New Zealand Listener – August 10, 2019

10 LISTENER AUGUST 10 2019

LETTERS

ended by beating a victim to
death. But let’s face it – these
youths were simply putting
into violent form one of the
worst flaws in our national
character. We don’t know any-
thing about homosexuals, we
don’t want to know anything
about them ... but from the
depths of our ignorance we
are quite certain that they are
fair game for every kind of
coarse insult, handy material
for mindless jokes and unfit for
acceptance into decent rugby-
playing society.
Frank Haden
(196 4)

BULLDOZING THE PAST
During my short stay in this
country, I have been very
surprised at the lack of esteem
for the valuable old houses ... I
am shocked to see how vintage
houses that would obtain high
prices in Europe are considered
as practically valueless in New
Zealand and are bulldozed
down.
F Hundertwasser
(1973)

GO, YOU GORGEOUS ALL BLACKS
What a delight to see and
hear Graham Henry on Deaker
On Sport. I was spell-bound.
What a likeable, articulate,

thoughtful, enthusiastic and

modest man and how lucky

we are to have him coach-

ing the All Blacks. And what

a relief after the silent John

Each question this week relates

to 1939, the year the Listener was

first published.

1. Which poet published a
   collection titled Old Possum’s
   Book of Practical Cats, on which
   the musical Cats was later
   based?
   ❑TS Eliot
   ❑Dylan Thomas
   ❑WH Auden
   ❑Maya Angelou


2. Which airline started the first
   transatlantic passenger and
   mail service, using flying boats
   called Clippers?
   ❑Pan American
   ❑Air France
   ❑British Airways
   ❑Lufthansa


3. Which country was
   invaded by Germany on
   September 1?
   ❑Poland
   ❑Czechoslovakia
   ❑Norway
   ❑France
   4. Which film’s premiere in
   Atlanta attracted a huge crowd
   of 300,000 onlookers?
   ❑The Wizard of Oz
   ❑King Kong
   ❑Casablanca
   ❑Gone with the Wind
   5. Which fictional hero, created
   by Bob Kane and Bill Finger,
   made his first appearance?
   ❑Spider-Man
   ❑Batman
   ❑Flash Gordon
   ❑The Phantom
   6. Which of these novelty
   dances was quickly becoming
   popular?
   ❑Electric slide
   ❑The shake
   ❑Conga line
   ❑Limbo
   7. Who was New Zealand’s
   Prime Minister in 1939?
   ❑William Massey
   ❑Michael Joseph Savage
   ❑Sidney Holland
   ❑Peter Fraser
   8. What did President Franklin
   D Roosevelt advocate in a
   September 3 “fireside chat”
   radio address to the US?
   ❑Industrialisation
   ❑Neutrality
   ❑Education reform
   ❑Mobilisation for war
   9. What unusual event was
   observed by the lighthouse
   keeper at Cape Maria van
   Diemen, at the top of the North
   Island?
   ❑Ts u n a mi
   ❑Albino whale stranding
   ❑Snowfall
   ❑Underwater eruption
   10. Which of these Pulitzer
   Prize-winning books was first
   published?
   ❑To Kill a Mockingbird
   ❑The Grapes of Wrath
   ❑Tales of the South Pacific
   ❑The Age of Innocence

Answers on

page 96.

(^10) by GABE ATKINSON
Quick
Questions
Mitchell, with his irritatingly
hard-boiled head and cauli-
flower ears.
Is it just that we are now
seeing the team through
Henry’s eyes that they sud-
denly look so endearing and
so diverse? Jono Gibbes with
his laconic smile and attractive
drawl, Joe Rokocoko with his
bounding cheetah-like grace,
the infectious grin of Carlos
Spencer and all that quick and
clever passing instead of the
old rolly-polly-punch-about in
the mud. “Flamboyant” and
“gorgeous” are the words that
spring to mind.
Even the names of the
players echo this. Xavier,
Byron, Carlos, Tana, Muliaina,
Mehrtens. And what a wonder-
ful mishmash of Polynesians
and Europeans they are, and
much the better looking for it.
(And how pasty and ugly the
English by comparison.)
As a longtime, hardened
hater of the loutish side of
rugby, I seem suddenly to have
become a convert. Gorgeous!
Flamboyant! I never dreamt I
would use those words about
rugby men.
Dinah Priestley
Former member of War (Women
Against Rugby)
(Thorndon, Wellington, 2004)
FAWNING OVER THE CROWN
Who on Earth was responsible
for the cover photo of Princess
Anne (November 10)? Surely
not the editor? A man who
writes nationalistic editorials is
obviously aware of the colonial
nature of the relationship New
Zealand has with the English
Crown. You are aware of this,
aren’t you?
Bruce Jesson
(1973)
To celebrate our birthday, we’re giving readers the
presents. We have four great titles for 10 lucky read-
ers: The Penguin History of New Zealand, by Michael
King, The Meaning of Trees, by Robert Vennell, Owls
Do Cry, by Janet Frame and History Year By Year,
by DK Publishing. To enter, send your name and
address to “80th book giveaway”, NZ Listener,
Private Bag 92512, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141, or
go to noted.co.nz/win. Competition closes Sunday,
August 18, 2019.
Bumper 80th book giveaway