Free Milk

The First Labour Government, concerned about the health of the country’s youth, gave us each a bottle of free milk every school day. Pupils at Little River took it in turns to be milk-monitors. The bus from Christchurch to Akaroa left crates of pasteurised milk under the blue gums by the tennis-courts. If not picked up immediately they would get warm and go off. When the bus arrived late, as it did frequently, we had extra time off school, mainly passed in gum-nut battles. As this was the time our tables were heard it seemed a good period to miss. If it was really late, we would skip 'sums' as well.

Play-time in winter saw us drinking hot cocoa and milk. Free apples were also part of the system. Milk and apples made sense in town, but in Little River less so. But now as I hear about malnourished kids in our classrooms I wonder whether something has been lost – a common sense of care for our young people. Micky Savage’s lot knew something about nationhood we appear to have lost.