Real Life

What Robert Muldoon told housewives when New Zealand’s currency went decimal

Fifty years ago Kiwis switched to dollars and cents. Here's what the then-Minister of Finance, Robert Muldoon, had to say.
An elderly woman looks over some  of the bargain items in a grocery store in Auckland, 1968.

An elderly woman looks over some of the bargain items in a grocery store in Auckland, 1968.

Fifty years ago Kiwis were readied for the upcoming “DC Day” on July 10, 1967 – the introduction of the decimal currency to New Zealand. Amongst the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly’s eight-page guide to navigating the new system was this article, specially written for the magazine by the HON R.D. Muldoon, who was the current Minister of Finance.

To you… Women who handle the money. From Mr Muldoon

The women of New Zealand will be at the forefront of all matters relating to our changeover to dollars and cents.

It is the women of New Zealand who do the shopping. It is also the women of this country who form the greater part of our shop assistant population. It will be women – without a doubt – who will handle our new money more than others.

It is only right, therefore, that I should address these remarks to women in their own national magazine.

The same competent approach that takes our wives and mothers through the daily round of duties will be one of the great factors in helping us through a smooth transition

to dollars and cents.

“Do as you do now” is a slogan of the Decimal Currency Board. If the wives and mothers do just this, we’ll meet none of the trouble that a few alarmists see ahead.

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But this is only one side of the story. Every woman in New Zealand knows of the intense competition being waged in the retail trade – with chain stores and supermarkets setting the trend. They must keep prices competitive to survive.

This survival depends on you. There is no keener shopper anywhere than the New Zealand housewife. Sales, bargains and “specials” are the happy hunting ground of the housewife making the most of her weekly budget. This will be the same in dollars and cents as it is now in pounds, shillings and pence.

Catch lines now at 11d or 9s 11d, convert to 9 cents or 99 cents. With a half cent coin, these could increase to 9½ cents and 99½ cents.

The woman’s part in the changeover goes further than shopping. Being the money-wise member of the household, she will need to take a lead in getting the whole family thinking in terms of dollars and cents.

With a husband’s pay packet now changing from so many pounds to double the number of dollars, it will be the strong hand of the women that will keep household finance in perspective. While we have old and new money circulating together, it must be the women who will have the job of explaining how all money can be spent anywhere until our transition is completed.

The new one-cent and two-cent coins are smaller and more convenient to use – although higher in value than old bronze coins. This will not be lost on housewives.

The handier sized bank notes and more convenient denominations will be noticed too. These are just some of the many incidental benefits of the changeover planned with the wives and mothers of New Zealand in mind.

Now, while this article is addressed to the women, may it conclude with a note about the young and the old of the family.

Children have been well prepared for the changeover through school day activity. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that they will be the family experts in the early days.

The quicker the “real head” of the household becomes thoroughly familiar with dollars and cents, the better it will be for family authority!

Older people, our senior citizens, are more set in their ways than we are. They may find some difficulty adjusting to dollars and cents. The family group will have to help them. Just as we’ll get help from those younger than ourselves, so to should we be ready, in turn, to help our elders.

I am sure this will happen and am certain that through the good services of the women of New Zealand, we’ll all be very quickly enjoying all the advantages of our change to our new, simpler and handier money.

Words: the HON R.D. Muldoon, who was the current Minister of Finance

Half the battle for Mrs Average is the main meal of the day. She bases it thus:

Sunday: Roast meat

Monday: Shepherd’s pie with the minced remains of the joint

Tuesday: Baked sausages

Wednesday: Stew

Thursday: Meat and potato pie

Friday: Fish

Saturday: Chops

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