The late John Clarke (aka Fred Dagg) introduced some marvellous New Zealand comedy during the 1970s in which he captured in satirical form some of the characteristics of farmers who were often referred to as Cockies.
He was particularly interested in the idiosyncracies of this group and how they communicated, creating a picture of solid, uncomplicated blokes. Fred in his black singlet and ample-sized gumboots could in a few words capture the laconic nature of a rural farming conversation, from the trivial to the more philosophical.
Fred Dagg became one of the most popular figures in television during this era. He also had a musical bent and his Greatest Hits was hugely popular. The song Gumboots reached number 6.
The 1970s was also the high water mark for sheep farming with New Zealand having about 50 million sheep and a population of 3 million people. In contrast, Australia at that time had about 180 million sheep and a population of close to 14 million. With the entry of Britain into the EU in 1973 we had to find new markets for our produce and this caused a lot of concern at the time.
Despite these changes Fred Dagg’s song We Don’t Know How Lucky We Are is a real gem with its message as relevant now as it was then. Its theme being how fortunate we are to be living here far from international conflicts and crises, in a benign and stable environment. Two lines in the chorus sums this up: "We don’t know how lucky we are, mate. We don’t know how lucky we are."
John Clarke moved to Australia to further his career but returned on occasions to remind us of the special talent he possessed.
Australia by that time was often referred to as "the lucky country" and where his career was to blossom in different ways.
New Zealand’s particular uniqueness had been earlier noted by former British MP Austin Mitchell when he lived here in the 1960s describing it as The Half-Gallon Quarter Acre Pavlova-Paradise.
Humour is such a valuable resource and something to be cherished. John Clarke, together with Murray Ball’s Footrot Flats, are national treasures, each capturing memorable aspects of rural life in a light-hearted and whimsical way. Life is of course challenging with New Zealanders not immune to cost-of-living pressures, rising interest rates and so forth. But we have much to be thankful for, with our hard-working rural sector continuing to be hugely important for the nation’s economic wellbeing. The immortal words of Fred Dagg are worth repeating. "We don’t know how lucky we are."
- Joss Miller is a retired Dunedin lawyer.
