Brian Rudman: Guy Fawkes pointless exercise in burning money

Auckland Council banned Guy Fawkes fireworks in public places in 2014. Illustration / Peter Bromhead

In these politically correct, multi-cultural times, it does seem rather odd that once a year we set fire to millions of dollars worth of fireworks to celebrate the failure of a Catholic plot to blow up the British protestant king and his Parliament way back in 1605.

These days, opponents of fireworks night fuss about the effect it has on their poor pets. But for centuries it was the Catholics who had to shutter themselves inside from the explosive majority who were outside burning effigies of the evil pope and bomb-maker, Guy Fawkes. They were getting into the spirit of the "Observance of 5th November Act" which had been passed soon after the plot was unmasked.

The 1605 law created a public holiday, enforcing compulsory attendance at church services of thanksgiving, where the mob were incited by inflammatory sermons about the evils of popery. This was followed by a night of fireworks and bonfires and, no doubt, much bad behaviour.

As a kid back in the middle of last century, I remember a big bonfire being built over several days in the empty section down our street as neighbours dragged out broken furniture, timber off-cuts and tree branches from the surrounding houses. Then everyone turned up with crackers and rockets - and no doubt booze, to mark the occasion. There was even a home-made guy or two tossed into the flames, but I don't recall any Catholics being added to the pile.

The British still bonfire away with great gusto, but I suspect we're the last of the old colonies to persevere. The Americans had a revolution and decided that was more worthy of annual fireworks. In 1980, across the Tasman, the Northern Territorians did the same, after finally being granted self-government from Canberra. They officially changed cracker night to "independence day" July 1.

Across the rest of mainland Australia the public sales of fireworks was banned in the 1980s, following pressure from medical and fire authorities. Odd man out was Tasmania which continues with a "cracker night" in May to mark, of all anachronisms, "Empire Day", but a complicated and expensive permit system introduced in 2009 has put a real dampener on the casual backyard pyrotechnics we still accept here.

In 1994, after a particularly bloody and fiery Guy Fawkes night, our parliamentarians banned the sale of fire crackers and sky rockets. As kids, tossing lighted strings of tom thumbs and double-happies at unsuspecting mates was one of the highlights of the week, and I predicted the 1994 ban would be the death of Guy Fawkes. But the ingenuity of the fireworks-makers soon seemed to get around these bans.

However, just because the Warehouse and other vendors manage to perpetuate this now pointless exercise in burning our hard-earned cash, doesn't mean we, as a community, can't say "enough", it's time to end this long-forgotten grudge against Catholics and move on.

Wellington City Council is showing the way, this year canning its financial backing of an annual Guy Fawkes Festival in favour of a major fireworks display in July to mark the Maori New Year Festival, Matariki. Mayor Justin Lester said Wellington wanted to lead the country in making Matariki a major civic event. Local chamber of commerce chief executive John Milford agreed saying celebrating the Maori New Year was more relevant than the archaic Guy Fawkes.

Auckland Council banned Guy Fawkes fireworks in public places in 2014 and does not financially support public displays. Perhaps it's time that like Sydney at New Year, and the Wellingtonians, Auckland Council appreciated how popular a big fireworks display can be.
My choice would not be Matariki in mid-winter, but the high summer month of March, as part of the party time that brings Aucklanders together for both the annual Auckland Arts Festival and ASB Polyfest, the largest Maori and Pacific Island festival in the world.

Ending the public sale of fireworks, of course, is up to central government. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday she thought private access to fireworks was "a pain in the butt" but drew back from a ban. Perhaps when she adds up the ACC claims and the hospital and fire service costs for this year's Guy Fawkes, she might change her mind.