Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 30, No. 11. 1967.

Pooh satire on NZ — Canta

Pooh satire on NZ

Canta

One of the biggest student clubs at Canterbury University is the Pooh Society. On the tenth of July the Society celebrated that momentous event — Eeyore's Birthday Party.

The main business of the birthday party was the presentation of an address by Mr. B. T. Brooks, MA, LIB. on "Winnie the Pooh and the New Zealand Political Scene."

"Winnie the Pooh not only ranks with the Bible and Shakespeare as a great work of fiction." said Mr. Brooks, "but it is clearly also the Great New Zealand Novel of political satire. Mr. Milne, writing 40 years ago and 12,000 miles away, is to be congratulated."

The forest was obviously the political jungle, continued Mr. Brooks. The theme of the novels is the character assassination, political in-fighting, and Fuhrer principle of New Zealand politics.

Pooh is the stock politician of the National Party He has "little brain"; he is avaricious, stupid, obsessed with his: honey hoard. In Chapter 6, faced with a problem, he looks to the right before the left.

Piglet is. of course, Muldoon. He is the hatchet man; a nasty piece of work, with flattery and machination his weapons. For example, his attempt to usurp Pooh's birthday present for Eeyore.

Rabbit is the Junior Nat in a hurry. "Hello, everyone." he says, "and a special hello for the little ones." He ignores Eeyore. seeing in him no easy advantages. All his friends and relations are. in the end, no help to him—he ends up as a messenger boy.

Tigger is the mysterious outsider, boastful, bouncing, and ineffectual. "Who else," asked Mr. Brooks, "than Cracknell?"

Tigger becomes great friends with little Roo. Roo is taken for a ride, up a forest tree—"A gum tree, of course." said Mr. Brooks— where Tipper drops him and is himself left out on a limb. "One feels sorry for Roo in the story and sorrier still for the Voting Public in real life."

"Roo, always falling into things and being left behind. has his only protector and source of information in Karma, in whose pocket Roo is kept, and by whom Roo is daily forcibly spoon fed. Symbolically, this is the press and the NZBC; personalised, Kanga is Austin Mitchell.

Eeyore, cynical critical, grumpy and clinging to his rags of pathetic dignity, is Sir Leslie Munroe. And Owl, to whose door all the characters ultimately troop. Owl, with his air of solemnity and wisdom—he is the Governor-General. He lives "under the name of Sanders": That is, with his honorary degrees.

Christopher Robin himself can be none other than Holyoake. Blue braces. A taste for blue balloons. Hums. Foppish. Seeks education, denies it to others. Ruthless. Brings Pooh back to earth with a load of buckshot in one chapter, starves him for a week (While reading "comforting stories") in another.

Christopher Robin is the final arbiter, leader, scarce-monger, and compromise worker. The book starts and finishes with Christopher Robin in a "high place" looking down on the others— including Owl.

Mr. Brooks finished in a storm of applause, and over supper and more beer ably defended his arguments.

Men use thought only to justify their wrongdoings, and speech only to conceal their thoughts.—Voltaire.

The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.— Wilde.