There is something oddly comforting in the fact that do-it-yourself accidents continue to cost New Zealand a fortune. It is even vaguely reassuring to know that people are still tumbling from great heights at sufficient a rate to encourage the ACC to consider an amnesty for faulty ladders. Broken limbs are the lot of grounded handymen, but perhaps they also deserve badges of honour. To them, in defiance of the march of technology, has fallen the maintenance of a tradition of old-fashioned self-reliance.
Since the early days of settlement, this has been celebrated as a national characteristic. Mostly from circumstance, perhaps a little from desire, New Zealanders fostered a culture of independence. They revelled in the belief that they could turn their hands to anything. No problem was so difficult that it could not be tackled head-on. The plumber, mechanic or other specialist tradesman was summoned only when things went hopelessly awry. If, as the ACC suggests, there is a downside to such thinking, there are also considerable pluses. Self-reliance breeds self-confidence and a sense of initiative. Writer John Mulgan, on reacquainting himself with New Zealand soldiers during the Second World War, noted among their qualities "the versatility of practical men."
Today, that versatility might not be dead but it is certainly endangered. When the vacuum cleaner breaks down, how many of us take the engine to pieces, and how many dispatch it to the repair shop? When a tap springs a leak, how many recognise that only a new washer is needed, and how many call the plumber? Often, of course, technological advances have placed even the most humdrum of household appliances beyond the ken of the most determined handyman. Take the sophistication of many modern tap systems. Or consider the motor car.
There was a time when many young men spent much of their leisure time under a bonnet. Their first car marked the transition from childhood to adulthood. The more clapped-out it was, the better. Here was an invitation to fiddle, whether to soup up the engine, lower the chassis or fix a seemingly endless number of faults. Nowadays, cars do not break down so often. Technology has seen to that. Technology, however, is also a powerful disincentive for dallying under the bonnet. The modern motor bears little resemblance to the simple piece of machinery that once so engaged young men.
Other aspects of a changing society, too, have discouraged a do-it-yourself attitude. We spend more hours at work, and the two-day weekend is a distant memory to many. An ever-increasing range of entertainment options and our greater mobility also make spending time on household maintenance and repair too mundane for some. So much so that a small army devotes itself to tending other people's gardens, mowing their lawns and cleaning their houses.
Somewhat perversely, a glut of television do-it-yourself shows is swimming against this tide. Too often, they make the lot of the handyman appear ludicrously simple. Rooms are transformed virtually overnight and unruly backyard gardens almost instantly assume an appearance befitting the grounds of a stately house. Thus, such programmes are sometimes accused of encouraging people to work too fast and to flout basic safety rules. Yet they have an undoubted impact. A renewed interest in gardening is clearly related to primetime exposure on television. It helps also that gardening retains a simplicity - the intricacies of mechanical line-cutters notwithstanding.
When a garden is in full bloom, it captures the essence of handymanship. There is a huge sense of achievement in orchestrating that display of brilliance from scratch. As, indeed, there is in repairing a washing machine or changing the oil of the family car. We lose a real source of self-esteem when we give up hoarding pieces of No 8 fencing wire.
<i>Editorial:</i> Don't be discouraged, do it yourself
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