Local photographer Jacob Brookie took this picture in September of 2022- local election season! This scene is of the Seaview Gardens, at the base of the Foxton water tower on Main Street. The signs seen here belonged to candidates for Mayor, Council and the Te Awahou Foxton Community Board. Some of these faces were successful in their bid for office, others less so.

Jacob used a 1956 Lipca Rollop Automatic camera to take this picture.

As part of wartime measures, 'Six o'clock closing' became law in 1917. This meant that all pubs had to close at 6pm- a rule which was enforced. Even after the war ended the law continued, but it was the subject of referenda as the years went by.

Supporters of 6pm closing argued that it was better for families because men (who were the primary breadwinners of households at the time) would not stay out late in pubs. However, this often resulted in the infamous 'six o'clock swill' where men would drink as much as they could between leaving work and closing time, with no time for eating. 

Six o'clock closing was retained in a 1949 referendum but defeated in 1967. The restaurant industry complained that it was difficult to sell alcohol with meals and patrons of clubs thought the rules were an intrusion. The rise of international tourism also led to complaints from the visitor industry about the now outdated law.

This slide was from the 1949 referendum. Based off its slogan, it was made for  

"New Zealand Alliance for the Abolition of the Liquor Traffic"- a prohibitionist group who supported 6pm closing. Initially, many pubs and breweries supported 6pm closing as well, seeing it as a way of appeasing prohibitionists who might otherwise advocate for a complete ban on alcohol sales.

With cinema attendance still climbing to record highs, the big screen was used by both sides of the argument to spread the word.

Sidney Holland was the first National Party Prime Minister of New Zealand, serving from 1949-1957. Although his face emboldens this cinema advertising slide few people directly voted for him at the time- the First Past The Post electoral system meant that you only voted for your local candidate. However, as party leader Holland was presumptive Prime Minister if his party took power.

Slides like this one would have been screened across New Zealand by almost all political parties. MAVtech has a range of these slides which we are uploading to Kete. Interestingly, Holland's is one of the few we have with the portrait of the party leader.

This slide was shown to cinema audiences at the end of intermission- paid for by the Labour Party as part of their campaigning. Most political parties used the cinema for electioneering and these slides provide a glimpse into elections long since decided.

Given that this slide says 'Thanks to Labour' it was probably made when Labour was in government. The fashions suggest that this could have been at the end of Walter Nash's term in 1960- although it may have been for the 1949 election when Peter Fraser was in charge.

What is really interesting about this slide is it's definition of 'everyone'- a close look at the faces shows a range of ages and a mixture of men and women. However, there is no cultural diversity in this smiling constituency. It is true that Aotearoa has become more diverse in recent decades, but even when this slide was made its photographs did not represent 'everyone'. 

Political party slogans have changed over the years, as seen in this vintage cinema advertising slide. Showing the 'nuclear family' depicted in advertising and literature of the time, the slogan itself could easily double as a Hollywood mafia threat! 

It probably wouldn't have been read like that at the time though! This wasn't the only slogan which would be seen as suspect today- the MAVtech Kete collection has a National Party slide whose meaning might be misinterpreted...

During the 'first past the post' elections voters only elected their local candidate. As a result,  relatively few of our vintage political slides show the party leader. Most profile who was standing to be the local Member of Parliament or they showed a 'values' picture like this one.

Political slogans have changed over the years and this 1950s cinema electioneering slide shows by just how much! Most political parties do not employ forceful slogans like this one today. The message of this slide comes across as an order rather than an appeal about policy or values!

However, there may be an explanation for this. The first National Government called a snap election during the 1951 waterfront strike (also known as the waterfront lockout) which lasted for 151 days, involved 22,000 striking workers and the passing of emergency legislation. Prime Minister Sidney Holland called a snap election on the issue of managing the strike. 

Given the air of emergency which existed at the time, this slogan would make a lot more sense. However, there is no concrete information to suggest it was made during this election.

The Social Credit political party was founded on the 10th of January 1953 and was based on the social credit economic theories of Major C.H Douglas. Between the mid 1950s and the mid 1980s the party was reasonably popular and often gained over 10% of the national vote. However, due to the First Past The Post electoral system where representation required winning an electorate seat, it never gained more than two seats at a time in Parliament.

This 1950s cinema advertising slide comes from a time when there were over 30 million cinema tickets sold a year in New Zealand and many political parties were using the 'big screen' to electioneer.  In a nice piece of marketing the slide promises voters the consumer goods which would have been showcased in the other cinema advertising slides of the period.

At the time of writing (April 2023) Social Credit is deregistered as a political party- but this slide is a glimpse of the lifestyle many Kiwis desired during the 'baby boom'. Slides like this one were shown throughout New Zealand so would have been seen on Horowhenua screens.

In 1978 Alan Eyles was a candidate in the brand-new electorate of Horowhenua. He came second to National's Geoff Thompson but still managed to get 39.30% of the vote (Thompson got 42.86%). Eyles did not contest the seat again.

The Horowhenua electorate changed boundaries over the years, gaining and losing Shannon and Waikanae. Foxton constantly remained in the electorate. With the advent of MMP in the 1996 election, electorates were redrawn and Horowhenua was largely replaced by the Otaki electorate. 

With the average New Zealander making four or five trips a year to the cinema in 1978, an advertising slide was a great way of getting your face in front of voters. Eyle's photo was in black and white- perhaps to associate him with newspaper publicity. With each slide only shown for a few seconds at a time the message had to be quick and to the point.