JUMPING SUNDAYS: The rise and fall of the counterculture in Aotearoa New Zealand, by Nick Bollinger (AUP, $49.99) is published on August 25.
The title is derived from a spring day in 1969, when thousands of mostly young people defied Auckland City's by-laws and came together in Albert Park to dance, sing, play games, make music and smoke marijuana. A band played on the park's rotunda. It was the biggest such gathering, and it was illegal. The Albert Park mass "Sunday Jumping" was a first, and the participants were described by puzzled onlookers as, "hippies, freaks, weirdos, radicals and dropouts".
Wellington-based broadcaster and critic Nick Bollinger documents the subsequent emergence of New Zealand's counterculture in the 1960s and 70s. The book enlarges Bollinger's splendid Goneville: A memoir from 2015.
The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary defines "counterculture" as "a radical, alternative culture, especially among young people, that seeks out new values to replace the established and conventional values of society".
Accordingly, Bollinger (the son of liberal activists Conrad and Marei Bollinger) takes the reader on a rollicking ride through a decade that saw unprecedented social and political change in New Zealand. Dress codes, music, ways of living, eating, drinking, protesting, having sex, political expression and (especially) the ingesting of prohibited substances turned the conformity and insularity of 1950s New Zealand on its head.
This story is from the August 27 - September 2, 2022 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 27 - September 2, 2022 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Candid cameras in wartime
Clandestine photos have been unearthed and turned into a documentary showing Kiwi soldiers during World War II as they have never been seen before.
Return of the queen
Beth Orton brings the personal songs of her career-reviving album to NZ.
Fanny, the musical
How do you turn Jane Austen into opera and why pick Mansfield Park, her most demanding novel? Composer Jonathan Dove explains his approach to Richard Betts.
It's in the blood
Michael Bennett returns his Maori detective to her roots ina convincing, highly anticipated second novel.
Touchstones
Ahead of the Aotearoa Art Fair, Sally Blundell asks New Zealand artists about their favourite local artwork and why it moves them.
Room at the Top
The Opportunities Party could well be a force to be reckoned with as a centrist voice - it's just lacking a leader, a campaign and a lot of money.
Brought to book
He's rich, opinionated and believes in doing good for the community. Property developer Mark Todd is a study in contrasts.
'Why aren't you listening to me?!"
To really understand each other, our brains need to be in sync, says author Charles Duhigg. And, yes, there are ways to get on to the same wavelength.
The virus that came to stay
With current funding for our Covid response drawing to a close, there’s growing recognition that many people are suffering debilitating long-term effects. What’s the next move?
The chips are down
It's a forecast no Irish person with a sense of history expected ever to hear again: a severe potato shortage looms.
