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Story: City images

Glide time

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<em>Glide time</em>

Wellington’s public service culture was gently satirised in the 1970s play Glide time. Written by Roger Hall, it depicted the personalities, monotony and pettiness of public-service office work. It underscored the stereotype of a bloated and inefficient public service. Here the cast of Glide timestand outside a Wellington government office building in 1976. The play also became a popular television series.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP-Arts-Theatre-Circa-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Ben Schrader, City images – Four main centres, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/25312/glide-time (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Ben Schrader, published 3 March 2010.