Hello Vin,
Warning: it may be boring, it’s just my yarn looking back on how life used to be 49 years ago.
Dad left Osaka for NZ in late 1969 and the rest of us joined him in May '70. I was seven years old at the time, my sister was nine. I had finished my first year at a Japanese primary school in March and just started my second year. Of course when we arrived in NZ, the school term had long started and I was placed in a much younger Primer2 class. I remember an older female teacher taking me aside every day to practice reading in English. My poor mother had hired an English tutor before we left Japan but that had absolutely no practical use in reality what-so-ever.
I did not utter a single word apart from the reading lessons during my few months at Orakei Primary. So when I encountered this mysterious "marmite and chips roll" that kids were all ordering for lunch, I craved but never got to try one. The teacher would ask "Butter and jam?" and I simply nodded. Some kids were too poor to bring lunch while some even brought ice cream for dessert. That was my introduction to NZ society.
Things were different after we moved to Mission Bay. 11 Nihill Cres was only a few skips away from waterfront and almost heavenly on a very high ground. I have a funny feeling posh Jock had a say in choosing this property for MNZ. It was grand and I had no problem mixing 'n mingling at and after my new school. Visitors from Japan including Chairman of MC Tokyo were invited to our residence as there were no suitable Japanese restaurants or caterers at the time. Wives would come to help mum prep food and crayfish, got dressed, served, and we were shown our rooms upstairs after shoving early tea in the kitchen.
I don't know for how long Mitsubishi NZ kept that place. I have no recollection of Mr Yamashita who replaced Dad in Sept 1974. I am not even sure if his family accompanied him, it was no home for a single person. When we lived there, there were constant comings and goings; the house was all white (I know it was painted pink at one stage); there was no swimming pool; and mature trees and shrubs covered where it's now subdivided. Next door in No.13 were elderly Mr & Mrs Margan who helped me one day with my homework "list the names of NZ government ministers." When I ran to their place in tears, they had to ring up a few people as they had no idea either. Apart from that and few other things, I definitely had a privileged life and Kohimarama Primary wasn't too bad after all.
MNZ with four Japanese staff members I think had the largest presence among Auckland Japanese business circle. Quite a few Japanese firms made up a large contingent including Marubeni, Japan Line, Nichimen etc. And we all stuck together along with the Japanese Consulate’s family where mutual support meant lots of gossiping and gatherings. After all, cell phones and Internet didn’t come to play for another two decades. I’m sure I remember a lot of things from all the unintended eavesdropping.
Among many MC staff, Mr & Mrs Nishizawa spent the longest time in NZ by far. They were older and had a much older uni aged daughter followed by two boys. The youngest being similar age which meant going to Japanese supplementary class every week like all other "chuzai (overseas posting)" kids. Most families lived in East Auckland; Consulate’s official residence is still in Glendowie. Kids went to different local schools only to congregate at a flat in Kohi after school where our lessons were held and mothers exchanged various useful information. Mothers struggled more so than kids to prepare for our return to Japanese school system. And that's why we ended up at Baradene when our stay in NZ entered our 4th year. Baradene's sister school in Japan was high in mum's mind and divine intervention came in the form of Sister Principal’s all important recommendation letter.
The young Soda's, followed by Watanabe's and Yamada's all had either babies or/and toddlers so I had less contact but Mr & Mrs Sakai had a daughter a year younger whom I played with alot. One of our most sought after things were Japanese comic books and demand was overwhelming. BOAC flew regularly from Tokyo to Sydney those days but the Tasman Sea proved to be an awfully difficult ditch to cross in our young minds when our precious monthly copy took time to arrive from Sydney all the way to Auckland.
MNZ had a full time driver at first by the name of John and when he retired Les took over. Before I knew it, dad was driving himself and saw no more of Les. The company car was a beautiful slick, old-fashioned black Austin, comfortable as. And I suspect again to this day that Jock had a say in its replacement. My sister and I suffered constant motion sickness in that latest Jag, it really wasn't funny.
However, long distance drives were had during school holidays as you would in NZ and we often went to Mt Maunganui after Sakai family moved there. Except for once we drove down to Taupo where we met up with Japanese folks from Wellington biz circle. That was the only time I can remember meeting them so there was obviously no regular contact between Auckland families and Wellington counterparts. From memory, we played bulrush together so there must have been quite a few school aged children. FYI no parents complained about the nature of bulrush, they probably had no idea what it was.
So, those were the days. Supermarkets closed on weekends and empty glass milk bottles were left by the letterbox with milk tokens inside to be collected and new bottles delivered. PM Norman Kirk died in office when I was at a farewell sleepover with girlfriends. As part of a routine, we bid farewell to Soda family and welcomed Watanabe family, bid farewell to Nishizawa family and welcomed Yamada family. Now it was time for us to be farewelled at Auckland International Airport.
Jock was always there for us. When someone rear-ended mum's car at Kohi Primary, he came with dad to check we're okay. When I visited NZ in 1983 just before starting full-time at NYK Tokyo, he was the one to take me to my older sister's place in Hamilton. I never knew dad had another daughter till then but everyone at MNZ certainly did. It turned out she flew to Auckland with him in '69 and when it was time for us to come and join, arrangements were made for Yuri to go see Bob Wheeler in Wellington. She stayed on, found a husband and the rest so we say is history.
Obviously, I don’t know what went on inside MNZ apart from the fact that they shifted office probably more than I changed school. Few people who wove the fabric of MNZ have sadly departed. Mr and Mrs Nishizawa, Mr Yamada, Mr Takewaki and Mr Okobira more recently, Jock and Isabella among others whom I didn’t have the privilege of knowing. Google tells me Neville Roebuck is no longer with us and neither is my dad. But they were all here in Auckland representing MNZ the best way possible and I’m sure they couldn’t be happier than being remembered by their fellow MNZ staff past and present. So from us “NZ Chuzai and their families” I wish you a Merry Xmas 2019. Our life in NZ had been wonderful and I am very grateful you cared to remember.
Akiko
