New Zealand Society: the Sixties

Specific Learning Outcomes

• Describe the effect of economic growth on the lives of New Zealanders in the 1960s


• Explain how the 1960s influenced the way we live today

Teaching / Learning Sequence

1. Starter: How does New Zealand make money today? What are our key industries? (eg: agriculture, tourism, film industry, specialised industry, food and wine etc.)


2. View footage: “Growth and Development”: Consumer products, Otahuhu steel mill


3. Describe the type of industry shown here. Does it still exist in New Zealand today? Where are large consumer goods manufactured now? Why?


4. View footage: “Growth and Development”: Benmore Dam, Westland’s Finest Hour, Post Office Conversation Piece


5. Question: How did these big projects change the lives of ordinary New Zealanders?


6. H/W: Watch 1 hour of TV. Note down the kind of programming in a typical night (on state television). What sort of content is presented? Who is it aimed at?


7. View footage: “Pop Culture”: CHTV 3 launch


8. Compare the programming to what we have today. Which would you find more exciting? How would a New Zealander from the 1960s react to today’s programming? What does the 1960s programming tell us about life in the 1960s? Extension: What does it tell us about the programmers, and censorship?


9. Extra Footage: Auckland Half Million