Forty five years ago today was DC (decimal currency) Day in New Zealand when pounds, shillings and pence were replaced with dollars and cents.
If you’re old enough, you might recognise this song, although it’s not the tune I thought I remembered.
If you were still at primary school in the run up to the currency conversion you might still have a certificate proclaiming you were a dollar scholar.
Cactus Kate Keeping Stock Kiwi Blog No Minister Whaleoil Rivetting Kate Taylor Inquiring Mind Macdoctor A Bee of a Certain Age Lindsay Mitchell Valerie Davies A Touch of the Crazy Hand Mirror Roarprawn Teaching the Teacher Letters From Wetville Look Up At The Sky John Key Bill English Over the Fence National MPs Election results Alf Grumble MP Anti-dismal Offsetting Behaviour visible hand Life Behind the Iron Drape Barbar’s meaty issues MIlking on the Moove NZ Conservative Something Should Go Here coNZervative Quoteunquotenz Credo Quia Absurdum Est Liberation Dim Post Not PC Clint Heine Liberty Scott YourNZ Imperator Fish Mydeology interest.co.nz Scoop Business GonzoFreakpower Rob’s Blockhead Blog Stephen Franks Oswaldbastable M and M Hamish in Auckland Raymond Huber Autism & Oughtimsms Karl du Fresne Story People Zen Bandit Lady Garden PM of NZ Pundit Brian Edwards Media Bowalleyroad Eye to the Long Run Robert Guyton Big News kiwipolitico Laughy Kate Artandmylife Craft is the new black Well behaved women rarely make history Sciblogs Open Parachute Motella Bill Ralston & Janet Wilson John Ansell Will Type for Food Watching Brief Oamaru Opera House Thoughts from 40 Sth Tumeke! Fairfacts Media Show Dave Gee life from right field Latitude 44 Stellar Cafe BK Drinkwater Monkeyswithtypewriter Mydeology Poneke
I can remember being on a school trip from Jafaland to see the thermal wonders of Rotovegas and surrounds, on that very day. In those days natives knew their cultural place diving for ha’pennies in pools, not trying to opportunistically claim the water as today. To sight the pink $100 note, not in general circulation, we had to go to a bank. The $50 note didn’t even exist for another 15 years.
The change mid-high school always stood me in good stead, always being able to easily convert from pounds to dollars and vice versa. Similarly for the change to metric five years later.
I worked for the BNZ at the time and the changeover was a breeze. We were so well prepared, despite the dingbat branch accountant, that we played cards and badminton in the banking chamber for most of the two days we were closed.
BTW – that song you linked to is not the one I recall.