A little story behind this photo...
When I was a kid, I used to beg my dad to take me into his panel shop on Saturday mornings. I loved being around all the cars, the smell of the workshop, and even the stacks of paper in the office. (photo: copyright July 2026 J Hellriegel)
Plain Text : A little story behind this photo...
When I was a kid, I used to beg my dad to take me into his panel shop on Saturday mornings. I loved being around all the cars, the smell of the workshop, and even the stacks of paper in the office.
I made an art form out of being a tomboy. Except when I was hanging around the wrecking yard watching cars being dismantled... then I'd imagine I was a princess and all the smashed glass scattered across the ground were tiny diamonds.
While I was still at primary school, Dad had me stuffing wages into pay packets and taught me a great deal about running a small business. Those early lessons in accounts and administration have stayed with me all my life. They've helped sustain my arts career , helped me navigate the music industry, and eventually enabled me to start my own business. For that, I'll always be grateful.
I know there's a trend to blame previous generations for the financial hardship many people face today, and a growing enthusiasm to tax more. But from where I stand, it wasn't the workers. It was successive governments taxing more, adding levies, and gradually devaluing the working person's dollar.
This photo is a good place to start.
These are some of the men who worked in my dad's panel shop after they'd finished putting this Midget back together. Most would have earned enough to start a family, save, and buy a home. There was a real sense of optimism in Auckland back then.
Yes, interest rates were higher... but since then (and I'll keep this short because it's only a Facebook post! ), we've seen GST introduced and rise from 10% to 12.5% to 15%. We're told GST can't come off fresh fruit and vegetables —yet Australia manages to do it.
At Christmas Dad would give every employee a bottle of whisky , cases of beer , a ham , chocolates , cakes and a cash gift. Today employers have to be much more careful because many gifts are treated as taxable benefits. It feels like the Christmas Grinch has slowly crept into the employer–employee relationship.
Council rates were more reasonable too, and I remember when the council had its own fleet of vehicles before many services were privatised. We were told selling assets would be better for everyone... Hands up if you think that worked out.
Water is another example. Once it was looked after directly by the council. Now we have separate organisations with boards, CEOs and layers of costly administration where once it all sat under one umbrella. Another levy and another layer that, in my view, we didn't need—but we have it anyway.
Some of the people in this photo would also have remembered Auckland's trams before they were removed and replaced by diesel buses. Another "great" decision by politicians and councils.
I remember all those old bills because Dad taught me to write them into a ledger by hand.
Fast forward to 2026... everything feels so much more complicated. You almost need a degree just to understand small business compliance and what is taxed, where. The working person's dollar has been chipped away by taxes, levies, charges and compliance.
There's a lot more I could say... but today I simply wanted to share this stamp in time photo and the story behind it, in contrast to the zeitgeist.
P.S. This photo was taken where Victoria Park Market stands today. © J. Hellriegel 2026. All rights reserved. (Original photograph is edited for privacy)
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