Metrication in New Zealand
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New Zealand started metrication in 1969 with the establishment of the Metric Advisory Board (MAB) and fully completed metrication on 14 December 1976.[1] Until the 1970s, New Zealand traditionally used the imperial system for measurement, which was due to historically being a colony of the United Kingdom.
Prior to metrication, the accounting system was decimalised on 10 July 1967, with one dollar equal to one hundred cents, or ten shillings in the pre-decimal system.
The New Zealand metric symbol was introduced in March 1971. To give metrication a human face, a baby girl named Jeannie Preddey became the mascot, known as Little Miss Metric.[2] News and pictures of her progress were intermingled with press releases about the progress of metrication. By the end of 1972, the temperature scale, road signs, and measures used in the sale of such items as wool and milk had been metricated. Only a few letters voiced outright opposition to the changeover.