Maori Meter Maid Feeds City Meters

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31089, 18 June 1966, Page 16

Maori Meter Maid Feeds City Meters

A pretty Maori girl from Rotorua spent all day yesterday going around the streets of Christchurch feeding expired parking meters.

She was June Northcroft, aged 16, a meter maid permanently employed by the Rotorua Retailers’ Association to feed expired meters to encourage the use of shops in the city centre. With Miss Northcroft yesterday were Messrs T. R. Cato and R. Woolliams, president and vice-president of the Rotorua Retailers’ Association. Miss Northcroft’s visit here was to promote Rotorua, said Mr Cato. In each expired meter she put 3d and on the windshield of cars she put a card which included an invitation to spend a holiday in Rotorua. Yesterday she found about 200 expired meters and inserted £2 10s worth of threepences. Mr Cato said that the traffic authorities in Rotorua were happy with the scheme, although there had been some opposition at first. They had not approached any officials in Christchurch and the reaction of motorists was favourable when they realised what was being done, said Mr Cato. The idea will not be repeated in Christchurch as Miss Northcroft is to return to Rotorua today. She was given a return air ticket free by N.A.C. which has an advertisement on the back of the card given to motorists. Miss Northcroft said this was her first visit to the South Island. She thought Christchurch was lovely and regretted she did not have time to see more.

Yesterday she wore a pigeon-feather cloak, a piu piu (skirt), d: pari (bodice) and a pare (headband), with a large greenstone tiki pendant. Normally she wears a waterproof cloak specially designed in a Maori style. She said that Rotorua has some cold days and that she did not find it particularly cold in Christchurch yesterday.

in Rotorua Miss Northcroft does her circuit of meters in about one hour and a quarter and uses £lO worth of threepences a week. Mr Cato said this paid the retailers and they had letters of appreciation from all over the country. About 120 Rotorua retailers pay 5s a week towards the scheme.