Flax workers camp, Tokomaru

Description

These canvas and wood huts with corrugated iron chimneys were probably the living quarters of unmarried ‘flaxies’ employed at one of the mills in the Tokomaru area. Accommodation like this was typical of the flax milling industry until about 1907-1914, when the establishment of large permanent flaxmills and the efforts of the flax-workers union led to an improvement in accommodation and facilities.

Identification

Object type

Image

Date

circa 1910 to circa 1912

Digitisation id

2007G_Fx56_FLA_0631

Held in

Coolstore