors are men and women whose courage and determination it is not easy to match. Like the medical student, who this year applied for a NUSAS scholarship, He had just completed his second year. He had obtained two second class passes. A truly remarkable achievement. I asked him where he lived. He said he shared a one-room shack with a friend. Wasn't it awkward, I asked, if one of them wanted to work at night and the other wanted to sleep with a light shining in the room There was no light, he said, they had no electricity. But how do you work at night, I asked? By candle-light, he said.
But now, we should ask ourselves why should the Government not wish to do all it can to educate the African and thus enable him to raise his own standard of living? Surely, we would expect any rational government to plough as much money as possible into the education of the poor so that in this way the poor may be better equipped to enter new and better jobs, thus earn larger salaries, raise healthier, better educated families, and surely in this way, with more and more educated men and women entering our professions our whole society would be enriched and would prosper economically. But this is not the policy of our present Government and to understand why, we must look at the whole political situation.
The policy of South Africa at the moment is one where the White group has economic and political control of the country, and they do not intend to let it go.
Now the question arises, if the While group who have this power, do not intend to lose it, what are they going to do with the majority of the people? The White group feels that whatever it does with these people it must ensure three things:
Firstly, that the policy has some form of moral justification; secondly, that it is economically sound: and thirdly that it won't involve any loss of power from the Whites.
And with those three aims in mind, the late Dr Verwoerd produced the doctrine of separate nations.
He said we will give the Africans their own nations in which they can have full rights of citizenship. But obviously since we, the whites, have already developed certain sections of South Africa for ourselves, we will give the Africans those sections that are still largely under-developed so that they can develop those sections for themselves.
Of course, those sections that are still underdeveloped only amount to 13 per cent of the total land space of South Africa, but after all there are only 16 million of them and 4 million of us, he said. And anyway, we can't be expected to give up what we have developed.
But, said his critics, what will happen when these Black nations develop and grow economically and politically powerful? Won't they then be a threat to us? 1 think Dr Verwoerd just smiled.
Because he knew it was all a mammoth hoax.
He knew that the Bantustans were agriculturally semi-impoverished, industrially useless and economically unable to pay for themselves. Ho knew that the Bantustans could never ever hope to absorb all the Africans in the Republic. There could never he enough work.
Dr Verwoerd said, and Mr Vorster says, that the Africans will gradually return to the Bantustans as they develop and thus the need for more workers is found.
But let us look at the Government's biggest showcase, the Bantustan which has already survived 5 years of so-called self-government— the Transkei.
The Transkei consists of 16,000 square miles. It has an African population of 1.4 million. Thirteen years after the Tomlinson Report, which was the first blueprint from which Dr Verwoerd worked—13 years after this report claimed that in 25-30 years the Transkei would be able to support 10 million Africans, we find that it cannot even support 1.4 million. There are 3 factories in the Transkei and they employ less than 2000 Africans. There are only 32,700 Africans employed in the Transkei and in another 12-17 years, according to the Tomlinson Report, employment must be found for 10 million. Today we learn that the Tomlinson Report is inaccurate. By the year 2000 there will be 9 million more Africans in South Africa than the Report bargained for.
But we ask, what happens to those Africans who cannot find work in the Transkei and the other homelands? They return to the Republic as migrant labourers.
And so now we sec how the great scheme really works. The homelands can never become self-sufficient.
Last year the Transkei had a total budget of R20 million. From its own sources, the Transkei raised R4.5 million. The balance comes from our generous Government. I am sure that should Chief Matanzima ever wish to do anything with which Pretoria were dissatisfied, Pretoria might discover that there were certain difficulties involved in handing over the R15.5 million so necessary for the Transkei's very survival.
Thus we see that the Bantustans, because they can never be economically self-sufficient, can never ever be politically independent. And, although they can have all the trappings of independence, such as a Prime Minister, Cabinet, elections, etc., you can be sure that they will never be able to acquire such natural rights of any nation, as for example, an army, albeit for self-defence. As long as the Bantustans rely on the South African Government for their funds, which they must forever do—they can never support themselves, and therefore, they will never be politically independent. Thus the White's third aim, that they should lose none of their power is realised, while their first aim that their policy should also have a seemingly moral justification is theoretically realised to the lazy or indoctrinated thinker—for "one day", we are told—not in his life-time. Mr Vorster tells us—but one day, these nations will be free.
And, of course, we mustn't forget that the policy must be economically sound, too, which was, you will recall, our second requirement, So we have an African population unable to find work in the homelands drifting back into the Republic and supplying a constant labour force for our mines and factories. And they will go on doing this because they need work for food and we will go on receiving cheap labour and our economy will grow and grow and requirement number two has been met. Of course, we don't allow these men to bring their wives and children, because we don't need them to work, and if these men grumble about poor wages we simply sack them because our system is so sound that we know that there are millions more who are so hungry that they will work for any amount of money, no matter how small.
It is a depressing picture. It is a picture of a cunning system that is so evil and so selfish that one wonders that human beings could ever have evolved it.
It is a system that forces over 600,000 people in Soweto to live in 70,000 houses. That according to the official Government figures, 9 people per 3-roomed house.
It is a system which orders 33.000 Coloured people to be evicted from their homes in District 6 at a time when there is already a shortage of 30,000 Coloured homes in the Cape Peninsula alone—at a time when 15,00C Coloured people in the Cape are waiting for homes and 66,000 are inadequately housed. These are official Government figures.
It is a system which evicts these people from their homes because, in the words of the Minister of Community Development, Mr
It is a system which causes a man to say, "I do not weep for the non-White; I weep for the White."
It is a system which allows the homes of 170 Coloured people to be bulldozed down and then leaves them sitting for two weeks on the roadside . . . without shelter. A 90-year-old man and a 2-month old baby, we read, shared a ditch.
It is a system which enables the homes of 1746 Coloured people, to be bought by the Government and resold to Whites, with the Government accruing a total profit of R6.8 million and this after official Government sources inform us that 60 per cent of the Coloured people are poverty-stricken.
It is a system that allows in one year for 12,000 cases of malnutrition diseases among African babies, 700 among Coloured babies and 9 among Whiles. According to population ratios, these figures should be Whites 9, Coloureds 4 and Africans 36.
It is a system that allows 50 per cent of all African children born alive to die before they reach their 5th birthday.
It is a system which allows the Minister of Community Development to stand up and say that the Indians in South Africa must branch out willingly from Commerce or the Government will force them out. "They must branch out into other occupations", he said, "and become clerks, road workers and fitters and turners. This will be done", he concluded, "not only in the interests of South Africa, but also in the interests of the Indian community."
It is a system that caused the horrors of Limehill and Stinkwater This is a description of a Government resettlement camp, Stinkwater, which lies 35 miles from Pretoria, and into which the Government has forced thousands of Africans to move. It is written by one who was there, and it appeared in the Rand Daily Mail.
"It consists of corrugated iron shacks, mud huts and wooden houses. Hundreds of the slum dwellers have been infected with a sxourge of skin diseases. Scores of children had bloodshot eyes accompanied by a discharge of tears. A medical practitioner said the children were showing symptoms of trachoma, which could lead to blindness. Other children had their heads covered with ringworm. Some of them found it difficult to play because of swollen limbs."
But in case you're feeling depressed, don't worry, because "there is one nurse in the area", and as far as sanitation goes, "a borehole is open for 4 hours a day."
But what did this place look like, we wonder, when the Department of Bantu Administration and Development forced these people to move there and said "this is your homeland"? We don't know what it looked like then but 6 months after these people had been there in the middle of winter, we know what it looked like. There were no schools, no stores and no clinic. The people lived in tents. There was one hand pump for water which was used by over 400 people.
It is only fair, however, to present the other side of the picture too, and 3 months later there had been improvements. There was half a school, an old shack for a store, a motor-driven pump, but still no clinic. That is progress.
Most of the men who live at Stinkwater work in the cities during the week, and only come home to see their families over the weekend. Those who do come home every day arrive home by bus at 9 p.m. and have to be up at 3 a.m. to catch the bus to the city at 4 a.m. The bus fare is 45c. per day single, and R4.40 a month. In addition, money is, of course, needed for clothes and food. There are no toilets provided at all.
Then there is Limehill, where many people have died. In October of last year an epidemic broke out there, and a letter was sent to the Minister of Health, Dr
On December 10th, the Minister issued a statement saying conditions at Limehill were normal. In only three months, from September to December, out of a population of 6000, only 19 people had died.
On December 21. Archbishop Hurley visited the area and claimed that he had evidence that between October 1 and December 10 at least 45 people had died. He informed the Minister of Health. The Minister then issued a statement admitting that in 5 months 73 people had died, but this, he said, was also normal.
If 19 deaths in 3 months is normal, and 73 deaths in 5 months is also normal, then 1 shudder to think what the Minister would regard as abnormal.
At this stage dozens of pressmen were converging on the area to attempt to ascertain the truth. The Minister was quick to slap a ban on any pressmen from visiting the area. But he could not slop members of Parliament from going there, and he could not slop doctors from going there.
Eventually, after 35 deaths had occurred in 2 weeks, the state ordered innoculations and set up medical "checkpoint". The Natal Regional Director for State Health issued the following statement: "We have established contact with the disease. The picture is not entirely clear, but it is apparently the result of insanitory conditions."
A spokesman for the Stale Health Department said that between 15 and 20 per cent of the children at Limehill have contracted gastro-enteritis and the disease is spreading to adults. But he added, "this is quite normal at this time of the year because of the heat and the flies."
What really happened at Limchill, we will probably never know, for while people died, the Government banned the Press from going there, while people died, the priests who tried to save them were interrogated again and again by the Special Branch, and while people died, While South Africa went about its business.
What we do have, though, is the report of four doctors who did voluntary medical work in the area before the Government went in and who delivered a "factual account" of their findings.
Between December 28 and January 19, 760 patients were examined at one clinic. The size of the community which that clinic served was 2000.
Fifteen of these patients were pregnant. What, we might ask, may have happened to those people if those doctors had not voluntarily gone there to treat them? One of the diseases mentioned was typhoid. Of this disease the doctors say "it spreads in conditions of poor hygiene."
"In a normal, healthy community," the doctors continue, "the acceptable incidence of typhoid is nil. Thus in a community the size of Limehill. 8 confirmed and 4 suspected cases would in any medical sense be called very serious."
"Diarrhoea", the doctors continue, "was the commonest reason for consulting us. Just over 50 per cent of all the patients who came had these complaints. It is most serious in babies and young children who form a very large percentage of the cases. Sudden deterioration and death may occur within hours."
The doctors continue: "From the disease we saw, it is self-evident that the water and waste disposal facilities were inadequate." They conclude: "We understand that the men are, to a large extent in other areas. We would indicate that this is unsatisfactory and a further factor in continuing the vicious cycle of disease, poverty, ignorance, disease."
This report was published before the Lime hill debate began in Parliament. Let us see what occurred there.
Dr de Wet said that in one year there were 18 cases of typhoid and asked what was so abnormal about that. He went on to criticise the United Party, the Press and all those who had attacked Limchill as being "enemies of South Africa".
Another Government spokesman, amid roars of Nationalists laughter, said that he thought everyone was making a mountain out of a Limehill.
But not all Nationalist comments were sickly witticisms. Sometimes they tried to defend it. There are 2 ambulances available which come in from outside, they cried, and a district surgeon visits the clinic once a week, and there is one district nurse on duty all the time. But there are 6000 to 8000 people there and they are spread over many miles. There are no proper toilet facilities, only a pit system. And there is not one house.
But, shouted the Government M.P.'s, these conditions are due to the fact that the people there have done nothing about them. They had, after all, been supplied with tents and equipment to dig pit latrines when they were originally dumped there. It was Dr Radford, the United Party M.P., who pointed out that there were no men there—they were working in the cities. "Surely," he said, "you don't expect women with babies on their backs to dig 20 feet latrines in the hard soil of Northern Natal?"
Dr Radford went on to say that of the many cemeteries in the area, he had only visited two, and he had counted 40 graves, not 19 as the Minister had said. He had been shown 750 medical cards of the children suffering from gastro-enteritis. And amid jeers and catcalls from Government benches, he added: "And if you want the names on the graves, I will show them to you."
And so the tragedy of Limehill was laughed out of Parliament and the Minister of Health refused to set up a commission to investigate it. We will never know how many people died there. Some people say they have seen hundreds of graves, the Minister has only seen 19, We will probably never know how many hundreds of other Limehills have occurred, are occurring, and are going to occur, and perhaps it is just as well, for as the Nationalist Party newspaper, the Transvaler so aptly put it:
"Limehill was never presented as a utopia to the thousands of outcasts who were shifted there, although it undoubtedly must have seemed like one to many of them. The areas offers reasonable living conditions, and the residents are happy because their living conditions there are infinitely belter than the places they come from."
Yes, it is true, the residents are happy. Their happiness is the eternal stillness of the grave. But their passing was not a happy one, their last desperate agonies were not happy, and their deaths have labelled South Africa with a terrible guilt.
The guilt for those deaths lies with the Nationalists who jeered and lied to smother the truth.
The guilt lies with the public that didn't care.
The guilt for those deaths lies with you and I who read the newspaper reports, shook our heads in horror, and then threw the newspaper aside.
The guilt, fellow-students, is ours, because we have done nothing.
I have touched very lightly on the topic of apartheid. I have revealed certain horrors and certain injustices, but I have only scratched the surface. Beneath the surface lie a million further tragedies—human tragedies, all of them. Tragedies of discrimination of despair of selfishness.
The tragedies of over 12 million Africans who must carry passes with them like dog licences for fear that they, like dogs, will be impounded. The tragedies of 72,936 Africans who have been uprooted from their homes and forced into barren resettlement areas. The tragedies of 92.5 per cent of an Indian group of 99,000 who have been affected by Group Areas. And these, Mr Chairman, are just the facts and figures. They are statistics, Government official statistics, and they cannot tell of the many other horrors that are caused by this system.
They cannot tell of the terrible harm that malnutrition does to the mind and body; they cannot tell of the destruction of minds and personality which the horrors of Limehill perpetrate, they can only record the deaths. It is impossible to estimate the drunkenness, the poverty, the prostitution, and other vices which this system forces onto the people who are subjected to it. Our only knowledge that this sort of thing occurs is when we see the battered tramp in rags staggering drunkenly down our dity streets only to be hurled burtally into the back of a waiting police van. And then the reaction of the White population is as certain as ever: "You wouldn't want your daughter to marry one of those, would you?"
This is a story of a people with no rights and no future. This is the story of South Africa today.
And behind this lamentable story lies a quiet philosophy. A philosophy which the rulers of our land name nurtured and long cherished. It is the philosophy which today steers South Africa on its present course. It is the philosophy which has entrenched itself in our society, our heritage, our way of life. For the last 15 years young South Africans have been subjected to Christian National Education, which pervades our school textbooks and governs the order of our thinking.
But what is it? What is this Christian Nationalism?
I could not define it better than did our own Prime Minister. Mr
"We stand for Christian Nationalism which is an ally of National Socialism. You can call this anti-democratic principle dictatorship if you wish. In Italy it is called Fascism, in Germany, German National Socialism (or Nazism), and in South Africa Christian Nationalism."
Results: The West's biggest military complex for thermonuclear purposes outside the U.S., less than 1,000 miles from New Zealand and approaching fast (Omega) or even established (Woodbourne, Mr. John).
The main difference between radicals and liberals is that the former see things more in objective terms; they can draw a dividing line. Liberals on the other hand, because they seek essential consenus in the polity, find it hard to draw lines. They also play by a set of rules, and they rely upon all men accepting these; this makes them vulnerable to any rule-breakers.
Thus, politics being the art of the possible, liberals are thereby either all-time losers, or liberalism is irrelevant. Or both. In the advance of the military political-industrial complex to greater power, in the while Pacific Dominions, liberals have not been a counter.
In Australia and New Zealand liberals can often be heard disparaging explicitly anti-communist pacts such as SEATO, while the other major anti-communist alliance both countries belong to, ANZUS, is treated with flippancy, or ignored, ANZUS was a child of the Cold War at its height, a product of the pre-missile era. The delicate equilibrium of the missile balance of terror at that time had yet to come: when it did the apparent usefulness of ANZUS as part of the defence perimeter of containment was rendered largely obsolete.
To recapitulate. ANZUS has always been regarded as a
"kind of double indemnity policy for the contracting parlies, an insurance to Australia and New Zealand against the resurgence of Japanese militarism, remote though that possibility might be, and an insurance to the Untied States against the loss of or any threat to Japan." (1)
On this basis, there seemed to he something in it for New Zealand and Australia if Japan after 1951 could be considered a real danger. It was held as the least the Pacific Dominions could settle for. As Nash said of ANZUS:
"On the evidence, it does not seem much. It has not the same bite in in clauses as have the clauses in the North Atlantic Treaty." (2)
Australian and New Zealand accepted the "soft peace" with Japan of 1951 since the United State, was allowing part of its skirt to protect them. This view, however, does not take into account the other security treaties the U.S. signed at that time: the mutual security treaties with the Philippines, and Japan itself. These other agreements first make clear the real meaning of ANZUS.
The three interlocked with the Japanese Peace Treaty, and, "by a unique westward extension of the Monroe Doctrine, the Untied States declared her intention to defend a ram part of islands and territories stretching from north to south in the Pacific Ocean, and to create machinery to effectuate this purpose." (3)
The sequence of events leading to ANZUS and the rest of the package deal (later 10 include treaties with South Korea and Formosa, as well as SEATO) included Korea and the extension of the Cold War 10 the Pacific in 1950, and the emergence of China as a formidable socialist and military force in Asia.
Anzus is, then a strong unit in the anti-communist alliance. In this there was advantage to America in being assured of the actual or possible use of bases or territorial facilities.
But this is not evident on first reading Anzus, for neither bases nor installations are mentioned. What has happened is that the treaty has given new life: Australia and New Zealand signed into the U.S. power system, "and this imposes obligations on us. . . ." (4). Mr. Gorton now says the treaty
"provides that we shall co-operate in the establishment of installations to help our joint defence. Under Article 2 we have an obligation jointly to maintain and develop our collective capacity to resist armed attack." (5)
Results: The biggest military comple for thermo-nuclear purposes outside the United States less than 1,000 miles away and approaching fast (Omega) or even established (Wood-bourne, Mt. John).
You don't have to he a radical or activist to not like it; you might have to be to take action against it.
In Australia, the government credibility gap is not assisted by Americans who can't help telling the truth. And it was this that brought into focus the eighteen U.S. installations in Australia, and brought their purpose to the light; something which was not the intention of the Australian government, or Opposition. The "trade journals" of U.S. space and electronics people revealed it all—like Omega.
There are several questions arising from the Australian situation which must be asked in New Zealand now, before Omega is sited in Canterbury, or at East Cape (another site, which you weren't told about). These questions include the accountability of Government to people and Parliament, whether secrecy should close off debate, the cost (militarily) of such complexes, and why the U.S. has chosen these allies for this purpose. Radicals might ask these questions; liberals will probably die close-lipped.
Surely an independent government in the western alliance would not quietly sign away rights over 10 square miles of its own territory for a U.S. defence project of which the public knew nothing? Australia did just that and while Messrs. Gorton and Fairhall invoked Anzus as a cover, their actions were either those of knowing men acting knowingly, or stupid men agreeing naively.
"These questions are for too important to be left to Ministers and their official advisers, more particularly as none of the latter have training or experience in the analysis of nuclear strategy."
This signing away was for the Pine Gap missile site 12 miles from Alice Springs, being erected and operated under the strictest security by the U.S. and Australia at a cost of $225 million. Like the Woomera base, it has rare and delicate reconnaissance, hacking and control equipment, for military use.
From the North-West Cape Communications Station (for craft in the Indian Ocean) through Pine Gap, and Cooby Creek in Queensland, to Tidbinbilla. Orroral Valley and
Must the bases have military purposes? Mr Gorton, commenting on the need for secrecy on these bases, said:
"If the advice of military leaders and military scientists is that little or no information should be given he-cause it would help a potential enemy then we should accept this advice...." (7)
Of course the ability to draw the dividing lint between military and non-military projects (or bases) is rare. Our Tasman neighbour is deeply involved in a number of U.S. satellite and space projects. Even rockets for meterorogical research imply a capability for sending nuclear explosives beyond the atmosphere.
"The interpenetration between American business and Government, including defence, is both deep and complex. There is a wide area . . . which is neither clearly and solely military nor equally clearly non-military. . . . The very decision on what is solely military, what is and is not restricted information, is very much a matter of administrative judgment." (8)
In a mailer which a Government deems so vital, New Zealand has yet to see the principle of accountability ignored (perhaps Woodbourne is the exception?), but the Gorton Government seems to have lost any sense of accountability to people or Parliament. Statements are obfuscating, so that Mr Gorton says:
"The question to be resolved is: Do we believe that the Anzus Treaty is tralia ? If we do believe that, we have an obligation to assist the defensive capability of the United States, which is underwriting not only our security but the security of many nations." And Mr Fair-hall:"Australia has a clear obligation under the Anzus Treaty to agree to the U.S. request. It is a contribution to our own and the joint defence of the free world." (9)
Cold War platitudes in the missile era: not an explanation of the nature of a base. Today this can be seen as a clear surrender of national independence in return for (hopefully) an ultimate guarantee of security. What do I mean?
Accountability is at the heart of the democratic process, and yet the implications of The Woomera defence communications terminal, the Pine Gap control and monitoring centre, and the Omega navigation system are that, once installed, accountability is dead. For they make instantaneous warfare possible.
As Dr
These installations bring Australia territorially into the instantaneous system— but leave it out in the cold as far as taking part in the politico-military process is concerned.
After all, these client states have no other sources of intelligence to help them evaluate the Super Power's conclusions. And worse, it is not possible within a worth-while time frame for either Australia or New Zealand to "be informed", or for all within the alliance to "jointly consult" and act according to respective "constitutional processes" as Art. IV of Anzus states: Anzus is not a treaty for the missile age; as
"By any standards, this seems to be an extraordinary extension of the terms of the Anzus Treaty." (10)
So too is this an extraordinary extension of warfare for Australia and New Zealand literally, out of this world and out of our hands.
What has brought such a strong commitment to the Anzac Powers from one of the Super Powers? Some claim that a credit balance has been built up by our two nations through the four wars fought at the side of the Americans and that this should he bankable. Hut the U.S. is a notoriously usurous banker: she may well use the accruing interest for her own purposes. Altruism has not brought her to underwrite our security. New strategies and weapons have.
It is geographical reality that makes Australia and New Zealand so attractive to the United States. The more sites outside the U.S. that call for Soviet or Chinese ICBM first strikes the less destructive effects in the U.S. itself. Secondly, Australia is uniquely located for monitoring, commanding and watching any space vehicles with an orbital path across China and the Soviet Union.
Thirdly. ICBMs follow a ballistic trajectory along a great polar circle route, and a ballistic missile early warning system (BMEWS) will become necessary as China is felt to be a greater threat to the U.S.: Australia is the obvious site for the system.
Then, of course, any Russian or American fractional orbital bombardment systems (Fobs) would pass over the Australian Bmfws This would give a warning time of 45-60 minutes in the case of a (South Polar) Soviet Fobs attack. Unless the tracking installatoins were taken out the element of surprise would be lost from the Soviet Fobs. For, data from the monitoring system would be fed to the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) screen deployed on Johnson Island in the Pacific (Cooksey 1968) or even to ABM sites elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. It is belter to have their dirty H-hombs explode over this area than in the airspace of American cities.
One further use for facilities of the Pine Gap type can be mentioned. American FOBS could be launched on a South Polar route against China. At the moment the U.S. has only ICBMs deployable against China, and these travel the North Polar route—i.e. across Russian territory, a likely source of mis-understanding without prior arrangements. A Fobs over the southern route would bring Anzus sites into play as vital for accurately placing them on Chinese ICBM sites and other installations.
It is superflous to detail the necessary Soviet and Chinese countering strategies, except to emphasise their absolute need to take out all possible stations in the U.S. system. But there is one further point: Chinese missile guidance is as yet not very sophisticated, and up to four nuclear-armed ICBMs might be needed for any one BMEWS site. Certainly the fallout from a pre-emptive strike of this kind would be considerable.
• Anzus has a new look and a new range of costs. For the vulnerability of Australia and New Zealand is increased infinitely by the American alliance.
• One cost is undoubtedly that the Anzac allies have no control over a great many operations, and this includes facilities in Australian and New Zealand soil.
• Another is that "the alliance's bases and stockpiles upgrade the hosts as targets for actual or potential enemies." (11)
• Since the alliance emails dangers which might otherwise be absent, a further effect takes place "vulnerability must be increased by any limitations on the U.S. commitment" to Australiasia.
Gorton has summed up in this matter: "In my judgment Australia is subject to less danger, nuclear or otherwise, having these bases and a joint defence treaty than not having these bases and not haying a joint defence treaty." Perhaps he needs some nuclear strategists to assist his judgment.
The conclusions are clear to see. If Australia and New Zealand are threatened by nuclear weapons, in particular, this will be so precisely because we are allied with be so precisely because we are now threatened (even Mr Gorton has spoken of "half a dozen" nuclear targets), and will continue to be so long as we provoke others by our forward military policies and association with American power.
Omega is one drop in the bucket: but the nuclear question is central to world politics, and the survival of peoples. We have assumed a big role in that nuclear question. Will the liberals act?
References:
(1) The Anzus Treaty Alliance, (Melb 1965), pp. 71-2.
(2) Parl Debs, vol. 291 (1951) p. 202.
(3) Starke, p. 70.
(4) Prime Minister Gorton. External Affairs Review (N.Z.) (May 1969), p. 60.
(5) Gorton, ibid.
(6) The Australian Quarterly (March, 1969). p. 84.
(7) Gorton, op. cit., p. 61.
(8) The Australian-American Alliance (Harmonds-worth, 1968), p. 64.
(9) The Australian (April 30, 1969), p. 3.
(10) Australian Financial Review (May 2. 1969. p. 5.
(11) Getber, pp. 68-9.
or University Interaction with Life
Brain-Surgeons, lichen tenders, embalmers and students! Are you impatient to read about a maniac and a fowl? If so, proceed immediately to the special lust supplement at the end of this article. If not, read on and fry your mind in artistic and philosophical oil.
A Non-cartoon—"like shaking hands with a non-existent bandit". This one demonstrates the atmosphere of hovering lucid silence alluded to in the title. The six stars on 'Old Glory" may puzzle the neophyte. Actually, the stars are a reflection of other elements in the Non-cartoon. They have no extra significance.
Firstly, do you consider yourself to be agnostic, moderately socialistic, liberal in ideas, critical of the establishment, sexually enlightened, totally committed to racial equality and firmly opposed to the war in Vietnam? Do you dislike corporal punishment, abhor American foreign policy, object to censorship and support prison reforms?
If you answer "yes , why not join the Friendly Society of Dissident Students? We have individualists in our ranks! Yes, we have a vast mass of similar looking, similar speaking, similar thinking individualists of uniform age, colour, character, and behaviour, all of whom agree with the above ideas. Why not join us? There's a place for you (9 rows down, 5 spaces from the left) in the army of individualists!
A thousand turnips! What hideous sameness of opinion! What lack of originality! Like it or not, New Zealand universities breed lackeys who strut about advertising the thoughts, ideas, and convictions of others. We have Marxists, Socialists, Communists, Trotskyists, Spartacists, Fascists, and followers of
Why is this so? Concocting your own seething mixture of philosophy and religion is not a hard process. Take the Hindu idea of Maya—the universe exists because you perceive it. Swapping this around somewhat we arrive at an acceptable alternative—the universe exists to perceive you. While this is an intriguing thought, it's just a beginning —you are the only one to determine your own beliefs. By gradually enlarging your mental screens you will suddenly find yourself the complete master of your cerebral environment. Now you can achieve miraculous things.
Who was
Cont. on page 8
University Interaction with Life — cont. from page 7.
This is true liberation. Cease your fixability; let your mind flow. Do you think Man's wonderous brain was designed to be cemented with concrete thought? Let it expand and cover everything. The university where you toil could well become a meat-forest before you finish reading this; such is the adaptability of the cerebral environment. It's merely a matter of training. Remember; a revolutionary has reactionary limits to his mental processes unless he guards against them.
No dribble takes longer to hit the ground than political dribble. Politics is an evil; politicians are men who devote their time and energy to preventing the masses from becoming porcelain washbasin-fittings. This is why universities are seizing up. Forget politics—statesmen are only doorstops. Sup-posing each of the 700 million Chinese believed he was God. Where would Mao be? He'd be playing bagpipes in a steam kitchen in Miami.
Political cartoons are regrettable in that they perpetuate the myth of political power. Reproduced on this page is a political Non-Cartoon, which forms a synthesis of all human situations that have, are, and ever will occur. To look at a Non-Cartoon imparts a feeling of negative expectancy, rather like shaking hands with a nonexistent bandit. As well as being blindingly funny, it is flecked with pathos, for in the Non-Cartoon all political cartoons are rendered obsolete forever. Such revolution smacks of true genius.
Where are your revolutions? Where are your revolutionaries? There are none whatsoever—hey're bogged in politics. Maybe a few fellows charge around killing millions and improving social conditions, out that's no revolution. When an old man sits quietly on a stack of books and is honoured with a dustpan and bottle of tooth-enamel—that is revolution! Or when you run furiously up the stairs of an elegant palace to confront a naked prisoner who places one foot in a goldfish bowl and sings of his mother— that is revolution! Madness is the mother! But these are my ideas, not yours. Don't just exist . . . Think I Think something totally new! Totally different! Become fervent about it.
What's needed in this country is a furiously writhing awareness; a sort of national Dada. Dada was the product of an upheaval; can New Zealand produce neo-thinking without upheaval? Let's start electric fervour in the universities. Look at Forum, you pack of putty-knife exorcists. Speakers face a torpid mass of student anemia and drivel out irrelevancies. A man gets up and speaks about library reforms; another arises to put forward a plan for world domination. Both speakers are received the same way! It's disgracefull Why such inaction? A man discussing anything—be it Nietzsche or mar shallow buglers—should stand assured of being lauded or lynched at the end of his speech. We must get involved in black polemic anti-death.
Men are mud-fillets; everything that whiffs of obsolescence must be immediately blessed by priests and converted into antimatter. Even the most extreme forms of Socialism are decrepit well before they are spawned because they fail to cater for the necessary psychological aristocracy.
Take poetry, for instance. All indirect poetry is archaic. It must be designed as an onslaught, with each stanza wired to the nebulous ZAP! Plays are similar. Bacchanalian naked grovellers serve only to embellish the immortal phalanx of ligaments. Yes, human ligaments. Plays must be exquisite, even if this requires the actors to be physically melted and poured on to the stage. This, of course, is the perfect play, though unattainable as yet. Our actors are merged into a personification of drama; they have been melted in a crucible and reduced to a viscous hot liquid. The liquid is cooled, and large amounts of gelatin added. It is then emptied on to the set stage; a large jelly trembling with its integral human character. (See illustration of stage setting). The audience will not applaud; all will be silent. The quintessence of human theatrical achievement has materialised before their astonished eyes.' The jelly will next be painted on to their feet and they shall watch live drama enacted on their skin.
Painting, on the other hand, is almost excruciating in its utter visual attack. Because of this it must be approached with great caution, like a child placing a foot in the sun. Painting is not a thick carpet, painting is a protest—as irritating in reverse as a querulous necrophile.
And where is music? Must it go the Cage way, the way of silence and chance? No! Music should be played at night on organs of algum. This is the mirror-image of hymns.
While idiots and misguided men gibber of Mao, motorbikes, women, countries, Cuevara, and so on, the real prophets pass unnoticed like monks in the night. Tinguely, Duchamp, Dali, Lebel—these are the ones who lay the foundations! Build on them with stones of consciousness.
Greaseproof quartermasters, barrel violinists, licorice ebb-foulards, irredeemable sycamores, ashes of darkness and mothers! March now for the implosion of the psyche. I can only exhort you. Your world will follow your mind!
• A type of sandalwood mentioned in the bible.
For those desiring something to justify the headline, we present the following. Please remember that it is a supplement and not a denouement. It comes to you a public service in the name of justice and cleaner living, and is sponsored by the Society for the Re-introduction of the Rack.
Sparta (Alabama), Today.—"A shocking experience!" This was how a shapely young girl described her hideous ordeal of being tied nine hours in a chair, hung upside-down, and repeatedly bludgeoned by a blood-lusting sex-fiend wielding a severed human arm.
Investigating this sex-ridden, marathon, sin-rape, perverted, passion-orgy is Sergeant
Meanwhile, armed police scour the countryside for clues in the shameful love-death riddle of 20 young decapitated lavatory attendants found naked and dissected on a lurid mound of stolen torture implements only yards from the door of a deviant, pop-star, white-lave brothel. Investigations are continuing.
It resembles a new planet, but it's actually a view through the proscenium arch of a life-drama machine—the thunderous liberated theatre. A large gelatinous mixture of semi-liquid actors will be deposited in the position indicated. Then the audience will be invited to participate and paint their feet. The sign "Ward 9a" is a guide for positioning the "personification of drama" gel. The only other plays produced should be calm islands. They should be succinct and to the point. For example :
The Ptomaine-Textured Driver: A play by Peter
Embalmer; William, we've run so fish over the probleml Frankly, I'd like a car. (A car and a dustbag fall onto the stage.)
Car: Uncle?
Embalmer: and some sauce, please.
Sauce (singing); When I questioned his validity, The writer laughed of Jesus.
Embalmer: Abortion Burner! (Curtain).
By offering glib assurances and persuasions I managed to obtain a visa for South Vietnam without a security clearance delay.
It was necessary to sign a galling pledge of honour, political fidelity to the government in the seedy Hong Kong Consular office.
(A map on the wall inscribed unnecessarily "On the 22nd July, 1954, the cease-fire line became the Berlin Wall of S.E. Asia)', after which I could enter for two weeks, make a cultural study hate the N.L.F. and leave enlightened. We flew to Saigon via Phnon Penh, over the brown cloud smudged Mekong feverishly inventing war in the anonymous jungle where there wasn't any—a preferable condition because our pre-conceptions were consumated too fully and soon. Landing at the air-port one is immediately confronted by visual signs, concrete billow hangars stretch in columns, housing fighters and bombers camouflaged and armoured, air raid shelters crowd beneath the helicopter umbrella, a dustily austere terminal building geared to disgorging and greeting military personnel.
Monsoon season afternoons Hooded, host city for the World Buddhist Conference one poster reading "Long Live Buddha" the deceased Saigon a glut of bars and all the trashiest manifestions of war—the entire population whole-heartedly dedicated to exploiting the Americans, a virulent black market, crushing inflation (official exchange rate is U.S. 51—118 piasters but its possible to obtain between 180 and 250 p. s.
Possession of greenbacks is against the law and service men are paid in Military Payment Checks, supposedly negotiable only within compounds but this measure has simply stabilised inflation at around 100 per cent. One of the many distress-sing features of American occupation is the absence of social and civic improvements Although American aid introduces regrettable increases in bastard children. Coca-Cola assaults and Old Grandad, a veneer of prosperity, paved streets and modernity can be expected But Saigon, like Naha in Okinawa, is a mess-, the troops using the city as everyone does, to spread a giant corruption, heavyweight khaki trucks vying with the thousands of exhaustspewing cycles, Lambretta buses and cyclists for final right of way impossible not to be consumed by the desperate pace. When the physical scare are added the spectrum is complete and depressing. Road blocks, armed guards, military policemen cruising the bar districts in machine gun mounted jeeps, napalm victims object, barbed wire and sandbag are so prevelant that they almost seem to be integrated architecturally. And at night the sounds of war. Checkpoint deaths. More non-halt warning shot-killing, shot dying, a rigidly enforeed curfew, occasionally saboteurs break the cordons and deposit their lethal loads at choice spots. Vietcong rocket and mortar attack the city every night while B52's bomb surrounding suspected strong-holds, the 100 lb explosives radiat-ing tremendous concussion waves, I hitch-hiked on one of the few safe roads to My Tho Mekong village and stayed with Daoist monks on their island tributary, ferry and sanpan across the huge heavy water to see at dusk helicopter gunships strafing the already defoliated jungle, a half-mile distant air-force base under attack, tares keeping the river light and a patrol boat creeping into our island fur sanctuary. Outside the cities the war becomes even less comprehensible, more tragic—a feeling in incredulity at the effect of military activity transposed on rural peace, a whole landscape artificially conditioned so that the situation could not conceivably be worse. Hell communism isn't a threat. The peasants aren't touched by politics and in fact few that I spoke to had any knowledge of either capitalism or communism—they live. The only Vietnamese who had ideas of preference, other than politicians and government employees, were Saigon profiteers—bar girls, black market pimps, both criminal and criminally uniformed who believe the absurd propaganda posters spread over the city, ogre Vietcong committing lurid atrocities, bloodied bayontes, mass hysteria showing that the Munich festival set a durable precedent despite their illogie. To travel north Saigon one has to fly and the best way to do so is by American military aircraft. "MacV" accredition is required which means obtaining official travel orders. I did so and flew to Nhatrang. Danang and Hue. Scorched earth. Rubble cities replaced by corrugated iron and uncertain survival. This is Vietnam—what is seen of the war—projections are endless and reflect hopelessness—like the sub-cultures of corruption directly fed by the chaos; 1959 vintage teddy-boys with bicycle chains and switch-blades heating up G.I.'s-leading to cycle vendettas.
I have found it difficult to feel that any conclusions reached would he responsible. Vital that things be recorded accurately but instead the confusion made the situation uncertain. I had been invoked morally and emotionally in opposition to the war, for a long time; actually being there forced a reappraisal of all my ideas. Of course, this didn't mark a change to militarism, in fact a more emphatic pacifism, but most significantly, in considering the protagonist I could no longer cast the Americans as the arch-villains The helplessness of their dilemma served in every way as critical as that of the country. Victims all, of some terrible mismanagament for which Johnson, or his advisors who advised him so badly, are accountable. In the debased context of that struggle I could only make observations, and that is all I attempt to do in this article. No pretence balanced reporting or an analysis of the war. I want to make some unrelated comments about the Americans because in many ways they provided the most interesting study. The extent of the opposition to the army and American involvement was over-whelming—I spoke to several hundred G.I.'s in three weeks and 80 per cent were opposed to the war. "Vietnam sucks" the most often expressed and succinct opinion — lives measured in remaining service commitment. They were a representative selection: non-combatants, volunteers, draftees, a few "lifers" others down from the north on fake sick leave, and deserters. Battle-shocked soldiers telling of ambushed companies "C" company lost 67 men out of 110 friends '"blown away" as death is described—a strangely gentle evocation which makes the figures harsher. An odd dichotomy expressed by some C.I.'s—they wore opposed to the war so much so that they gave money to resistance organisations, but thought the draft an excellent system for the following reasons.
The idea that everyone should contribute to their country a debt settled by service, and that America needs conscription to alleviate ignorance and get the apathetic majority off its arse. The draft crystallises the unbearable tensions young Americans face—overwhelming numbers are so disenchanted that they are not returning home—I found this trend on the road right through Asia. Moustaches sprout gloriously—stripped of free expression, reduced to army Zombies, soldiers take advantage of this, their only luxury to demonstrate individualism. Another incredible feature is the incidence of pot-smoking. All the disputed figures provided by "Time" can be supported and added to. As many were dissenters—80 per cent regularly smoked though it would be foolish to suggest that there is any further correlation. I mention this because I'm sure the numbers returning from Vietnam to America must have some affect on present put legislation.
There's the shit, too, which perpetuates anti-American feeling. The despised "lifers"—professional soldiers, and those who volunteered "to kill some commies" show marked fascist tendencies. It is as if violence begets violence—they tally battle "kills and meet any question about the morality of the war with savage rebuttals.
Apart from the inflation there has been an inevitable price hike as a result of their occupation. The night I arrived in Saigon I had to pay for accommodation—street sleeping is out because of the curfew—and the cheapest available was a room in a flophouse for $10. In any other Asian city it is possible to sleep for 50 cents or less. And the acme of insensate Americana—an Officers club in Saigon serves cellophane wrapped cigars inscribed "Happiness is a warm Napalm." Incidentally, no service man I spoke to in Vietnam was aware of the presence of N.Z. troops. This will undoubtedly upset patriots but New Zealand's contribution goes unrecognised.
I told people indignantly that we are represented by 500 troops, four fields guns and a Hercules, but it seems that this is either an elaborate myth constructed to appease our allies, or that the 500 unfortunates have been misplaced.
The Americans, of course, speak of "the united struggle against Communism" but are only dimly conscious of the role of New Zealand. Anstralian and Thai and Korean forces.
I arrived in Saigon the day the first troop withdrawals were announced Every where there was a mood of profound scepticism As I have said, the whole country is immersed in the hopelessness: no "issue" can be defined just as no "solution" can be definitive. Particular issues are only part of an underlying madness, of which the chain of wars is one symptom.
I don't mean to sound portentous, but in Vietnam one is inclined to think in terms of universal philosophy rather than what that immediate situation represents. A million foreigners, thirty million Vietnamese, most of whom are reluetant, a vast and intricate material commitment are inextricably involved in this pointless, ruinous debacle. Do you realise that today's wars aren't even "wars to end all wars." That used to be the reason that justified millions of sacrificial dead. Now people accept the theory of necessary pressure valves, small puffs of insane catharsis. Vietnam seemed to me when I was there, to be the long-term victim, beyond promise of resolution. But suddenly I feel that there could be effective de-escalation, cessation.
If Nixon's indication of large scale withdrawals by the end of 1970 is true, the war may end. The Arvins—South Victnmese troops—are not capable of filling gaps left by the Americans. Internal stirrings, both in Hanoi and Saigon, suggest honest peace probes (needless in say, no-one has faith in Paris peace talks —they are considered farcial and many feel that they simple give the N.L.F. licence for increased activity) and again I'm beginning to believe in groups resisting the war.
The G.I.'s at present serving should have refused the draft. If they return to America and encourage future deserters, if their peculiar sense of social consciousness is directed towards united opposition—regenerating "ifs".
It is too much to hope that moral arguments will triumph but I have to think that a combination of the above circumstances permits hope.
Since the Paris peace talks began the tempo of destruction in Vietnam has increased, not decreased. The human situation is worse than it has ever been before. On March 15 there were more U.S. troops in Vietnam than at any other time since the beginning of the war.
These facts are staled in a White Paper on Ending the War issued by the American Friends Committee in May. The Friends Service Committee has had 15 years of relationship with Vietnam, the last 4 with staff stationed variously in Saigon. Vung Tau. My The, Danang. An Khe. Pleiku. Hupe and for the last two years.
Saigon is now the worlds most crowded city with a population density (on March 22) of 148 persons per acre, compared with Tokyo (the second most densely populated city in the world) with a population per acre of 63. The population is largely made up of refugees driven out of the countryside by the American war-action.
The intensity of the bombing in the countryside has increased since the peace-talks began. B-52 bomber raids have torn 2½ million holes 45 feet in diameter and 30 feet deep in the ground-holes that are now filled with water and serve as breeding grounds for malarial mosquitoes and other insects. In December 1968 the US from the first time began dropping 10.000 1b bombs which have been stored in military depots for 15 years and which are so heavy that they cannot be carried in ordinary bombers and they must be dropped by cargo planes or crane helicopters. The Match bombing level of 130.000 tons was the highest since the war began.
The number of troops in Vietnam was on March 15. (but still at present despite the withdrawal of 25,000) larger than at any time since the war began—540.000 plus 45,000 in Thailand and 35,000 in the navy offshore. Further, the number of battalion-size operations (figures on smaller operations are secret) has been steadily increasing, rising from 800 in November last year to 1037 in January 1969. Nlf activity has remained constant at a level of about 100 a month involving the deaths of 350-450 civilians monthly, compared by the US total of over 1.500.
By the end of January the US was sending 300-400 planes over neutral Laos daily-higher than at any other time in the war.
US battle deaths—always an inexorable barometer on the level of military action further emphasise the nature of the escalation. 600 US soldiers died in October; 703 in November; 749 in December; 795 in January; 1073 in February; 1316 in March. Renewed military offensives by the NLF and North Vietnamese forces did not begin until the last week in February.
The White paper goes on to point out that this increased activity is not leading to any progress, even on American terms. It claims that pacification attempts have failed. The US figures for the country show 75% of the countryside secure, but, the paper says, any person who knows the Vietnamese countryside would reject these figures out of hand Supposedly "secure"
The Saigon Government is in no stronger a position as a result of American aid than it has ever been in the past. Many of its members fought against their own people with the French. They are not trusted and respected by the people, and are sure to go immediately the American prop is withdrawn.
The paper concludes from the facts that talk of an early end to the Vietnam war and the possibility of an imminent peace are mere illusions. The US is not in any way restraining its war effort. The Thieu-Ky government is not becoming any more acceptable to the Vietnamese and the members of the Quaker teams in South Vietnam can see no evidence of increasing security, resoluteness in carrying on the war, or a desire to institute reforms in the government.
"There is something the US can do .... As the only foreigners in Vietnam, the US and its allies have nothing to negotiate but the manner and rale of withdrawal. If our leaders were to acknowledge this and move to act on it, it would at once open up a whole new range of possibilities for the good offices of other nations to be used in mediation and in arranging for sanctuary or amnesty for those open to reprisal."
"There will be suffering and turmoil if the US leaves. There may be a government in Saigon led by Ho Chi Minh; there may not be Wihdrawal does not mean that justice will be done. It does not ensure fair elections or well protected freedoms. But whatever happens, or fails to happen, will, in our judgment, be preferable to going on with the present agony of death and destruction that is presently destroying Vietnam, undermining our own domestic social fabric, and damaging our country's name in the world community."
The spiralling pre-cadenzial intros on this page usually in a manner (less hammy than outspoken tomfoolery) of speaking, spout proud abouse or misuse of the cinema; well, the pictures that some go to, or end up at; or try to scrutinise (that word!) this page in order to decide whether they should!
Of course, I wish to promote some, discard most, for basically, they are of a singularly played-down importance to me, and of consequence to no-one, due to their ephemeral existence.
So far the year has been plained down. Somniferous, almost; nothing that so shattered "us" into thinking we are powerless to comprehend such tilings. As the festivals overseas suck in all that is effulgent and "now", and priority is given to that cinema, we are left here in a gaping wake, that is beginning to show, not on our faces (or irritability, no! not any more) but on The Screen. I feel it is in no way impossible that it could be a wayward streak of disillusionment and pretty revolting prettyness never to let us ever see a thing. This is why the few miracles of the TV (the Monday night plays are superb—two from
The first international film festival in Auckland, from September 14-25 (not so far away as to imbue excitement) seems to be this holy grail of restoration, though a first-offering release of what may be offered is (at the moment) belli rather irritating. These things are never finalised until right up to the last moment and then something won't arrive, and something dreadful or marvellous will be shown; or an extra; or a guilty showdown of censorship (not very likely!). If these films are to be seen by a minority (yourselves then, the minority) once only, once in New Zealand—it is rather frightening to wonder if any film will be rejected because it is not suitable for New Zealand audiences. A film festival is a personal happening, it must have a controller, a man who knows what he's doing, knows what he's showing, and for once, has nothing to do with the public, or the commercial conscience.
At the moment (prepare for unleashing of countless names, names, names!) there is to go on: Carlsen's Hunger with Closely Watched Trains is still awaiting release) Andrzej Wajda's Everything For Sale (his latest, par Gates of Paradise, dedicated to the memoir of Zbiegnew Cybulski), Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar (three years old, though Mouchette was shown overseas last year; still there is hope for that; and will be an unforgettable experience by one of the cinemas saints), Miklos Janeso's The Red and White (from Hungary, this is one of the greatest directors working today, atribute to the Russian Revolution; his latest Silence and Cry may also be shown, hopefully) and The Engagement (I don't know if this is by Italy's Olmi, or not, still . . ?).
As you see, this is only a miniseule bunch, and worth getting excited over, but there are so many others to be announced. 1 have compiled here a list of possibles, and I am sure that a goodly percentage will be included, so bear (bare) up to this engulfing spew!
At least one of the new Pasolinis ( Oedipus Rex, Theorem), Cassavette's Faces, Neighbours; Truffaut's
Comparisons make hot-somethings betwixt a city empty and a metroplichocker— if, by some fluke of circumstances you would have found yourself in Sydney over the last fortnight or so, you could have seen all these films, at least commercially, this is no festival (count the films that will ever, ever be seen here!!) this is that extensive cultural-front the Aussies have managed—it is then beyond many to think that a paradise is so short a'lep away:
Brogdanoviche's Targets; Demy's' The Model Shop; Linnet's Bye Bye Broverman, Subject was Roses, Parts 1 and 2 of War and Peace (soon to arrive in New Zealand, and be shown in its 6½ hour magnificence on the gigantic Lido screen?); Peerce's Goodbye Columbus; Kluge's Yesterday Girl; Vic Morrow's Deathwatch (from Genet); Jancso's The Round-up, Wildeberg's Elvira Madigan; Godard's Hugs and Kisses; Teshigara's Woman of the Dunes; Resnais' La Guerre est finie; Reisz's Isadora; Delvaux' The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (to be seen Wellington Film Society, November); Truffaut (all of them!) and last by no means Troell's Here is Your Life (in Danish Ole Dole Doff!!).
One can be so discouraged by such a temptation, and it is with reluctance I turn to some of the fortnight's releases here, urn ....
I will record that the compilatory The Witches (UA) was as bad as the rest, though how such a delightful jewel as the Pasolini episode the earth as seen from the moon, could be included amongst the other stuff, is beyond me. Visconti seems to be the social outcast to end all, though I hold no grudge against him, especially after those descrapancies Sandra, anil The Stranger (I look forward to his new period work The Damned, with
His episode is quite silly (certainly not representative of his style—"how do you know his style, clot?") with a rare comic performance by that sullen of solemns
I await the chance to give Pier Paolo Pasolini his full due Accatone and the Gospel according to St. Matthew have been shown here and there is no reason why Oepidus Rex, Theorem and Medea will not come. In this episode, the colour (Giuseppe di Rotunm taking over from di Vennazo, at last) is far superior and beautiful than the others.
It is like a whimsical pop-art Beckett tale with a surfeit of religious, dotty innuendos (the miaoww! wedding ceremony, the Doris Day magic house, the sons carrotty-rinsed Elvis hairstyle, blue USA sweater) and a Chaplinesque sad mime/gabble by Toto, the clown.
Filmed among a vacant grassy lot with shacks and old castle-looking remnants, and a sky full of the most evocatively bruised-blue cloud formations, which just infuriates one to think that it is only a small exercise in self-deceit conceit and lonliness. It is a little masterpiece that should be shown on its own, rather than be tucked away in the other drivel.
Robert Mulligan's The Stalking Moon (NCP) is another picture by (Inside Daisy Clover, Up the Down Staircase) and goes a week or two and is adored (my word, always with Mr M, a soft spot for his charm) and in this case is advertised as a Western (tho it is more of a horror pic, a faceless hairy apache, and lots of jumpy violence), but it has a slow-pull like a settler trail story, and
David Green's (reconstructed from banality—the prefect movie to watch TV by) The Strange Affair is.
His Sebastian was miles cleverer). This police enforcement tale is representative of the purity and debauchery of a bobby. Every beautifully exposed shot ( David Copperfield) as a co-partner of the porno/blackmail-ilk, and dreary dumb coppers, and stupid dirty druggy hippies (they are the best thing, I think). Quite the trappiest film in months. If, by any chance you should be travelling around, please take note of some special pies that always manage to lose audiences through the holidays. A lot of great stuff always appears while you are away.
The Lido has John Osborne's Inadmissable Evidence with that new hellfire The Birds, the Bees and the Italians ("All heavy breathing and writing on the bottom!" Grand Prix at Cannes '67, somehow!, and under title of Signora e Signore, or something) is, if you enjoyed Divorce Italian Style, and stayed awake during his Seduced and Abandoned; and, if by some frugal kindness Noddy in Toyland and And So to Bed, or the thick thighs of Moderna Cramps, doesn't allure the jumpy young buggers in ("What'll keep our pervy kids on toe / a groovy Warhol or a Franken-furter …" etc.) please look out for James Ivory's The Guru, with The Householder and the beautiful Shakespeare Wallah don't for heaven's ache overlook this it is apparently as charming and ravishing (in colour) as the others.
The Plaza will be showing assorted Disney things, but may by some fluke get a chance to slip in Peter Collinson's The Long Day's Dying, This is something of a rarity already, an anti-war film to end all, and script by the pneumatic
Stanley Donen's Staircase (script, hurrah! from Charles by Charles Dyer's play) with Harrison and Mr The Killing of Sister George for what it is worth.
That misplaced
Finally, John Frankenheimer's The Fixer will be shown in Wellington in October. Amen.
You may have heard this play called "intelligent", "brainy" or "intellectual" or something of the sort, a description which often indicates a narrow situation so worked over that most of the audience feel they must have missed at least half the message. But there is nothing really unfamiliar about John Bowen's pessimistic view of future society in After the Rain.
The play is adapted from the novel which tells a science fiction parable about a Second Flood of 1972 from which survive a motley crew aboard a raft. These include a brainless sailor navigating round the world to demonstrate that "Club is a complete food", an accountant with a will to power (Arthur), a writer masquerading as a cook (Armitage), a broad-church cleric, a muscle man, a lunatic and three women. As they drift and wait for the waters to go down they enact among themselves a sort of capsule version of political and religious history, with the accountant first assuming autocratic control and then moving from president to God.
This is the scheme of the play too, but after a substantial lip from Marat/Sade there is a chance in the construction from realism to a lecture/demonstration. The play is set in 2170AD when the audience is being lectured on History of the Community. As in Marat/Sade a moment in history is acted out by lunatic/convicts who are here guilty of such aberrations as individualism, pessimism, frivolity and fantasy-weaving. The performance is part of the therapy in which by acting out their fantasies they may be restored to mental health and conformity.
The illustrated lecture technique has certain advantages. There is an acceptable convention for the unrealistic setting of the raft scenes and for the lecturer to direct quick scene changes. But it cannot avoid shifting the emphasis (or at least severely weakening it) from the parable being dramatically enacted to the lecture situation which should not be the real focus of the play. It becomes the focus at the end when the actor playing Arthur refuses to be "killed" and determines to alter history. This is an ingenious twist to suggest something profound about the past, the future and human nature as one unalterable element in destiny, but a neat flourish at the end will not cover up earlier deficiencies. One feels that all the questions have already been matched to the answers, not only by the lecturer but by the author as well; and this unfortunately lets Mr Brown out of some necessary work. In particular, there are two questions which craved fuller treatment; what was there about Arthur to make him chief? Why did Armitage not challenge him more intelligently?
I am particularly unhappy about the Arthur/Armitage relationship. It would seem that Armitage's main function is to show the impotence of liberalism when faced with totalitarianism. Are all liberal artists gutless incompetents when faced with an opportunity to obstruct with purpose or create a practical system? The closest hint of challenge came when Armitage suggested a deputy president. Both Armitage and Mr Bowen back down too soon whenever there is a chance of a revealing confrontation.
It was mentioned earlier that the theme should not be strange to us. There are clear echoes of at least The Shape of Things to Come, Lord of the Flies, Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and Marat/Sade. The play owes a good deal to these and has also inherited their facile pessimism.
The acting was not outstanding but was nevertheless quite adequate.
The producer
Because he has grown up amid moral permissiveness run riot, Arthur, the young anti-hero of "Tango", the next Downstage production, finds life "nothing but a brothel where anything goes and nothing works". This latter-day Hamlet feels that he is born to put it right be is himself destroyed in the attempt.
The Downstage production, directed by Nola Millar and designed by Grant Tilly, opens at the Star Boating Club on Wednesday August 13.
The plum part of the son has fallen to John Banas who recently appeared in "All's Well that Ends Well" and the revival of "The Zoo Story". Fresh from his success as Pierre in the New Theatre's "War and Peace", Ian Watkin, plays the father of the boy, and Nancy krinkel his mother. Ginette Lewis and Lewis Rowe stepped straight from the boards of "Rosencrants and Guildenstern are Dead" into rehearsals for "Tango". They represent the oldest generation who won their own Bohemian spurs by dancing the tango and thus defying all conventions in hteir day. Peter Sim complete the cast at the neo-Fascist butler who wrests supreme power when Arthur falls.
• Terence Taylor's photo shows John Bands as Arthur and Ginette McDonald as Ala.
Argot is at last reflecting its position as "official" (i.e. subsidised) literary magazine to the Student's association by becoming in issue 20, clearly and well laid-out and printed—in short, readable at last. Unfortunately a lack of close liaison with the printers has led to a rather gross error (the transposition of two pages), but this sort of thing is to be expected in the transition betwen two printing methods, and should not now recur.
Perhaps in an attempt to retain some link with their past history of ethnic poverty (as typified by Argot 18, which appeared to have been perpetrated on an extremely aged Gestetner at three in the morning) the editors affect the disuse of capital, in a conventionally punctuated, conventionally written editorial; and allow their collective personality to express itself in totally unnecessary little exchanges like that at the end of Owen Gager's article. It is generally assumed that the opinions expressed in magazine articles are not necessarily those of the editors, and this kind of childishness, which has expressed itself elsewhere as complaints that reviewers of Argot have been pursuing personal vendettas against the editors, in no way contributes to the standard of the magazine.
Unfortunately this sort of thing—layout and general editorial policy, does matter. Even in the most literary of literary magazines it is still desirable that the content be readable and that the editors restrict themselves to the editorial pages except where explanation is absolutely essential.
So much for Argot as a magazine—what of Argot as a literary magazine?
Throughout the year the standard of poetry in Argot has been consistently high, with a core of competent poets providing the bulk of the contributions. The best work in this issue seems to be the three poems by
The prose is again mediocre. Roger Lawrence's short story is just another rendition of an extraordinarily frequent theme, and his writing is not capable of lifting it from triteness. It is neither trenchant social commentary not competent satire. Much the same could be said of John Cording's effort.
Gary Langford's story "Mandown", is a distinct improvement—he manages to create some kind of mood, and though the richness of his language verges on melodrama, the story is easily the most promising prose writing Argot has published this year.
The articles by
The illustrations are as usual, pleasing and decorative and mediocre.
But the main, and most encouraging feature of Argot 20 is the interview with
After the last disastrous attempt at a record review, Argot appears to have given up all attempts at reviewing. But if it is to fulfil its function as a literary magazine, Argot should be reviewing new poetry and prose.
In general, then Argot is improving as a vehicle for literary expression and criticism, and if it could reverse its priorities and place its readers before its editors and their friends, it could, in its new readable form, go even further.
Centre Design: Stephanie Du Fresne
"I Decide all major issues on Exec. by calculating how much piss I can get out of it, " says Social Controller Bradshaw.
Who says he's not pulling his weight?
Did you hear how the Comms, out of favour with in the Auckland trade unlons, attacked the Seamen's Union in "People's Voice". When the issue arrived at Wellington Trade Hall where the Comms are more in favour, leading Party man confiscated all supplies so as not to appear again' the seamen.
Notice how "Truth" and the "Sunday Times" are neck and on the "bash the birchers - for and against. Pity snch differential can't be employed in less hysterical non-issues.
Those who would seek to blame slack Salient production for last week's publising delay can now be told it was only the Railways what did it-and the bloke what didn't do it resigened that night.
This year Otago is to be the host university at Dunedin for Winter Tournament.
The return of Winter Tournament to Otago after it was last held there in 1967 is to coincide with the centenary of Otago University.
Arts Festival will also be held in conjunction with Tournament which is unlike past years, to be held in the second week of the August vacation, from August 16-21.
Some 160 Victoria representatives in various sport teams will travel down South.
While undoubtedly the Victoria contingent will compete with its customary distinction on the social scene (vide Drinking Horn etc.), the only sports teams that can be expected to have a reasonable chance of doing well are the fencing, squash and smallbore shooting teams.
This is the second year that Basketball has been held so there are no long term trends to bar a forecast how Vic will fare.
Vic performed reasonably well in 1968, and the fact that the team has achieved considerable success in its grade in the local competition this year, being one of the top three teams, makes a major placing possible.
Experienced players in the team such as
Victoria's team is:
Victoria's team is:
On paper the team looks considerably weaker than the 1968 representatives
One member who will undoubtedly be missed is
But the
In addition, the presence of
High standards and intense competition promise to prevail.
The primary reason for this is that some six harriers will be selected for a New Zealand Universities team to tour Australia for 10 days.
The line-up of prospective members of this learn is extremely impressive.
Otago has: Keith Darling, the NZU 3.000 metre steeplechase champion;
Massey has Evan Robertson, who has won the NZU Championship for the past two years and is also a N.Z. cross-country representative, finishing 13th in the world championship in March of this year.
Also running for Massey is
Auckland has
Canterbury is largely an unknown force, but the chances of any of its members and Victoria's making the NZU team can be considered fairly remote.
While the Vic team has no outstanding individuals this season in the club like
Chances of retaining the Shackleford Cup for the top North Island university, which Vic wrested from Massey last year, should be fairly good.
The Vic team, with the exception of
Victoria's team is:
Women
Victoria's team is:
The VUW Women's team has become an "open" team this year in that it has welcomed non-University players. This has resulted in a stronger team which while not being at the top of the local competition, has played better than in the 1968 season.
It is unfortunate that some of the most prominent members—Robin Turkington, Tania Cumberland, an ex-NZU rep..
The loss will also be felt of
Otago will suffer most from the loss of players to the NZU team, but it should still have enough depth left to win again.
Auckland can be expected to present a strong challenge, while Victoria will have to play well to avoid the 'wooden spoon' which Massey will be keen to bestow on some other university.
Men
The Victoria men's hockey learn combines both youth and experience.
From a seasoned veteran campaigner such as
Most other teams such as Canterbury in particular, will have suffered more heavily the depredation of the NZU learn touring Australia.
Victoria has two representatives in this side.
Which university will win is anybody's guess but in view of Canterbury's great strength and depth in players it should retain its title.
Women
Freshers again dominate herein the composition of [he team with the only previous indoor basketball rep, being the captain,.
A reasonably successful season has been had on the local scene with the team finishing in the top half of their grade.
The annual match with Massey saw Victoria avenge its last year's defeat by a convincing margin.
Most past tournaments have seen Vic and Massey fighting it out at the bottom of the compeition from that symbol of sporting inadequacy, the "wooden spoon".
It is to be hoped that with the large infusion of new blood in the team this year. Victoria will be in the major place-getters.
Victoria's team is:
Men
The learn has been considerably weakened by the withdrawal of a number of its tall players.
The opposition university teams are very strong again this year and Victoria will have a tough task beating them.
Canterbury, which won last year are fielding virtually the same team as in 1968.
Otago was narrowly defeated by Canterbury in the final last year and again lost narrowly at the beginning of this season.
The Auckland team has improved immensely and will challenge both Canterbury and Otago strongly.
These three must be the favourites. Victoria has beaten Massey once this year and should win again, but against the other teams Victoria will start off as the underdogs.
Victoria's team is captained by
Another key member is
Then there is
These three will form the nucleus of the learn, and will be backed up strongly by the remaining members:
The Golf team is again led by
He will be ably supported by two new members—
The fourth member is John Billington who gained NZU representation at Dunedin in 1967.
The team is not so strong as last year's winning side and its chances of repeating its success well depend not so much on the low scores that Barltrop can be counted on to produce, but upon the ability of the other team members to produce consistent play when required.
This is especially important when it is realised that both Canterbury and the host team Otago will be represented by good consistent golfers, including past and current
But the Victoria team should finish among the major place-getters.
Victoria's table tennis representatives are rather an unknown quantity this year with only one player,
She also made the 1968 NZU team.
But in the local competition the men's No. 1 team is second in the "A" Reserve competition and the No. 2 team lies in seventh place.
A fresher,
Competition from other universities is expected to be strong with Canterbury and Otago providing the main opposition.
Victoria's team is: Men: Women:
Victoria's badminton reps this tournament hope to win back the Badminton Crown they gained in 1967.
The team is extremely strong: Prian Quirke-NZU team 1967, VUW Blues for 1967. 1968. Brian also this year beat in a competition game
Then there is
The captain,
Pat Tan is an ex member of the victorious Otago University team, and has played for Vic in previous years.
The fifth member is Brian Heneld who represented Vic at 1967 and 1968 Winter tournaments.
Vic's women representatives also present a picture of considerable experience and strength.
Leading the team is
This is the first year that Karate has been included in a Winter Tournament so which university will dominate is anybody's guess.
Victoria's team is:
In light of the good performances of
Very little is known about Victoria's representatives.
But however. Vic usually performs well so it can be optimistically hoped that there is a continuation of good past performances.
The only one in the team of any great experience is
With his good example to follow Victoria could do well.
Victoria's team is:
Corbin & Esam
Chartered Accountants Hastings
Require two partly or fully qualified accountants. Commence duties at end of university year.
Write P.O. Box 985, Hastings
Secretary VUW
Appointments Board
If you are reading this, I presume either that you are bored at the moment or that you are interested in the almost inevitable prospect of stepping into the market place of graduate employment. Like any other market place, this one has its own customs and conventions, forces of supply and demand, and consequential advertising and publicity. This careers supplement gives you some examples of the latter activities.
How can the University Appointment Board affect things? Is the board a consumer institute, an information bureau, a complaints department, a business consultant, and advertising agency or an entrepreneur in this market place? Without wanting to stretch the analogy too far. I believe that the board fills some areas of all these functions, and, furthermore, this analogous description is certainly not exhaustive. However, the primary aim of the Appointments Board is to help students and graduates more easily to find suitable employment.
Advice and Information: What will mainly interest you, as an undergraduate or near-graduate, is the board's role in providing advice and information on careers, which includes examining the relevance of particular vice" here can be very misleading. If you expect to be told which choice is better of the public service or private enterprise, small or large firms, sales or production, research or administration and so on, then I am afraid you will be disappointed, However, what the board can do is to give you easier access to background information which might affect such choices and possibly some advice on the criteria most people use when faced with similar decisions.
Good or Bad Jobs: There is no such thing as an intrinsically good or bad job. There may be jobs which a majority of people think of as good or bad, but ultimately the job you have will be your job, not your flat mate's, your great uncle's, your lecturer's, or mine or anyone else's, but yours. This does not mean that you should avoid seeking advice, as you will want to make an informed decision, but it dues mean that only you can finally weigh the advantages and disadvantages before you. Recognition of ability, freedom for initiative, job interest, community service, money, social status, opportunity to travel, being desk-bound, using one's degree subjects—these are some of the criteria which can be applied to selecting an area of employment.
What Do You Want? Are you expecting too much of a job? For example, you should remember that few people are paid to pursue their hobbies, and thus must jobs have their rather uninspiring periods of routine work. On the other hand, you may be quite unaware of the career prospects in some fields which appear superficially to be inappropriate to your qualifications. Employers are being encouraged to provide the board with detailed descriptions of jobs they are offering, and the growing careers library may contain sufficient information to allow you to study and eventually decide for which jobs you would like to apply. All students registered with the board receive summarised lists of vacancies as the jobs come to hand towards the end of the year, and these lists can give you an idea of the range of opportunities as well as a guide to which jobs you would like to investigate further.
How You Can Help the Board: The best way you can help the board is to use the services available. The more students use the board's services, the more enquiries will be received by employers and this will encourage them to seek students through the board mure regularly. Any increase in enquiries from students or employers will add information to the board's records and the accumulated experience can be shared by all subsequent enquirers.
If you register, you can contribute to this accumulated knowledge by reporting hack on your experiences. Feed-hack information on different people's impressions alter interviews and after being appointed to a job can help the board immensely. Unfortunately most registrants who come back are those who have been unable to find a suitable position. By registering and co-operating subsequently you will be both helping your fellow students.
Appointments Board Officer: Ground Floor, 6 Kelburn Parade (just opposite the bottom of the main drive).
Telephone 44-447 or 46-040, ext. 856, for further information or to make an appointment.
"… with a view to fostering the economic welfare of New Zealand, to promote and encourage the improvement and development of industry and commerce, to promote and encourage the export trade of New Zealand, and to carry out such functions and duties as the Minister may from time to time direct."—Industries and Commerce Act, 1956.
The department wishes to recruit men and women of integrity who are graduates, or well advanced and making satisfactory progress in their studies towards a degree or professional qualification. Economics and accountancy are preferred for many positions. However, good degrees in such subjects as geography, political science, and public administration will also be considered.
Training in specialised departmental work is provided by highly qualified senior officers.
Inquiries should be addressed to:
The Administration Officer,
Department of Industries and Commerce,
Room 519, Bowen State Building,
Bowen Street, Wellington
Telephone 48-640
Or the District Offices of the Department in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Those who have read Anthony Sampson's "Anatomy of Britain" and who have seen the graph (at right) showing the progress of the incomes of men in various professions may have wondered about the little known Actuarial profession whose members earnings in the United Kingdom are shown as rising to such high levels.
The practical application of Actuarial work needs a high degree of analytical power and clear thinking and the capacity to express conclusions in clear and logical language. To become an Actuary, a student needs to sit the examinations of the Institute of Actuaries and the course ensures that those contemplating an Actuarial career possess the ability to think logically and to exercise judgment in practical situations.
The course of examinations covers the subjects of applied probability and statistics, some specialised branches of applied mathematics, the fields of demography, mortality, finance and investment, and in the latter stages, tests the ability of the student to apply his knowledge to practical situations. Although the examinations are not easy and require part-time study over a number of years, recent changes in the syllabus have been directed towards reducing the time taken to qualitfy, and it is now possible for students with good passes in university mathematics and statistics to obtain exemption from some of the earlier sections.
The Actuary is a professional man whose special skills are required in connection with long term financial contracts particularly those in the fields of life assurance and superannuation. The majority of Actuaries in Australia and New Zealand are employed by life assurance companies but other Actuaries act in a professional capacity as consultants to superannuation funds, life assurance companies and other financial institutions. In deal with long term contracts, the Actuary has to consider the way in which all aspects of the business are being managed and the need to take an overall, long term, analytical view, gives a man who possesses the right personal qualities the characteristics required in senior positions in his company. Training in the principles of practice of finance and investment is taking an increasing number of Actuaries into positions connected with the stock exchange, banking and commerce.
There are at present about 150 fully qualified Actuaries in Australia and New Zealand, about three-quarters of these are employed by life assurance offices and are divided fairly evenly between technical and managerial positions. There is a large unsatisfied demand for qualified men and it has been estimated that by 1975, there will be a need for at least twice the present number.
Commencing salaries for university graduates employed in the Actuarial Department of life assurance offices in New Zealand are at present in the range $2500 to $2900 depending on age, nature of degree, etc. Most life assurance companies pay salaries in the range of $5200 to $6000 for newly qualified men and subsequent salaries would depend not only on experience but also on ability, personal qualities and the degree of responsibility carried. Persons with suitable qualities can reasonably look forward to attaining responsible positions in which salaries of the order of $8000 p.a. would be payable where the occupant had been qualified for about 10 years. Actuaries in very senior positions would command considerably greater salaries. Most life assurance offices offer a valuable range of fringe benefits, including superannuation, and favourable mortgage facilities for home purchase.
Any graduate who is interested in obtaining further information is best advised to make enquiries from a qualified Actuary who will be able to amplify the information given here.
If You Have recently qualified as an Accountant or are completing your academic studies or now only require practical experience to apply for membership of the New Zealand Society of Accountants, we invite your application for a position in our firm.
We offer suitable applicants experience in all fields of accountancy, although initial training is usually given in either the auditing or taxation and accounting fields. We use training courses (including courses in computing auditing), manuals, on the job assistance and supervision to ensure that staff develop rapidly and assume appropriate responsibility. Evaluations of staff are made with a view to assisting them to attain their career objectives in the profession of commerce either in New Zealand or overseas.
Your progress and remuneration are dependent only on your qualification, ability and experience. Graduates from university who have completed the Accountancy Professional course can expect to commence at $2,700.
Applications, which will be treated in strict confidence, should be addressed to—
Barr, Burgess & Stewart
Chartered Accountants
P.O. Box 243,
Wellington
High Income
Professional Status
Job Satisfaction
Overseas Experience
Investment Opportunities
Community Leadership
*
… If so, then Public Accountancy may be the career for you. Opportunities are available for young men and women with the B.C.A. Degree or who have completed a substantial part of the B.C.A. Degree.
*
Telephone 70-709, or write to:
Hunt, Duthie & Co.
P.O. Box 2194
Wellington
We will have vacancies for persons making their career in the Accountancy Profession to commence in January, 1970.
Applications are invited at any time before the end of 1969 from students who are partly qualified or who expect to graduate B.C.A. this year. A thorough training is ensured in all types of accounting auditing, taxation and management work, etc., and time off is allowed for lectures and examinations.
Apply in writing stating age and details of any present qualifications to:
Hogg, Young, Cathie & Co.
Chartered Accountants
P.O. Box 230,
Wellington
Direct appointment to short or long service commissions is offered to suitable graduates. Those with the appropriate qualifications may serve as specialist officers in such fields as signals, civil, mechanical or electrical engineering or there are wide opportunities for those with degrees in more general subjects to attain high rank in such Corps as Artillery, Armoured and Infantry. Intellectual ability plus positive qualities of leadership and planning ability will assure you a rewarding and responsible career. Commencing salary of $2,952, rising to over $4,088 in less than 10 years.
Inquire about …
Inquire Now From:
The Military Secretary,
Army Headquarters,
Private Bag,
Wellington
or Ring 49-800, Extn. 636, for an appointment.
Clarke, Menzies & Co., a firm with international affiliations, are currently interviewing students who have reached an advanced stage of the B.C.A. course and who wish to take up employment in a professional office at the end of the university year.
Positions are available in either the auditing and accounting services departments of the Wellington office. Modern techniques are used and experience can be gained whilst engaged on work in a wide variety of industrial and commercial organisations. Competitive salaries are offered and there are excellent prospects for rapid promotion. Opportunities of overseas experience, either on a short term or long term basis, are available to selected employees.
Successful applicants will be given the opportunity of attending one of our two-day staff training sessions to be held during the August term holidays.
For an interview please telephone the Staff Partner, 70-879, or write care of Box 2093, Wellington.
As A Result of recently qualified staff joining our overseas associates for further experience, positions will become available in January, 1970, for students who have completed at least five units of their B.C.A.
These appointments carry attractive salaries and cover a variety of work in the field of Accountancy, Secretarial, Taxation and Audit.
This flexible range of work, congenial working conditions and interesting associations make this position one that could have considerable appeal to persons wishing to advance in this field.
For an appointment apply to:
J. L. Arcus & Co.
Chartered Accountants
P.O. Box 1283, Wellington
Telephone 49-750
We will have vacancies later this year for B.C.A. Graduates and under-graduates who wish to obtain practical experience following a period of fulltime study.
The Accountancy Profession today is challenging and rewarding. Those with ability who are prepared to accept responsibility will find experience in a chartered accountants' office opens up many opportunities either in the practising profession or in commerce and industry.
We Offer …
* Experience covering a wide field of professional work, including auditing, taxation and general accounting.
* A generous commencing salary depending upon qualifications and any practical experience already obtained.
* Assistance and encouragement in studies, training and professional activities.
* Excellent working conditions in modern central offices.
* Opportunity for post-graduate experience overseas with an associated international firm.
Enquiries should be addressed to:
The Staff Partner,
Bowden, Bass & Cox
Chartered Accountants
Sun Alliance Building, 11-15 Brandon Street, Wellington
P.O. Box 986
Telephone 70-289
We Will Have Vacancies in 1970 for qualified or partly qualified accountants.
*
We can offer excellent experience in all aspects of accountancy, including taxation, secretarial, auditing and management consulting, with time off for lectures for those continuing with their studies.
*
For An Interview …
telephone or call
Barnett & Barnett
Chartered Accountants
*
Corner Brandon & Featherston Streets,
Wellington
Telephone 40-477
We are seeking recently qualified commerce graduates or near graduates of above average ability and academic achievement who demand work satisfaction and a broad practical experience in a busy environment for the purpose of gaining full membership of the N.Z. Society of Accountants.
We are able to offer experience in the following aspects of Chartered Accountancy …
Practical experience is supplemented by an extensive staff training programme. Local and national courses are conducted for each specialization together with a two-day familiarization course in November for new members of the firm.
After initial training and experience a comprehensive review of performance is undertaken and for suitable persons the opportunity will be given to choose a specialization for advanced training which, where appropriate, may be in an overseas office of our internationally associated organization.
We actively encourage rapid professional development to the highest level within the firm and lend support to participation in professional activities by normally granting leave for attending lectures, courses and meetings.
Graduates without practical experience who have completed the Accountancy Professional course will commence at $2,700 per annum. Salaries are thereafter reviewed half-yearly with diligence and ability receiving due recognition.
Membership of an attractive superannuation scheme is available to senior members of the firm.
Our offices are central and modern.
•
We believe that we can offer challenging positions that will appeal to ambitious graduates and we invite applications which we undertake will be treated in the strictest confidence.
The firm recognizes that applicants may not have yet finalized their intentions for employment in 1970 but believes that a discussion rather than a formal interview may be helpful in enabling a decision to be made and would be pleased to be of assistance in this regard.
Applications or enquiries should be directed to the Staff Partner:
Wilberfoss & Company
Chartered Accountants
P.O. Box 347, Wellington
Telephone 70-566
These men have degrees in Commerce. Law. Engineering, Science and the Arts respectively. If You have one of these degrees if you have personality and initiative … if you are ready to accept responsibility and able to learn something about handling men … then
Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, with nearly 70 years of petroleum marketing behind it, offers an extension to your academic studies. It gives you the choice of marketing, planning, supply operations or accountancy training in office and field, or scientific training in the laboratory. Mobil gives you the chance to develop a high degree of skill in "oil", one of the world's largest, most high specialised and progressive industries.
Because of its size and requirements, Mobil gives you better opportunities to make use of your particular knowledge and skills … opportunities for your growth in a company and an industry geared tor profitable growth … rewards based on your individual achievement. These are some of the advantages that a career with Mobil in the world-wide and ever-growing oil industry offers you. If you would like further information, ring or write to the Relations Manager at 47-030 or P.O. Box 2497, Wellington, He will promptly arrange an interview.
Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited
We have a vacancy in our Hastings office for a qualified or nearly qualified male accountant.
The position is a responsible one and the successful applicant, after a period of integration with our methods, would be required to take charge of a group of assignments including Auditing, Accounting and Taxation. He would also need to be capable of managing staff under his control and would be directly responsible to a Partner.
Applications in writing are invited from persons under 30 years of age who feel they have the necessary qualifications, ambition and ability to fill this challenging position.
Applications should be accompanied by testimonials and should give details of previous experience together with qualifications.
The appointment need not be immediate, but could be by arrangement.
McCulloch, Butler & Spence
Chartered Accountants
P.O. Box 146,
Hastings
Communications Girdle the Earth
Leads Teams in Planning, Designing and Operating New Zealand's National and Overseas Communications Services.
Radio
Telegraph
Planning
Telephone Switching
Outside Plant
Transmission
Electrical-Mechanical
The Post Office provides …
Salary progression rate obtainable on inquiry.
Inquire at nearest Post Office Engineer's Office,
or write:
Engineer-in-Chief,
Post Office Headquarters,
Wellington
Science and Technology are fast developing New Zealand's resources. Equally important for the country's economic growth is the efficient management of these resources, in which the Public Service is playing a large part. The great diversity and specialisation of Government activities call for many graduates, from the specialist research scientist to the liberal arts man who may choose to make a career in administration and partipicate in policy formulation at its various stages.
The Public Service offers graduates the widest variety of careers available in New Zealand, ranging from international trade and diplomacy to wildlife research and ecology; from transportation economics to oceanography. Whatever career he chooses, a graduate will be expected to make full use of those attributes of a disciplined mind, clarity of thought, and a capacity for the logical presentation of facts and ideas which are associated with the possession of any university degree.
Now, not later, is the time to give serious consideration to the choice of a career. If you are completing a degree at either honours or bachelor's level you are invited to discuss a career in the Public Service with …
The Graduate Liaison Officer, State Services Commission, 3rd Floor, Manchester Unity Building, Lambton Quay, Wellington.
Phone 46-075 or write to P.O. Box 8004, Wellington, for further information.
A Career in The Public Service May Well Be The Opportunity You Are Looking For!
At the end of this year Shell will be offering employment to men (or women) with degrees in Chemistry, Civil or Mechanical Engineering, Agricultural Science and Commerce. There may be also a few opportunities for graduates in other subjects, e.g. Economics, Law or Arts.
Most of the graduates will initially be stationed in Wellington. Each man is appointed as soon as possible to a position best suited to his qualifications, talents and interests and he is asked to follow a planned programme to enable him to use alt his knowledge and ability at an early opportunity. The work is accepted as qualifying for corporate membership of professional Institutions or Societies.
Chemists will begin in the Central Laboratory on product development and testing, technical service, and the supervision of quality control and may also be employed in chemicals marketing.
Engineers are responsible for design, development, construction and maintenance of oil storage facilities, processing plants, buildings, pipelines and road tankers.
Agricultural Science graduates are appointed to the Shell farm trade organisation, acting as specialist advisers on the marketing, development and application of chemicals for agricultural purposes.
Commerce graduates are employed primarily in finance, where the responsibilities include quarterly accounts, treasury, taxation, credit, investment, audit, payroll, costing, budgets and management accounting.
Data Processing with a Systems 360.60 IBM computer also offers a field for graduates with the necessary aptitudes for systems analysis, programming, operational research etc.
As well as specialising initially in work for which he is qualified the graduate will be trained to take a comprehensive view of Shell activities generally.
The Shell group of companies, which is international in character, scope and shareholding, is engaged in New Zealand and throughout the world in two industries, petroleum and chemicals. Both are growing in volume and complexity and show ample prospect of development in the future.
Shell Oil New Zealand Limited is staffed by New Zealanders, of whom the most able may be eligible for promotion to senior positions overseas. With individual recognition, supervision and guidance each graduate is encouraged to progress towards the most senior position he is capable of filling. His own efforts towards self development may be aided in several ways, including overseas training for the most promising men.
Young graduates have a special salary scale and it is Shell's policy to offer salaries and conditions of employment (including retirement benefits) at least comparable to those offered by other large firms.
A few vacation jobs will also be available in Wellington next summer for students now in their second to last year of a degree course in Engineering, Commerce or Chemistry. No unusual obligations are imposed but preference will be given to men seriously interested in the eventual prospect of a Shell career.
More detailed information is available in the booklet
"A guide to graduate employment with Shell Oil New Zealand Limited".
Copies of this booklet are available from the University, or Shell Oil New Zealand Limited.
Interviews can be arranged to suit any students who may be interested
Enquiries may be addressed to:
The Staff Manager, Shell Oil New Zealand Limited, Shell House, The Terrace, Po Box 2091, Wellington. Telephone 45-060 or Shell House, Albert Street, Po Box 1084, Auckland. Telephone 78-880 or St. Elmo Courts, Hereford Street, Po Box 2095, Christchurch. Telephone 62-939.