Flax industry - New Zealand - Manawatū-Whanganui Region

Date: [1950s-1970s]

From: Nicholls, Trevor, 1929- :Transparency slides of New Zealand scenes

Reference: PA12-7485

Description: Colour slides of various parts of New Zealand, taken 1950s-1970s by Trevor Nicholls. Includes: 1. Whangaroa Harbour, St Paul's Rock ca 1972, 2. Te Pahi, 3-4. Marsden Point 1976, 5. Mangamuka Forest, 6. Formation at Kerr Bluff (North Cape), 7. Cape Reinga, 8. Church at Russell, 9-12 Piercy Island, 13. Pompallier House, 14. Waimate Mission House, 15. Warkworth Satellite dish, 16. Lyttelton, 17. Addington railcar, 18. Dunedin 1950s, 19-20. Church Havelock (New), 21. Brooklyn mid 1950s (from Washington Ave), 22. Foxton, flax mid 1950s, 23. Wesleyhaven, Naenae mid-late 1960s, 24. Statue at Paraparaumu Quantity: 24 colour original transparency/ies. Physical Description: Colour film negatives

Date: 1915-1930, 1936-1937

Reference: Micro-MS-0872

Description: Quantity: 2 microfilm reel(s) positive.

Date: 1917

From: [Postcard album of cards collected by Joye Taylor. ca 1905-1915].

By: Muir & Moodie (Firm)

Reference: Eph-B-POSTCARD-Vol-4-011-2

Description: Shows a photograph of an assemblage of buildings on the water's edge at Foxton, probably on a river bank. The border resembles a wooden frame with decorative metal scrolls at the corners. The message on the verso reads: "My darling Tamate, This is one of the flax mills (not the one Charley is connected with). Flax is a great industry here and these parts. No wonder, for hemp is sold for a high price in England. I hope the fowls are well looked after. Be good dear" Dated from postal rubber date stamp on verso. Quantity: 1 b&w photo-mechanical print(s) on postcard.. Physical Description: Photolithograph, black and white, 88 x 137 mm

Date: 1854-1875

By: Johnston Brothers (Firm)

Reference: MS-Papers-2176

Description: Records include mortgages, land receipts, wool securities, inventory (1868) of plant and tools, correspondence concerning the Manawatu Flax Mill and the Australian and British flax market Arrangement: Arranged to folder level, with detailed descriptions of each folder Johnston Brothers were Wellington wholesalers and stock and station agents Quantity: 8 folder(s). 0.12 Linear Metres. Physical Description: Mss, some printed matter Finding Aids: Inventory available.

Date: ca1930-ca1935

From: Nightingall/Morrell :Albums, negatives, prints and transparencies taken by Jack and Theo Nightingall

Reference: PAColl-7167-14

Description: Various photographs relating to different places and events. One seems to be a trip to Sydney. There are views of a ship's deck and coastal cliffs. Also several views of the almost completed Sydney Harbour Bridge from what is probably a ferry. Other photographs are from Christchurch, Wellington and harbour, and of Auckland. There are a number of Auckland buildings; the Greenhouse in the Domain, the University, and the Museum. There is a sequence of views of a thermal area and three photographs of Maori. Another group relates to an unidentified sailing ship, and a third to the flax industry in the Horowhenua Many others are views if countryside and coastal land scape Quantity: 137 b&w original photographic print(s).

Date: 1888-1925

By: Cox, James, 1846-1925

Reference: MS-0621-0655

Description: Day to day record of the life of an itinerant labourer. Most days are recorded, in a pencilled hand on tiny pieces of paper. Entries typically begin with a summary of the weather before recounting his work and movements for the day. Occasionally there is brief comment on social and political events. Navigate to child records to see the digitised copies of each diary Publication - Miles Fairburn `Nearly out of heart and hope. The puzzle of a colonial labourer's diary' (AUP, 1995) discusses Cox's life and diary keeping in depth. See also Fairburn's entry on Cox in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Collection file has copies of correspondence with donor, research notes etc Source of title - Supplied title James Cox arrived from England in 1880. From 1889-1890 he worked in flax mills in Manawatu; In 1890-1891 he spent some months in Christchurch before returning to flax mill work near Levin and Foxton; For much of 1892 and 1893 he could not find work and was reduced to a swagman existence around Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. Later he based himself in Carterton and did a variety of casual labouring jobs. Old age and ill health made employment diffcult during the later 1910s, but his life improved when he was accepted into the Carter Home of indigent men in Carterton. He lived there from 1918 until three months before his death when he moved to the Buchanan Home, Greytown. Quantity: 35 volume(s). 0.50 Linear Metres. Physical Description: Holographs (grey case folders in grey box)

Date: Between 1923 and 1928

From: Moore, Robert Percy, 1881-1948 :Panoramic photographs of New Zealand

Reference: Pan-1371-F

Description: Panoramic view of a large field of flax plants, trees and hills in the background. Possibly in the Horowhenua area. Taken by Robert Percy Moore Source of descriptive information - Location possibly Manawatu-Wanganui Region, from other photographs in Moore's numerical sequence (RPM-0683) Inscriptions: No marginal notes - Flax cultivation. No. 683. N.Z. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Panoramic negative 24.7 x 110.0 cm

Date: [ca 1890s-1900s]

From: Daroux, Louis John, 1870-1948 :Photographs of New Zealand and the Pacific

Reference: PAColl-8788-3

Description: Photographs taken by Louis John Daroux, circa 1890s-1900s, chiefly at A&P shows and race meetings in the Wellington and Manawatu-Whanganui regions. Also contains a series of images related to the flax and timber industries in the Northland region and Horowhenua district. Scenes at agricultural and pastoral (A&P) shows in Palmerston North, Carterton and Whanganui, show crowds and sales displays of farm machinery and equipment. One photograph of a produce hall in Whanganui shows women judging items on display. A number of photographs document prize-winning livestock. Race day photographs, taken during meetings at Trentham, Masterton and the Manawatu, including Fielding, show crowds, grandstands, grounds and race day activities, including a polo match and steeple-chasing. There are also a number of images documenting champion racehorses Lady's Link, Miss Lucy (in 1901) and Lady Bell, Bonnie Scotland, a draught-horse called Lady Eskine, and portraits of jockeys. Images related to land clearance and the flax and timber industries in the Northland region and Horowhenua district include: the transportation of logs using animals and steam energy, workers at Titoki flax mill, and images of bush railroads. Quantity: 109 b&w original photographic print(s). Physical Description: Silver gelatin prints

Date: 1960 - 2009

Reference: Eph-A-TOURISM-Horowhenua-1960/2009

Description: Includes: 1960s?: Publishing Development Ltd. & Levin Industries Promotion Committee. Welcome to Levin; the ideal holiday resort. Pamphlet [1960s? during Ernest Wise's mayor-ship 1956-1965] 1981: Levin Regional Promotional Committee. Welcome to Levin in its 75th Jubilee year, 1906-1981. Yellow pamphlet 1984: Levin guide maps [1984] 1990s: Levin District Promotion Council. The Horowhenua District visitors guide [ca 1992] "Owlcatraz", a tourist and educational park [1990s]. Card 1992: Foxton's flax; history of the flax walk. The flaxmills of Foxton [ca 1992] 1995: Horowhenua heritage trails; Haunui. Horowhenua. KBH Print, Levin [ca 1995] 2001: Horowhenua New Zealand: Levin, Foxton, Shannon. New Zealand's river region [ca 2001]. Booklet Horowhenua Apparel and Textile Centre. Visit Levin for your Horowhenua factory shopping experience; map and details inside [2001]. Yellow pamphlet 2004: Introducing Horowhenua; naturally New Zealand. Levin, Foxton, Shannon, Manakau, Ohau, Opiki, Tokomaru, Waitarere / Hokio Beach [ca 2004] Tourism Horowhenua; sample the feel of real NZ. New Zealand River region [ca 2004]. Pamphlet (2 copies) 2009: Nature Coast Enterprise; growing sustainable business and tourism; Kapiti Horowhenua [2009]. Pamphlet Quantity: 1 folder(s).

Date: 1900s-1950s

From: Nightingall/Morrell :Albums, negatives, prints and transparencies taken by Jack and Theo Nightingall

Reference: PAColl-7167-01

Description: John Hough Nightingall, his wife Dorothy and sons Jack and Theo. Images of the two sons as babies and school boys in Tasmania, other family members and friends. With their father in the gardens at Melbourne and with their mother, father and friends on picnics and outings. There are also images of Jack and Theo as young men in New Zealand. John Hough Nightingall is shown with work collegues in factories and in formal groups, and there are two images of Dorothy dressed in traditional Maori costume. A section in this collection relates to the time in the early 1930s when John Hough Nightingall was associated with the flax fibre industry in the Foxton area. These photographs show flax plants, mills and machinary, and bails of finished fibre. They also seem to indicate that the whole family was involved in this work. Later in the 1930s images show Theo and friends at the Apollo Club, at parties, on the beach, at weddings, with friends, and with collegues in front of the Leicagraph Studio, Wellington, where he worked. There are also holiday and tramping shots, cross-dressers at a Christmas party at James Smith store, Wellington, and others at a private party. Arrangement: Negatives associated with the flax industry images are at 1/4-107380-F to 1/4-107429-F, 1/2-198297-F to 1/2-198334-F, and 1/2-198819-F to 1/2-198838-F. Many of these images are among the 150 lantern slides in this collection

Date: 1930-1939

From: Nightingall/Morrell :Albums, negatives, prints and transparencies taken by Jack and Theo Nightingall

Reference: PAColl-7167-12

Description: Airplanes associated with the Wellington Aero Club including photos taken during a flight over Wellington, also the flying boat "Centaurus". Nightingall family and friends. People on beaches. A grave covered with wreaths. New Zealand and other boxers. The clock tower at Blenheim. The New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, Rongotai, Wellington. The flax industry and coastal landscape views Quantity: 104 b&w original photographic print(s).

Date: 1911-1983

By: New Zealand (except Taranaki, Nelson and Marlborough Industrial Districts) Woollen Mills, Hosiery Factories, Carpet Factories, Synthetic Fibres Factories, - Flaxmill and Textile Factories and Related Trades Industrial Union of Workers

Reference: MS-Group-0497

Description: Includes records of the Wellington District Woollen Mills Union, the Manawatu Flaxmills and Flax Textiles Employees Union, the Taranaki District Knitting Mills and Hosiery Factories Union, and records from the head office of the national textile unions; also includes printed material, mainly related to the textile industry in New Zealand Source of title - Supplied Arrangement: Arranged into series These records are those of the New Zealand (except Nelson and Marlborough Industrial Districts) Woollen Mills, Hoisery Factories, Carpet Factories, Synthetic Fibre Factories, Flaxmill and Flaxtextile Factories and related Trades Industrial Union of Workers. Registered under NZ Woollen Mills Industrial Union of Workers in late 1979 or early 1980. Held first annual conference in February 1980. Quantity: 1 box(es). 4 volume(s). 119 folder(s). 2.60 Linear Metres. Finding Aids: Preliminary listing available. Provenance: Donor/Lender/Vendor - Donation, Mr O'Flanagan, Lower Hutt, 1988 (88-300)

Date: 1904-1960

By: Tokomaru Flaxmill Company Ltd

Reference: MS-Papers-1650

Description: Minute book (1904-1960); also articles of association giving regulations of newly formed company which took over Seifert family's flaxmilling business (1904) Source of title - Supplied Quantity: 1 folder(s) (2 pieces). 0.01 Linear Metres. Physical Description: Mss

Date: [190-?]

From: Daroux, Louis John, 1870-1948 :Photographs of New Zealand and the Pacific

Reference: 1/1-039357-G

Description: View across water to flax drying in a field, possibly near Foxton. There is a man in a canoe and logs in the water in the foreground. Photograph taken ca 1900s by Louis John Daroux. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 6.5 x 8.5 inches

Date: [190-?]

From: Daroux, Louis John, 1870-1948 :Photographs of New Zealand and the Pacific

Reference: 1/1-039358-G

Description: Flax industry workers on a barge loaded with flax on the Manawatu River. Two horse-drawn carts are in the river, and a steam launch is tied up on the far side of the barge. Photograph taken ca 1900s by Louis John Daroux. Similar image to 1/1-039338 Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 6.5 x 8.5 inches

Date: 1906-1931

By: Manawatu Flaxmills and Flax Textiles Employees Union

Reference: MS-Papers-0624

Description: Records comprise register of members, 1906-1915, minute books, 1912-1913, balance sheets and reports of executive, 1920-1931 Quantity: 3 folder(s). 2 volume(s). 0.07 Linear Metres.

Date: 1905

By: Field, William Hughes, 1861-1944

Reference: MS-Papers-5801

Description: Field's papers as Member of the House of Representatives, include correspondence from R J Seddon, and letter from James Toomath re flax industry. Includes petition from ratepayers in the Johnsonville Town District re amendment of the Counties Act. Quantity: 1 folder(s) (38 leaves). Physical Description: Holographs, mss, typescripts and printed matter

Date: 19 May 1994

From: A history of Indian women in Aotearoa

By: Singh, Sante, 1905-2001

Reference: OHInt-0063/11

Description: Sante Singh notes that she was born in 1905 at Haraghar, Hoshiarpur, Punjab State. Describes coming to New Zealand in 1932, her husband's work as a scrub and flax cutter in the Wanganui region, her life in New Zealand in the 1930's and the joys and struggles. Talks about the arrival of other Indian families, other immigrants, her contact with tangata whenua. Talks about how many of her friends on neighbouring farms were Maori and how many of the local Indians subscribed to the caste system and were exclusive about who they had contact with. Talks about how difficult it was to access Indian spices, about cooking, food and religious rituals. Discusses being a Sikh. Notes that she speaks Punjabi and a little English. Discusses farming, her family, childbirth and her children. Venue - Auckland Arrangement: Tape numbers - OHC-006142 Quantity: 1 C60 cassette(s). 1 printed abstract(s) - summary notes. 1 interview(s). 1 Hours Duration. Finding Aids: Abstract Available - other OHA-1383.

Date: 1883, 1906-1915

From: Field, William Hughes, 1861-1944 : Papers

Reference: 73-128-134

Description: Identified persons entered under Name; also includes draft agreement for Aramoho Hotel (1883); timber delivery with some Maori notes and translation of letter from A M Jones to Field in Maori; letter re Phillips Road from Levin & Co, letter from [?] F W [?] Ferris or Venn, written from place near Shannon, letter re establishment of dairy school in Palmerston North, one regarding flax grub problem and other papers Language - Includes notes in Maori with letter in English translated into Maori Quantity: 1 folder(s).

Date: [ca 1910]

From: Godber, Albert Percy, 1875-1949 :Collection of albums, prints and negatives

Reference: APG-1439-1/4-G

Description: View of a flax worker feeding a flax leaf into the stripper. The negative is a copy of an image in an unidentified publication, photographed by an unidentified photographer. Copy photographed by Albert Percy Godber circa 1910. Inscription from the publication is visible on the negative, but is not shown on the File Print. Information about place taken from Godber File at TL6/1/15 (1/4 plate. Flax industry. Makerua. Box 13. Copy). Possibly from the Weekly Graphic. This image also reproduced in "Phormium tenax : the New Zealand fibre industry" by Esmond H Atkinson" Inscriptions: Recto - Plate No. 8. Feeding the leaf into the stripper Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Dry plate glass negative 3.25 x 4.25 inches