Photo Recall: Schoolyard politics, sexities-style

Back in November 1969, Pukekohe primary school pupils carried out their own general election. Photo / NZ Herald. Photo Researcher / Emma Walter

Heather Stonyer shrieks and declares the Herald photo of her "voting" more than 40 years ago scarred her childhood .

Back then she was Heather MacKay, a shy 8-year-old at Pukekohe Hill School, when the Herald photographer came calling. The photo, published on election day, November 29, 1969, shows Heather posting her vote in the ballot box while 10-year-old Allan Trappitt votes and Stephen Polwart, 10, has his name checked off the electoral roll.

Heather can't remember who or what she was voting for, but she remembers the picture.

"It was a heinous photo. Of course I remember it, it scarred my childhood forever," she laughs.

With pre-election campaigning in full swing and Keith Holyoake the Prime Minister and leader of the National Party, up against Labour's Norm Kirk, Pukekohe Hill School decided it would be a good time to teach its young pupils about elections. So they staged their own.

Herald files reveal that the school's social studies teacher discovered the 120 pupils she taught knew little or nothing about the general election and came up with an extracurricular project to change that.

Children from standards two to four selected one boy and one girl candidate from each class. Those 10 students had to organise a campaign committee and electioneer. The classes went through two weeks of speech-making, banner-waving and campaigning before voting day. The two elected winners would be school leaders until the end of the year.

By the end of the fortnight, the social studies teacher reported the youngsters were familiar with everything from electoral procedure and Franklin candidates to the Cabinet and "the whereabouts of Bellamy's".

As for the winners, Heather's brother, 11-year-old Bruce MacKay, was joint winner with another boy, Lawrence Walker, aged 11, while Kathryn Roberts, 11, won the girl's vote.

Forty-two years later Stonyer, now an engineer and sustainability consultant in Auckland, admits she can't remember whether or not she voted for her brother. "I'm sure I would have voted for him but I just can't remember."

Stephen Polwart, who's now in construction and working on the Te Rapa bypass, is also a little vague about the details. Polwart, from a family of seven children, still lives in Pukekohe and so do one of his brothers and a sister.

He spent two-and-a-half years travelling overseas but saw no reason to move anywhere else once he returned. "I've never had a problem earning a living in Pukekohe and I saw no reason to leave."

As for the real election result, the National Party won its fourth consecutive term, but not by much. Labour's vote was only 1 per cent behind National's, but they gained only 39 seats to National's 45.