Anearly new school 2

The third interesting feature of my time at Rangitoto was spending the second year as Careers Adviser for the boys. I made sure I interviewed all the boys in the three final years to make sure they were thinking about their futures; sixths and sevenths individually and fifths in groups.

 

During this time we lived in a series of places on the North Shore.

 

For a few months at the end of 1965, while Audrey was recuperating from her hepatitis episode, we lived in a little cottage, not much more than a bach, right next to the shopping centre in Mairangi Bay.  This was in the general locality we had got to know in 1963, was handy to shops and bus stop, and to the beach, and just over the hill from Murrays Bay School, where Judy was enrolled.

 

We all enjoyed seeing and getting to know the film of "The Sound of Music".

 

By early 1966, we had found a house, just up the road in Matipo Road, which my father helped us to arrange the purchase of. This was our first purchase of property. A walk to the shops was not far, and the beach as well, but the great thing was that when Mairangi Bay School was opened the next year, it was only a few steps away from our house, and both Judy and Terry attended it from than on. I was also a member of the new school committee.

 

When I finally got a job in a school on the other side of the harbour, I bought a scooter like the one we had in Agartala, and commuted across the bridge each day.

 

We enjoyed living in the East Coast Bays area, and Rangitoto College was a great school to teach it.

 

Things seemed to be going well.

 

Politics

 

One of my colleagues on the staff at Rangitoto College was Frank Gee, who was an active member of the local Labour Party. He invited me to join and help with him in working for the re-election in 1966 of Norman King, the local (Birkenhead) MP and Minister of Social Welfare.

 

This was not a difficult task as Norman had a majority of 10,000, which was a whopping total in those days. When you look at the East Coast Bays area today you find it hard to imagine!

I was keen to work in several areas of political action. Generally I wanted to support the left wing point of view: that the world was moving towards a socialist future, which would bring about more equality, a lessening of poverty, and a better society. 

And secondly I wanted to work against war in all forms and especially against the Vietnam War. So I joined the Christian Pacifist Society and agreed to represent the CPS on the Council on Vietnam. 

The Vietnam Council met monthly.  It was made up of various left-wing groups, including unions and political parties like the Communists and the Socialists, and student organisations opposed to the war. The Chair was Len Reid, the Secretary was John Colquhoun, and prominent among the members were Bill Anderson (Drivers’ Union) and Tim Shadbolt. Around 1968, when the movement was at its most active, I was the Vice-Chairman. 

The two activities of the Council which I remember most vividly were a march and rally in Queen Street and Myers Park, at which I spoke on the Third Way (Buddhist monk Thic Nath Hahn’s proposal), and a rally in St Matthew’s Church, where Pete Seagar snag and Hone Tuwhare read his poems.  I was the MC for the church rally, and had to meet and brief Seager, and provide transport for Hone Tuwhare from his home to the church and back. 

Soon after these events, President Johnson announced he was not going to stand for re-election, which took the heat out of the battle, and the Auckland Council faded away gradually.