1974: The End of the World

January 14, 2020

By AHNZ

This day in history, 24 January 1974, the fixture suspending the great globe at Canterbury Museum gave out. The plaster sphere of the world exited its low orbit where it had been since 1957 and smooshed into the floor.

And this happened on the exact same day the Christchurch Commonwealth Games began.

After 16 years it just hit the floor on that day.

That might have made news headlines which, actually, would promote the museum to more of the many many visitors to Christchurch. More money for any special exhibitions. More tourist revenue for that souvenir shop.

“The plaster globe hung there for over 16 years until, on 24 January 1974, it suddenly crashed to the ground, breaking into many fragments. A faulty replacement ceiling spindle was identified as the cause of the end of this particular world.”- Canterbury Museum; Facebook

Sure thing. Maybe.

But in Anarchist History our first recourse is to be sceptical of these ‘it just happened’ answers. When there is something involving money or power or attention to gain from a thing happening look to that before putting a happening down to mere coincidence.

Remember, the 1974 Commonwealth Games were very expensive and far from being about athletics. They were, as ever, about over-spending and debt in the hopes of pumping momentary tourist dollars into the given local economy. Abandon all hope, and don’t rock the boat, and we’ll all make a few hundred grand! The wealth transfer of this Government Program certainly benefits some in the moment but at the cost of the many. It puts the economy on performance-enhancing drugs that provide short-term gain in exchange for long-term suffering but unlike the 1820s Murder Olympics people aren’t deliberately killed. However, like the earlier, Maori, version, these Games do also leave derelict monuments and useless unaffordable stadiums or event centres rotting behind them.

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Image ref. Canterbury Museum; Facebook

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