In the 1950s and 1960s New Zealand's home ownership rates were steadily growing. Aspiring to own your own home was a natural part of family life and this slide shows this perfectly- the young family are dreaming of a large house with a decent lawn. A house that size was a big ambition back then and even harder for most families to afford now! 

Unlike a bank, building societies are owned by their members but offer many of the same financial services. The Societies are able to offer 'ballots' where members who bought shares in a special fund were eligible to receive prizes generated from the fund's interest. Few people won prizes but those who did won more than an equal share from the interest would provide. This was like the former 'Bonus Bonds' scheme which concluded in 2020. For many Society Members the biggest financial goal was to raise enough money for a house deposit. 

This Society was based in Auckland but it appears that Maurice Mead was the local Levin agent who represented them. MAVtech cannot find any information about Mister Mead. Interestingly, despite the invitation to call him there is no phone number on the slide! Was this a mistake, or was the slide one of a pair? If it is the latter that would make it very rare! 

The last thing anyone expected when going to the cinema was being presented with an investment opportunity (unless the cinema happened to be for sale!) but life can provide surprises. Government Works Loans were internal borrowings by the Government to fund public works. Money was sourced from individuals and then paid back with interest. 

According to the 1959 'Hansard' records, 3,772 people subscribed to the 1959 Works Loan, with 939 people loaning under 200 pounds to the scheme. Government Departments also took part in the loan. The previous year's Work Loan raised fifteen million pounds! (although it had more subscribers than 1959's).