HIST128: Counterculture in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Baby Boomers and Social Change
Administrative Announcements
Bibliographic Exercises: For the second essay, these are due on Monday.
Purpose: To aid in topic selection, reading identification, and essay preparation.
Submission: Electronically. Feedback will also be provided electronically.
Current Context: Referencing is a rapidly changing and complex field; understanding best practices for history is crucial.
Essays: Due at the end of the term.
Exam: Will take place during the examination period, with coaching and further details to follow.
Upcoming Lectures:
This is the final lecture with the current speaker for a while.
Next week (Week 10): Mandy Williams will cover Maori urbanization post-World War Two and the Maori Renaissance, specifically countercultural protest from a race perspective. Tutorials will continue.
Lecture Focus: Counterculture and the Baby Boom Generation
Recap: Building on previous discussions of the baby boom generation and the "golden weather" era.
Key Areas to Cover:
Defining "counterculture" as a term.
Analyzing the tactics employed by countercultural groups.
Case study of a particular activist.
Drawing conclusions from the movement.
Recommended Readings:
Elsie Locke's Peace People: Considered an insider's account from a good historian/writer. The Locke Building on campus is named after her.
Tim Shadbolt's Bullshit and Jellybeans: A primary source from a prominent activist.
Note: The "B word" (bullshit) led to Tim Shadbolt's arrest for public indecency at the time.
The Countercultural Climate
Definition: Against the hegemonic, dominant, or powerful norm; challenging established authority.
Participants in Aotearoa New Zealand:
Baby Boomers: Those born after World War Two, a massive generation.
Characteristics: Held alternative beliefs and views, sought social change through liberation, activism, and new ways of thinking.
Aim: To change society, if necessary, by revolution.
Demographics: Young, urban, educated individuals, primarily from the suburbs (building on previous lectures about baby boomers, suburbs, and the "golden weather"). These are the babies who have come of age.
Societal Norms Pre-Counterculture:
Family Life: Portrayed as traditional (e.g., father in a tie feeding baby, mother slicing bread).
Living: The "quarter-acre Pavlova Paradise" ideal (e.g., Blenheim, 1950s, with veggie patches, rotary washing lines).
Urbanization: Growth of state housing (e.g., Tamaki, 1960), representing a denser urban reality and a move away from the quarter-acre ideal, often state-built due to higher land costs.
Connection to Vietnam War Protests: The counterculture emerged from a context of protesting the Vietnam War, particularly the progressive youth movement (PYM).
Public Perception: While most New Zealanders initially knew little about the war, this younger generation became increasingly vocal in their opposition.
Veterans' Experience: Soldiers returning from Vietnam often faced mistreatment and felt unvalued due to widespread anti-war sentiment, ultimately leading to a later apology.
General Characteristics of the Counterculture Movement
Anti-Racist: Heavily influenced by the American Civil Rights Movement.
Internal Bifurcation: The countercultural movement often split into distinct causes: race, gender, and class, with ideologies not always aligning.
Pro-Women (Generally): Although specific gender messages within this lecture's examples are less explicit.
Class Consciousness: Symbolized by the "tie" (or lack thereof) and connections to labor movements.
International and Western World Location: Influenced by overseas events, but also developed unique local activism (e.g., environmental installations).
Historical Measurement: Historians track this "climate" through specific people, places, and intentions, focusing on actions against the "dominant" or "hegemonic establishment" and the "status quo."
Key Interpretations: Overall anti-war, pro-peace, and pro-environment.
Examples of Countercultural Activism and Tactics
Wellington Committee on Vietnam (COV):
Role: Acted as a national liaison throughout the war, but self-identified as "not a formal organisation" to avoid replicating existing power structures.
Challenges for Historians: Difficult to track due to underground nature, lack of formal records, reliance on oral history (e.g., Elsie Locke's Peace People).
Information Sources: Oral histories, secret service papers (released later, e.g., Nikki Hager's work), police records, official government information, newspaper reports.
Objectives: No military involvement in Vietnam, negotiated settlement, assistance to Vietnamese (not as enemies), technical assistance, public education in Aotearoa New Zealand about the war.
Public Protest and Visibility:
Nature: Loud, forthright, visible to attract attention and be heard.
Historical Context: While public protest is not new, it was considered less "respectable" in post-war New Zealand, especially during the Cold War-era fear of communism and speaking out.
Significance: A brave and dangerous act, specifically new for the baby boomer generation.
Subverting Pre-Existing Ceremonies:
Strategy: Attending and disrupting sacred national days.
Anzac Day: A sacred, solemn day of commemoration. Countercultural groups sought to subvert it.
Remembrance Day: Commemorating the armistice of World War I, also targeted.
Tactics: Laying wreaths to the dead and dying in Vietnam on Anzac Day, directly contrasting with wreaths laid for New Zealand's fallen soldiers.
Example (1972): "Alternative Anzac Day Service" at the Bridge of Remembrance in Christchurch, led by the University of Canterbury and its Students' Association (largely young, white, educated population).
Public Reaction: This activism sometimes led to negative public perception of students as "bludgers."
Example (1967): Anzac Day arrests in Wellington.
Official Condemnation (1969): Prime Minister Norman Kirk (a left-leaning Labour figure) called PYM's Remembrance Day plans "an impudent affront to decency and a mockery of the sacrifice made by thousands of New Zealanders."
Example (1969 Christchurch): PYM wreath inscribed "to the victims of fascism in Vietnam." Mayor Ron Guthrie tore it from the war memorial and flung it away.
"Cat and Mouse" Procedure: PYM would replace the wreath, police would remove it – a symbolic battle.
Motivations of Protesters: Fear of nuclear war and the proliferation of Cold War arms (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament group held silent vigils).
Opposing Views: Mayor Guthrie called protesters "dumb, long-haired louts who have nothing to contribute to our society."
Example (1971 Anzac Day): PYM placed wooden crosses for Vietnamese dead (and New Zealand dead they opposed) beside the war memorial. These were removed by the Returned Services Association (RSA).
Escalation: While initially seen as "peaceful" and contained, tensions were rising.
Marches and the Omega Protest (1968):
Background: From May 1963, New Zealand and the US established government facilities at Woodburn (Blenheim) and Harewood (Christchurch Airport).
1968 Plans: To build eight Polaris missile submarine navigation radio stations, one called "Omega" in the Southern Alps foothills.
Protesters' Concern: Omega would make New Zealand a nuclear target.
Action: On June 28, 1968, people marched through Cathedral Square, Christchurch – the largest anti-war demonstration there at the time.
Student Involvement: 65 ext{ to } 70 ext{%} of the student population protested, along with lecturers and the public.
Outcome: After 18 months, Australia was chosen instead for the facilities. This was seen as a success for the protest movement, demonstrating that public outcry could influence international decisions.
**Sit-ins and Occupation of Private Spaces:
**AUSA POCPAH (Auckland University Society for the Act of Prevention of Cruelty to Politically Apathetic Humans):
Moving Spirit: Tim Shadbolt.
Aims: To be loud, extravagant, and colorful; an "insult to the quiet, rational, intellectual crap" of university precincts.
Tactics (1968 New Year): Marched from Auckland to Wellington with posters demanding no conscription, job provision, and withdrawal of troops from Vietnam.
Tactics (1969 US Consulate Sit-in): On March 17, 1969, a group (including a lecturer), dressed in suits and ties, occupied the US consulate.
First Mass Arrest: For many, it was their first arrest, and for New Zealand, portrayed as the "first mass arrest" (though historically inaccurate, forgetting Parahaka). Protesters were fined $30 each.
Narrative: Protesters portrayed the consul as a "terrified little man" representing a "greatest imperialist power," highlighting the perceived power imbalance and hypocrisy.
Nature of Protest: Peaceful, quiet, involving vigils, silent vigils, and civil disobedience at "offensive sites."
**Civil Disobedience at Offensive Sites: Mount John (March 1972):
**Background: Mount John (300m above Lake Tekapo) housed an astronomical observatory operated by the University of Canterbury.
Agreement (1966-1967): The university subleased part of its government-leased land to the US Air Force Aerospace Defense Command for a satellite tracking station for 50023$$ people arrested. Tate stated, "The time had come to make a stand."
Foreshadowing: This event is seen as a build-up to the more intense confrontations of 1981.
Other Countercultural Tactics: Challenging Norms
Body as a Tool:
Alternative Clothing.
Hair: Often long hair for men, a symbol of defiance (e.g., Mayor Guthrie's "long-haired louts" comment).
Alternative Sexualities: Homosexuality, bisexuality, polygamy became subjects of questioning.
Challenging Race Boundaries.
Embracing Alternative Religions/Moving Spirit ideas.
Offensive and Indecent Language: Used to make a mark and challenge societal norms.
James K. Baxter: Wrote an "ode on mixed flatting" (young men and women living together) that challenged sex segregation, contributing to its eventual change.
Tim Shadbolt: His book Bullshit and Jellybeans embraced controversial language.
Iconography: His image (e.g., on the cover) was reminiscent of Che Guevara, linking to international revolutionary movements.
Controversy: Was arrested and fined $50 for indecent language in a public place for stating that New Zealand's involvement in Vietnam was based on "a firm foundation of bullshit." He refused to pay and was imprisoned for 25 days, leading to protest marches outside the prison.
Politicization: Shadbolt became politicized at university, criticizing academic institutions for being stale and disconnected, advocating for "positive alternatives."
Later Lives of Activists: Many became politicians or mayors (e.g., David Caygill, Phil Goff, Tim Shadbolt).
Question of "Selling Out": Did they join the status quo? Often, they ended up disciplining subsequent generations of protesters, raising questions about hypocrisy.
Conclusion: Impact and Legacy
Nature of Protest: While some aspects were confrontational and "masculinist" (brute force, anger), other movements were peaceful (e.g., Youth Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on the beach, Christian Pacifist Society's "love is stronger than hate" bus).
Shift in Attitudes: The protests led to a significant shift in New Zealanders' attitudes towards peace, war, and racism.
Generational Effort: Primarily driven by the baby boomer generation, aided by their elders.
Defining New Zealand Identity: From being seen as "fringe hooligans," countercultural ideas became more mainstream, helping to define New Zealand's identity.
1981: Protests in 1981 (not detailed in this lecture but referenced) represented a harsh but important turning point.
Normalisation of Alternatives: What was once alternative and radical became normal:
Herbal tea.
Long hair for men.
Diverse sexuality.
Swearing in public.
Mixed flatting.
Early Examples: Even in 1966, protesters (well-dressed) chained themselves to the pillars of Parliament during the US Vice President's visit and later during Lyndon B. Johnson's visit to drum up support for Vietnam. There was a huge crowd with protest banners alongside the welcoming crowd.