Not that long ago, the New Zealand economy was built on sheep, sheep and more sheep. We were asking for economic trouble and in the late 1960s, we got it. Produced by Justin Gregory.

Not that long ago, New Zealand's economy was built on sheep. There was only one real export commodity and one real market. We were asking for economic trouble, and in the late 1960s - when the wool price plummeted by 40 percent overnight - we got it.

"One dollar in six went down"

If you'd asked them at the start of the year, most Kiwis would have reckoned that 1966 looked like being a cracker.

And for the most part, it didn't go too badly.

In March, Country Calendar debuted on the telly. In April, the Queen Mum popped in for a cup of tea and a pikelet. In May, sadness over the death of Māori King Te Korokī Mahuta was tempered by excitement at the coronation of his daughter Princess Piki. That winter, the All Blacks downtrou'd the British Lions 4-zip and Maria Dallas, the pride of Morrinsville, had a huge hit with her song 'Tumblin' Down'.

New Zealand in the 1960s had one of the highest standards of living in the world with near-full employment and low inflation. Politically, we were the picture of stability; National Party leader Keith Holyoake was about halfway through his 12-year run as Prime Minister and eyeing-up another win in the general election later that year.

'Steady as she goes' was the motto. We were rich, a bit boring and everyone was as good as everyone else. Sure, we had compulsory military service, the death sentence for treason and it was only in 1961 you could order a glass of wine with your meal, but there was no need to bust a gut worrying about stuff.

Or so most people thought.

Cracks, though, were starting to appear.

Anti-apartheid protests opposed South African sporting teams coming here and us going there. Prison riots had broken out across the country the previous year and the police were concerned enough about violent crime to establish the Armed Offenders Squad. Radio Hauraki took to the seas to break the state monopoly on broadcasting.

Thousands marched to protest our troops being sent to Vietnam and when US President Lyndon Johnson visited that year, a huge crowd gathered to cheer but a loud group of roosters booed him, too. Vietnam became an election wedge between National and the opposition Labour Party, but not enough to change the government. National were returned in November with an eight-seat majority but shockingly, had lost the previously safe seat of Hobson to the Social Credit Party…

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