'Now then, ladies and gentlemen.' In the era before television, the reassuring tones of Michael Joseph Savage, the first Labour prime minister, became familiar to the entire country through radio broadcasts. On election night, 27 November 1935, Savage spoke from 1YA. Listen to this extract from his speech.
An iconic photograph of Savage can be seen on the wall above this family eating dinner. This same image could once be found in the houses of Labour supporters throughout the country.
Transcript
It seems to me ladies and gentlemen that at last in New Zealand, Labour has the opportunity of giving effect to principles that have been near and dear to most of us for the greater part of a lifetime. Now then ladies and gentlemen, we have no desire to raise ourselves at your expense. Our object in life is to cooperate with you to find out what you think and to go on to do the work of building a prosperous nation, a free nation or a nation of free peoples in these southern seas. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.
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Image: Palmerston North City Library, 2010N_A175-67-1_004203
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