Allan's Post
HISTORY WAS MADE HERE.
It's a modest enough little house in the North Otago town of Kurow, but it played a monumental part in NZ history. It is where three wise men met to create what became the New Zealand Social Welfare System of the first Labour government.
Who were those Three Wise Men?
Doctor Gervan McMillan (this was his house), the Presbyterian Minister Arnold Nordmeyer and the School headmaster J. Andrew Davidson. Worried abut the living and working conditions of the men working on the Waitaki dam the three joined the Labour Party and created the welfare system that was embraced by the Mickie Savage government and which, modified a bit, still exists today.
J. Andrew Davidson was better known as "Jock" and he was my headmaster at Macandrew Intermediate and for many, many years was a prolific letter writer to the ODT always signing as J.A. Davidson.
Brian Muntz
Do you remember the the assembly when in the middle of the daily Lords Prayer Jockey stopped at give us this day our daily bread to admonish us for the amount of lunch litter in the playground then carried straight on!
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Pamela Hurrell
Brian Muntz this is QUITE amazing !!!
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Bernard Barrett
Brian Muntz " Give us this day our daily bread to admonish those who litter among us "🤣🤣🤣🤣
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Edited
Yvonne Jones
Dr McMillan married my husband's second cousin Ethel Emma Black from Gisborne. Ethel was very active in local affairs in Otago, was the first woman to be elected to Dunedin City Council and a Labour Politician for 22 years.
May be an image of one or more people
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Alec Birch
Nordys bio is worth reading. Huge battle with the BMA to establish free Healthcare. The profiteers never gave up, just went quiet. Can't help but conclude that they are playing a huge role in the systems struggles today.
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Peter Jamieson
Alec Birch they made sure GPs were independent profit making like now although they are being swallowed by large groups.
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Marian Poole
A proud history inspired by the harsh punitive attitudes towards to the poor in mother countries. we need to resurrect our kind and better natures.
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Lauris Thompson
My grandad was killed building the waitaki dam
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Claire Becker
Thats the little house where my Mum and her siblings were born
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Steve McKenzie
Ministers, doctors and teachers have been replaced by lawyers, economists, and professional politicians. And we wonder why NZ is off the rails.
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Michael Player
Had the pleasure of staying in Nordmeyer's house also in Kurow late last year. A solid family home redolent of the history that happened with the combined brain power and humanity of the three wise men.
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Anne Thirkettle
This welfare system was God sent to my mothers family. My grandmother was a widow with large hospital bills from her late husband and also her sick daughter and had she had no way to pay them.Also the widow benefit was very low and not possible to live on it .Her husband thought he had left well off when he died with investments in the banks but we're lost during the great depression .The raise in her widow benefit and wiping of her hospital bills changed my mother's family life's for the better.
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Maire Morrison
My aunt and uncle Alistair and Jo McKenzie had the milk run in Kurow for years.
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Derek Rouse
My Grandfather William Watt was the GP in Kurow before McMillian,who was his locum when my Grandfather took his family to England in1929. During his absence in England McMillian, with the aid of others took over the practice. My Grandfather had started a workers health scheme before leaving. The three wise men stuff isn't as straight forward as it seems. The true story of what happened to my Grandfather's practice is hard to uncover. I did find in the Hocken Library a number of years ago that McMillian had transfered to the South Canterbury Medical association from the Otago Medical association soon after this. Possibly due to the ongoing controversy regarding his taking over my Grandfather's practice.
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Chris Bayly
How interesting - will make a point if looking for the house in our next visit from UK
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Alexander James Griffin
Jock was my head master atMacandrew as well.
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Glenda Winder
This was the doctor's surgery when I lived in Otiake, just out of Kurow
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Rose Hathaway
Thanks for this great history
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David Young
Rose Hathaway The knowledge credit is owed to the 1984 short history of the dam project and its social welfare protagonists, by Gil Natush, an engineer on the project “Waitaki Dammed”.
Be good if this post credited such sources because this is the best short read your library Might still hold.
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Rose Hathaway
David Young thankyou i will look at getting the book to read
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Author
Allan Dick
David Young Sorry l know nothing pf the book you speak of. It’s local knowledge.
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David Young
Allan Dick That’s great. I guess Natusch’s mission was to make that knowledge national. It’s not a large work, but with photos, soft cover, published by Otago Heritage Books. Well worth a reprint,
one of those “from small seeds”, accounts, that changed the course of history.
I note that Dunedin’s George Griffiths was its driver, publishing 32 books between 1980 and 2006, many of them by Pacific historian, Rhys Richards.
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Kate White
David Young have you read any of Linley Eades books about the history of the Waitaki Valley the dams and the people, if not then you should. I believe Linley owns the above property and is careful to be a honest caretaker.
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David Young
Kate White thanks for the tip, Kate, I did work in 1985 in the valley for the 12-river “ Faces of the River”. Long time ago.
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Edited
Tom Ferry
Arnold Nordmeyer will always be remembered for his “black budget”.
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Irene Benfell-Herron
Thankyou for this wonderful piece of history
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Bob McKerrow
God bless them all. The Labour party governed with wisdom and compassion.
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Leeann Morton
Such interesting history, thank you.
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Rhona Mudgway
My maiden name was Dick from Invercargill. Not sure we are related or not!
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Kay Harris
Did any subsequent Kurow Headmasters, live in this house?
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Glenda Sargeant
Pop into the Kurow Museum there’s a great history of the 3 men
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Deirdre Lousley Sisson
I so remember that house!
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Peter Kerr
Nordmeyer the black budget man
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Liz Bennetts
Thank you for this interesting writing on our history x
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Michael Teare
Thanks for posting this Mr Dick, a very important part of our history.
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Allan Taylor
We certainly owe these men much. What a cracking history lesson. Thanks
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Denis Corkery
Is it “listed”?
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Sue Jane Burrowes
Thank you for sharing this bit of our History
😀
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Joseph McMillan
Dr McMillan and my dad were cousins
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Michael Doran
I think this was worth sharing. Very well written..
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Heather Flavell
Grew up in North Otago but never knew that.
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Noosa Bonneys
Great people with great fore sight
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Elaine Mcgill
Wot year did that meeting take place
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Jackie Chatfield
Interesting to read that history. Thank you.
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Paul Oconnor
Love the Mountain blue Roof.
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Frank Wylie
Thanks for the post, very informative
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Heather Cameron
Very interesting Allan
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Mark Warren
Angela
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Ken Bradley
Great info
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Debbie George
Merv Jury Di might be interested in this
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Dave Mason
Wow ! Cool story cheers
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Peter Jamieson
Now Seyless wants Airnz flogged off ignoring its history.
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Jim Bennett
See the video of the Three Wise Men of Kurow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtLTyzyWKXI only 5.15 minutes long.
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Edited
Janet Smith
Many thanks for enlightening me/us. More to come please.
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Christine Townsend
Very interesting😊😊
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Nick Phillips
Kurow's ministers punching well above their weight with Geering and Nordmeyer!
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Nicolas Christopher Pegg
Alliance Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
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Sharron Herbert
Defyd Williams Vanessa McCluskie Tanya Appleby Trevor Appleby
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Vicki Thorpe
Delia Baskerville
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Penni L. O'Pe
Chris Priestley - do I smell a potential song subject for you here?
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Margaret Gillum
Shame we haven't got even one in parliament now
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Elizabeth Watson
I was just commenting this morning in a debate on power prices. Men worked in pretty bad conditions to build our hydro dams on the Waitaki river. Built by the government then sold 49% off. They still make massive profits from power and we pay through the nose.
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John Beatty
You kiwi's need to get that horse faced bitch back to NZ. the cunt is planning buying a house in Sydney. Fuck it off outa here
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John Smallridge
The gateway for bludgers and piss takers. Mond you people had higher morals back then than they do now.
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