Early Life
Born in Waimate, a town in South Canterbury, New Zealand, Norman Kirk came from a strong working-class background, and his household could not afford things such as daily newspapers or a radio.
Kirk did not perform well at school, and left shortly before he turned thirteen. Despite this, however, he enjoyed reading, and often visited libraries. In particular, he enjoyed the study of history and geography.
After leaving school, Kirk worked in a number of jobs, initially as an assistant roof-painter and later as a railway engineer. His health, however, deteriorated, and when the New Zealand Army called him up for military service in 1941 it found him medically unfit. After recovering somewhat, he returned to work, holding a number of different jobs.
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Famous quotes related to early life:
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)