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When The Biggest Man In Radio Came To Town
The Gisborne Opera House has seldom been so crowded for two consecutive nights as it was to see Selwyn Toogood on stage last month. "All seats taken" was the cry on both nights. Indeed, hardly had the booking office opened than all seats in the house had been reserved. Not many visiting shows to Gisborne can claim this record.
The man who walked off with the goods - Mr D. J. Maxwell, pictured in his home with his two daughters, Helen (9) and Sheilagh (8), alongside the Murphy radiogram he won for answering his bag question: Who was the Governor General of New Zealand from 1941 to 1946?. He readily answered Sir Cyril Newall. Mr Maxwell added to this success by answering five out of six questions correctly to claim the glamour prize - a Kelvinator "Foodarama" (combined deepfreeze and refrigerator yet to come off the assembly line) and a Bendix home laundry. The question he missed: What is the name of the abbreviation "&" for and? Answer: ampersand.
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The title "Biggest man in Radio" was possibly first conferred on Sewyn Toogood in a somewhat derogatory sense, the inspiration for which is graphically illustrated above.
Sinee then, however, the title has come to mean much more than mere physical proportions. Selwyn Toogood is now something of a nattional figure - very few New Zealanders could claim never to have heard of him.
One of the biggest hits on the second night was 4½-year old Martin Baynes (below). He didn't have to answer any awkward questions, or flounder his way through eliminations. Martin just walked up from the very back of the house to get a better look at things, caught the maestro's eye, and the next thing he knew, he was spirited on-stage, loaded down with a fantastic assortment of gifts: washing powder, tooth-paste, frozen foods, soap, the whole works. It was all young Martin could do to carry his burden back to waiting Mum and Dad.
![](javascript: window.photonews.share.facebook('GPN49_19580724_008a.jpg', 'Gisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958', 'The Gisborne Opera House has seldom been so crowded for two consecutive nights as it was to see Selwyn Toogood on stage last month. "All seats taken" was the cry on both nights. Indeed, hardly had the booking office opened than all seats in the house had been reserved. Not many visiting shows to Gisborne can claim this record.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}
![](javascript: window.photonews.share.twitter('GPN49_19580724_008a.jpg', 'The Gisborne Opera House has seldom been so crowded for two consecutive nights as it was to see Selwyn Toogood on stage last month. "All seats taken" was the cry on both nights. Indeed, hardly had the booking office opened than all seats in the house had been reserved. Not many visiting shows to Gisborne can claim this record.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}
![](javascript: window.photonews.share.email('GPN49_19580724_008a.jpg', 'Gisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958', 'The Gisborne Opera House has seldom been so crowded for two consecutive nights as it was to see Selwyn Toogood on stage last month. "All seats taken" was the cry on both nights. Indeed, hardly had the booking office opened than all seats in the house had been reserved. Not many visiting shows to Gisborne can claim this record.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}
 and Sheilagh (8), alongside the Murphy radiogram he won for answering his bag question: Who was the Governor General of New Zealand from 1941 to 1946?. He readily answered Sir Cyril Newall. Mr Maxwell added to this success by answering five out of six questions correctly to claim the glamour prize - a Kelvinator "Foodarama" (combined deepfreeze and refrigerator yet to come off the assembly line) and a Bendix home laundry. The question he missed: What is the name of the abbreviation "&" for and? Answer: ampersand.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}
 and Sheilagh (8), alongside the Murphy radiogram he won for answering his bag question: Who was the Governor General of New Zealand from 1941 to 1946?. He readily answered Sir Cyril Newall. Mr Maxwell added to this success by answering five out of six questions correctly to claim the glamour prize - a Kelvinator "Foodarama" (combined deepfreeze and refrigerator yet to come off the assembly line) and a Bendix home laundry. The question he missed: What is the name of the abbreviation "&" for and? Answer: ampersand.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}
 and Sheilagh (8), alongside the Murphy radiogram he won for answering his bag question: Who was the Governor General of New Zealand from 1941 to 1946?. He readily answered Sir Cyril Newall. Mr Maxwell added to this success by answering five out of six questions correctly to claim the glamour prize - a Kelvinator "Foodarama" (combined deepfreeze and refrigerator yet to come off the assembly line) and a Bendix home laundry. The question he missed: What is the name of the abbreviation "&" for and? Answer: ampersand.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}
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. He didnt have to answer any awkward questions, or flounder his way through eliminations. Martin just walked up from the very back of the house to get a better look at things, caught the maestros eye, and the next thing he knew, he was spirited on-stage, loaded down with a fantastic assortment of gifts: washing powder, tooth-paste, frozen foods, soap, the whole works. It was all young Martin could do to carry his burden back to waiting Mum and Dad.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}
. He didnt have to answer any awkward questions, or flounder his way through eliminations. Martin just walked up from the very back of the house to get a better look at things, caught the maestros eye, and the next thing he knew, he was spirited on-stage, loaded down with a fantastic assortment of gifts: washing powder, tooth-paste, frozen foods, soap, the whole works. It was all young Martin could do to carry his burden back to waiting Mum and Dad.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}
. He didnt have to answer any awkward questions, or flounder his way through eliminations. Martin just walked up from the very back of the house to get a better look at things, caught the maestros eye, and the next thing he knew, he was spirited on-stage, loaded down with a fantastic assortment of gifts: washing powder, tooth-paste, frozen foods, soap, the whole works. It was all young Martin could do to carry his burden back to waiting Mum and Dad.\r\n\r\nGisborne Photo News - No 49 : July 24, 1958'); void 0){kind=link}