Sentiment For Sale

 

Foodstuffs Ltd point-of-sale cardboard poster for a Four Square Xmas promotion, probably late 1950s-early 1960s. If you want to read about the history of this iconic brand and huge chain of grocery stores, I wrote about it here. Go for it. 

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Here we are back at the festive season again. I just don’t know what happened to this year; I do know that I’ve only managed to post about six times which is a marked difference from the previous years, understatement. At least a couple of those were substantial.
December the first marked five years of the Longwhitekid blog. I had a special image saved and everything, but even though I definitely had something to say on the occasion – I couldn’t make time to do anything with it.

This is the fourth or fifth annual Yuletide-themed post. Somehow I managed to gather a huge amount of Christmassy (yes, that is a term, because I say so) stuff into my file for this one; I’m not sure why that happened.  However I had a lot to choose from. So, I’ve focussed on the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s this time around -with a palette of red, blue, white and black (mostly). Inevitably, most of the images are commercially related hence the title of this article.

I’ll be back around new year with the regular article of the top fifty most popular images of 2015 as voted by my readers. It will probably be quite different since my membership went up by thousands (in part due to a mention in the NZ Herald) and some things got hundreds of likes. I sort of have an idea what the top image was, but the rest will be just as much as surprise to me as it will be to you. Until then, happy holidays and all that stuff.

A Santa Claus Toby jug by Crown Lynn Potteries Limited, designed by Vic Lawson and manufactured between 1942-1957.  I have no idea how rare this is and if it would fetch the same kinds of prices as their other scarce ones like the Wahine (technically, the latter was mostly made by Titian Studios 1947 – 1970, before CL bought them out). Image courtesy of Portage Ceramics Trust collection at Te Toi Uku Clayworks (aka the Crown Lynn Museum), Auckland portageceramicstrust.org.nz

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An unsigned illustration from the New Zealand  School Journal, part 3, 1957. I’m guessing this is probably the work of Conrad Frieboe, who had a long career working for the Department of Education on various publications from the 1950s through to the 1970s as well as for book publishers and magazines like ‘Stitch’ ( for which he did beautiful work). Image courtesy of the  Doris Chadwick Collection of educational publications,  D233, NZ School Journals Vols 51, 1907-1960 , UoW Archives. 

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Advert from Whittaker’s chocolate Christmas campaign, 2012. Sante does indeed exist, and has for a very long time in Aotearoa. Although the line has almost become a ‘brand’ in its self for this company, it was once considered pretty much generic – and everyone from ‘Hudson’s’ to ‘Beatall’ had a crack at it over time.

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Cover of a Christmas brochure for DIC department stores. This chain, originally named the ‘Drapery and General Importing Company of New Zealand Ltd’, was founded in 1884 by one of the Hallensteins – Bendix (1835-1905). He was also responsible for founding, earlier in 1873, what was to become Hallenstein Brothers – one of the country’s most successful brands historically, and still going today. DIC grew to at least thirteen stores around the country until it was phased out in 1991, after being taken over by rival Arthur Barnett’s. Image courtesy of Owain Morris collection.

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Santa parade of 1958, along Cambridge Terrace, Wellington. This must be the same annual James Smiths Ltd  department stores-sponsored one that travelled the same route, which I wrote about here. Image courtesy of  Wellington City Libraries collection.

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Farmers Trading Company’s famous free bus from Karangahape Road, arriving at the Hobson Street store with Santa in place in his original location. Of course this building is now a boutique hotel,  so these days he is on the front of the Whitcoull’s store in Queen Street, where he’s been placed every season for quite some time now. In recent years his lascivious wink and beckoning finger have been removed because parents are weird about stuff that’s all in their head and nobody else’s. Thanks for making Santa dirty, folks. Image possibly taken in the early 1970s (this looks like one of those old green buses), courtesy of Graham C. Stewart, from the Garth Stewart collection.

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A promotional Christmas cake tin given as gifts to customers of ‘The Maple.’ Presumably this refers to home decorating institution the Maple Furnishing Co Ltd, which was on the north side of Karangahape Road, Auckland near Symonds Street, as well as branches in Onehunga and  Wellington. It had been around since the 1910s, being known for high end furniture – including designer Featherston of the famous and highly collectable chairs. You can see another 1920s picture of the business here. It was purchased by Smith and Brown in about 1970 who had a chain of over twenty stores around the country. It became Smith & Brown & Maple but only lasted until around 1979. I am guessing this tin dates from the early-mid 1960s.  I suspect it may have been done for the business by cake manufacturers Newdick & Co who were also situated close by and are known to have specialized in decorative Xmas tins to market their products. 

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Santa Parade, 1969, High Street,  Dannevirke. Tip-Top’s ‘Moggy Man’ novelty started out as the iconic baby boomer icy treat the ‘TT2’ in the fifties – and lasted into the 1970s. I’ve previously written about the historical development of the product here. Image courtesy of the Dannevirke Museum collection.

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Glass Christmas tree decorations dating from the 1950s to 1960s. We used to have these on our family tree and some went back to my great-grandparents who had owned them before WWII. Every year the hoard would shrink as inevitably one would get broken somehow; the wind, or the cat – or a clumsy child. Image courtesy of Gertrude Snyder, Vintage Treasure In Martinborough at facebook.com/vintagetreasurenz  or vintagetreasurenz.com

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A family around the Christmas tree, from the Oamaru Mail, 1965. Image courtesy of the North Otago Museum collection.

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Illustration by one of my favourite Kiwi illustrators, Clouston. Evelyn Maryon Clouston was born in Auckland in 1906, and had a lengthy career designing for the School Publications Branch, Department of Education in Wellington , as well as for various publishers such as Whitcombe & Tombs and Paul’s Book Arcade. She also worked for publishers in London for a spell. Image from NZ School Journal, Parts 1 & 2, 1957, courtesy of the  Doris Chadwick Collection of educational publications,  D233, NZ School Journals Vols 51, 1907-1960 , UoW Archives. 

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An advert from a GHB cookbook, published 1966.  GHB was a smaller, lesser known chain of grocery stores with a self line (tea, soap powder, etc), that existed from the 1950s until some time in the 1980s. It stood for ‘Good Housekeeping Brand’ (I don’t think it had anything to do with the magazine of the same name). They were still significant enough to issue several versions of this tome through the fifties and sixties. I get the idea it was located around the upper half of the North Island only.  Locations I know of were Auckland, Dannevirke, Pahiatua, Kaikoura, and Hawke’s Bay. Image courtesy of Mike Davidson collection. 

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Remember lolly scrambles? They’re probably a thing of the past now because everyone’s so precious about OHS issues. When I was a kid we were inevitably in Northland during the holidays – and in Waipu candy would be thrown out of a low-flying helicopter by  a rather daring, but dedicated Santa. They would never let Saint Nick do that these days, I’m guessing. Winstone staff’s children’s Christmas party, image courtesy of the Fletcher Trust, all rights reserved, ref #6351P/28. fletcherarchives.org.nz

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These two recipes from Goldpack are almost considered  Kiwi classics as perhaps anything out of the good old Edmond’s ‘Sure To Rise’ cookbook is. I covered the topic of the Xmas cake and pud here when I wrote about this Butland Indstries brand back in September 2012.

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A ‘Cinderella’ issued by the New Zealand Tuberculosis Association in 1955 to raise charity funds. Cinderellas were a kind of stamp that were not official New Zealand post issue and were primarily decorative. They usually served two main purposes – fund raising or promotion. As such, they are their own special area of collecting and some can fetch high prices – such as early pigeon post stamps. Colourful and charming, they were popular during the festive season and I have a collection of Christmas ones that I will probably feature next year.

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Now, this one is special to me. It’s an American  McCall’s magazine – but they were sold in New Zealand. My mother was a bit of a fan, especially of the annual Christmas issues – and we had stacks of them sitting around that went back to the mid sixties. The Yuletide issue was always an amazing, over the top extravaganza; the kind of Christmas you could only dream of. The cakes, desserts and gingerbread house spreads were especially amazing, covered in Yankee candies that you could not get down under. I’m not sure of the date for this particular one, but it would be after 1964.

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New Zealand Woman’s Weekly magazine, early December edition, 1953.

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One of the images recently featured by the New Zealand Herald in an article on the Farmers Santa parade over the years. This one was taken in 1966. Presumably courtesy of the Herald’s own collection.  nzherald.co.nz 

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Another illustration from the New Zealand  School Journal, part 3, 1957. It looks like it’s signed ‘L.F.’ but it’s actually C.F., so definitely the work of the very talented Conrad Frieboe, whom I have already covered up near the top of this post. Image courtesy of the  Doris Chadwick Collection of educational publications,  D233, NZ School Journals Vols 51, 1907-1960 , UoW Archives. 

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Woman holding a Christmas decoration made entirely of  silver milk bottle tops, Wellington, 1957. Cellulosic film negative, taken for the Evening Post newspaper by unidentified staff photographer. Image courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull Library collection, ref EP/1957/4948-F. 

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All content of Longwhitekid copyright Darian Zam © 2015. All rights reserved.

Advertisement

Noel Recollection

 

T.J. Edmonds advert for their 70th anniversary, showing different lines under the brand at that time.

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I’m now truly in the habit of filing any Christmas-related items I run across in my travels for these annual Yuletide posts. This seems in keeping with my noticing an increased efficiency in my personal habits, as opposed to leaving things to the last minute, something I’ve always been known for! No more of that “I work best under pressure” nonsense. Nobody is buying it any more, least of all me! I think it has been something to do with going back to tertiary education meaning I have to be much more organised to make sure everything happens in a timely manner.

This is the fifth Xmas post I’ve done over time…I think, don’t hold me to having done it religiously every year. The 1st of December marks the anniversary of the day this blog was tentatively started in 2010 – with in retrospect – some seemingly awkward, and quite noncommittal posts. Speaking of commitment, at least I was more dedicated to it back then.

By the time 2015 is here I would have only hit the publish button a measly fifteen times for this year. Pretty slack, huh? As time goes on it seems harder and harder to find the space to publish stories between studying and other projects. In my defence this is perhaps because often the stories are far more involved, with complex preparation which can include multiple recreations from scratch of packaging graphics.

Rather than talk about the Longwhitekid year now – I will discuss which posts were the most read, and all things interesting, annoying, and otherwise – when I again rank the annual top-rated images as voted by readers. I will make sure to publish the fifty most popular pictures for the new year. This previously turned out to be a very appealing post and got a great response from readers with lots of discussion and reminiscing.

Also coming up in the near future are posts on Elbe’s ice cream, Heard’s confectionery, known as “the home of good candy” to many, and I’ll also be branching out into some 3-D ideas for 2015. Wait…what? You’ll just have to use your imagination on how I am going to undertake the latter. I’m not anywhere near bored with Longwhitekid yet – but it’s definitely time to start changing things up around here with some different and innovative ways of presenting research and history, as well as some crazy ideas!

A glass cinema advertising slide, designed by Lindsay Russell, from Tauranga’s Regent Theatre, likely dates from the 1930s.

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This 1901 Christmas issue of the Auckland Weekly News originally sold for a shilling and was reprinted as a novelty in 1967. Image courtesy of the Auckland Museum Collection.

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 Chromolithograph poster or banner,  published by A. R. Hornblow & Son of Wellington, circa 1920. Image courtesy of the Manuscript and Pictorial Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, ref Eph-D-CHRISTMAS-1920-01.

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Aulsebrook’s Xmas products, Evening Post, November 1923. Image courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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George Frederick Hose Taylor (1927-2008) was a New Zealand cartoonist who specialized in science fiction titles and annuals, as well as sign writing and display work. Some of his better known serials were “Little Hongi – Adventures in Maoriland”, “Dick Astro of Space Patrol” and “Thrilling Adventures.”  Image courtesy of Matt Emery collection. You can see more of George Taylor’s work at Pikitia Press.

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Woolworths Christmas advert, including Swastika charms for puddings. Prior to WWII the Swastika was common iconography for these trinkets – indicating future good fortune. This ad would have been just before they came to represent the exact opposite under Hitler’s Nazi regime and disappeared from use forever. Evening Post,  November 1938. Image courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Hazelwoods department store coupon, Upper Hutt Leader,  November 1956. Image courtesy of Upper Hutt City Library archives.

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Cover of The New Zealand Illustrated magazine, image courtesy of Peter Alsop collection. 

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Christmas advert for the Self-Help chain of stores, Evening Post, December 1935. Image courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Christmas time issue of  a Cinderella stamp to raise money for Tuberculosis organisations under the auspices of the Crippled  Children Society, 1950s.

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Why Santa is riding a gigantic mustard-squirting, holly-decorated frankfurter will probably never be known – and we can only guess. A E. Ellingham & Co.’s Christmas float, by Sparrow industrial Pictures. Image courtesy of the  Auckland War Memorial Museum Pictorial Collection, ref PH-NEG-SP-2-2235ai.

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A  Christmas issue Cinderella stamp to raise money for the Otago P.S.S.A in 1952; this organisation provided  homes for orphaned or neglected children.

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Christmas Club card for Tiger Tea, a very popular South Island brand which has been around since the 1890s – and is still available today in a couple of selected stores.

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A postcard of Farmers’ department store, Hobson Street, at Xmas time with the classic (no longer) winking and beckoning Santa – who is now ensconced on  the Queen Street Whitcoulls store. The photo looks to have been taken in the 1960s.  Image courtesy of Lisa Truttman collection. 

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 ‎”When Santa was real.”  Farmers’ Store, Auckland 1957. Image courtesy of Peter Levarre-Waters collection. 

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From an advert for the Marriotts chain of grocery stores; they were present from at least the 1920s to the 1940s and had a chain of fifteen premises by the year this ad ran in the Auckland Star, December 1932. Image courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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All content of Longwhitekid copyright Darian Zam © 2014. All rights reserved.

History Department: James Smith And His Store

A recreation of a James Smith store shopping bag that was for sale on Trade Me recently. I’ve reconstructed it using a plain paper bag and remade the graphics on to it. With its Deco styling it looks quite old, but in fact- the term “retail therapy” wasn’t created until the 1980s.

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So here we are back in Wellington. I don’t think we’ve been around since I covered a story on Fuller Fulton a couple of years back. However don’t let that fool you; the place was a hub for all things Longwhitekiddish. Is that not a word? Well, it is now.

When I recently covered the story on the Erskine College cache, one of the catalogued items was an old tag from a school uniform garment that had been fitted to measure – and the item had been torn off the article of clothing and discarded down a hole under some loose flooring by the lazy boarder. I was asked for assistance in dating these items and as I looked into each article I naturally investigated James Smith, which was the name printed on it -to see if I would get any clues that would narrow a time frame. Yes, I went off on another tangent.

James Smith building, image courtesy of  and © Decoworks Pty Ltd.

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Unidentified woman  photographed in the James Smith Tearooms in between modelling at a fashion show, 1959. Negatives of the Evening Post newspaper, Alexander Turnbull Library. Ref: EP/1959/2946-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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It turned out to be rather a local institution – dating well back into Victorian times. Such an institution, in fact – that Like Stewart Dawson’s, the business has given its name to the intersection. All windy city locals, if they didn’t know the landmark for the store – know it for the name. In fact to a point that the locale is just referred to as “James Smith Market” or even more simply “James Smith” , and businesses like “Life Pharmacy James Smith”. ” James Smith Basement Cabaret”, and “Starmart James Smith” are named after it. Even the car park just around the corner from the store site at 162 Wakefield Street is named after him. The man’s name lives on, for sure. So who was he?

Imported American McCall pattern. from James Smith, Ltd, 1940. Alexander Turnbull Library, Ref: Eph-B-COSTUME-1940-03-front. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Tag from an altered-to-measure school uniform garment, probably early 1960s, found under the floor of Erskine College. Image courtesy of and  © Kylie Walker.

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James Smith (1834-1902) was one of the area’s earlier settlers, travelling to New Zealand on the Prince of Wales and arriving in June 1863, to Port Chalmers. On the voyage with his wife Annie, he kept a record of the trip, the passengers and goings on. The tooled Moroccan leather-covered book is now in the National Library of New Zealand collection (it was also later issued as a promotional publication by his company in 1967).

Keeping an old lady all schmick. Image courtesy of and  © Fritz Schöne on Panoramio.

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Soaky bubble bath by Colgate. Photographed for James Smiths Ltd promotional material. K E Niven and Co : Commercial negatives. Alexander Turnbull Library, Ref: 1/2-212939-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. There was a huge archive of photos pertaining to James Smith Ltd and I had to edit a selection down from hundreds of images to under seventy for this article.

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He had been born near Edinburgh, Scotland and early in life entered the soft goods trade in the Melrose area, soon proving to be adept and very confident in sales. After some time gaining experience in his home country, he moved on to London where he stayed for five years with drapers James, Shoolbred and Co. Upon arrival in the South Island of Aotearoa he immediately made for Wellington, where he found employment with the wholesale firm of W. and G. Turnbull and Co., quickly rising to management of their drapery department.

He stayed in this position for three years, then he purchased and established his business in 1866. Beginning on his own he quickly became very successful. The department store was ensconced in Te Aro House, 84-92 Cuba Street, Wellington – which had previously operated as Mary Taylor’s Drapery.

The James Smith Xmas Parade: All images Negatives of the Evening Post from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection,  Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. Clockwise from top left: Refs: EP/1958/4005-F, EP/1958/3999-F, EP/1958/4008-F, and EP/1958/4000-F.

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James Smith’s store Te Aro House, 1866-1898. Apparently the building still stands and is now known as the Deka building, and hosts a Rodney Wayne hair salon amongst others. Image courtesy of ngairedith on Family Tree Circles.

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In 1877 he started an additional business, when he became partners with one of his previous employers, Walter Turnbull. Turnbull Smith & Co., operated from Customhouse Quay until 1888 when it was acquired by Sargood, Son and Kwen.

He rebuilt a new store on the Te Aro House site in 1886, designed by Thomas Turnbull. This was likely spurred by a fire in the building of 1885. He remained here in the new premises (diversifying from fabric into menswear, boyswear, and hosiery) through to 1898 when his business suffered financial collapse.

L: James Smith’s Diary, kept on his voyage to New Zealand 1863. It was later republished by the business in the 1960s.  Ref: MSX-3502. R:  James Smith (on left) with his staff, Te Aro House in the late 1870s.Ref: PAColl-3332-11-3. Both images from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. 

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Clockwise from top left: James Smith and staff at Te Aro House, 1880, Ref: PAColl-3332-17-2. Te Aro House, in 1924 after the Smiths were no longer associated with it, Ref: 1/1-038758-F.  The New House (James Smith & Sons), 1900, Ref: PAColl-3332-17-1. James Smith Store before 1932, Ref:  EP-0585-1F/2-G. All images from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection, courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Nevertheless, he quickly bounced back – investing in slightly spiffier premises in Cuba Street. A photo from James Smith Ltd Collection in the Alexander Turnbull Library, shows a different building with the business now called James Smith and Sons. Apparently this was known as “The New House”, and it was situated on the northwest corner of Dixon and Cuba opposite the Te Aro House building. The new business motto was “famous for low prices.”

Cart from James Smith & Sons’  “The New House” on Cuba and Dixon Streets, Wellington, circa 1902. Ref: PAColl-3332-11-1. Image from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection, courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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The  foyer of the James Smith department store building in 2009. Image courtesy of  and © Decoworks Pty Ltd.

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James Smith had by accounts been in ill health for some time when he died at his Wellington home, and had stepped back from the business just after The New House had opened. Management then passed to one of the two sons Alexander Pringle Smith (1873-1948). The other offspring involved in running the business was J. G. Smith – and there were also five daughters from the union. However James continued to advise both of them in business matters until just a couple of weeks before he passed away.

Upon his demise the business was described as “the largest drapery establishment in the North Island”, and he as a “most enterprising, popular and progressive colonist.” By this time he was wealthy and influential – being one of the original shareholders and one of the chairmen of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company and a member of the New Zealand Board of Directors of the National Mutual Life Association of Australasia. The Justice Department hold a record of a coronial inquest into James’ death but what the reasons were behind this inquiry, I don’t know. He was interred in Kaori Cemetery.

Miss Mollie Massey and colleague at James Smith store Ladies’ Undergarments department, 1959. Ref: EP/1959/0516-F. Image from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection, courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Local brand Fagg’s coffee, established in Wellington in 1926, were behind the coffee bars and lounges in all of the James Smith departments stores. These bags are possibly from the 1970s.

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The final and grandest building, which the business was to remain in for more than 85 years, was on the corner of Cuba and Manners Streets in the Te Aro area of Wellington – at 49-55 Cuba Street to be precise. It had originally been constructed for ironmonger and importer George Winder In 1907 by architects Penty and Blake. He had owned the land since 1898 and ergo, it was known as “Winders’ Building “. His business “like many others, had deteriorated due to his inability to obtain stocks from overseas due to the dearth of shipping caused by the First World War”, according to Don Ratcliffe, who worked as a message boy through 1921 and recalls the work of the move from one premises to another in detail, when James Smith and Sons purchased it in 1921. In 1932 the entire building was revamped to its current look by King and Dawson, with interior murals by Ruffo and Steve Templer – making it into an iconic landmark of the downtown area.

The Whitcombe & Tombs book department at James Smith, K E Niven and Co : Commercial negatives. Alexander Turnbull Library, Ref: 1/2-210236-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Mr Doug Smith, James Smith’s grandson, eventually became the managing director in the 1950s. This portrait taken 1956, Negatives of the Evening Post newspaper, Alexander Turnbull Library, Ref: 1/2-210236-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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By this time directorship had passed to subsequent Smith descendants – Alexander Pringle Smith ‘s sons Howard Williams Smith (1912-1993), and his sibling J.G. Smith Jr. Eventually by the late 1950s it was in the control of grandson Douglas Alexander Smith – and from then on A.P. Smith was only occasionally seen pottering about the halls.

At the time of the early 1930s image overhaul, the store was divided into departments for the first time consisting of Haberdashery, Manchester, Dress (fabrics), Mantles (off the rack fashions), Hosiery, Furnishings, and Ladies’ underwear, which one staffer remembers “included the well boned and delicately shaped undergarments, usually packed in long narrow cardboard boxes, which today would comfortably house a French loaf. Their distinctive shape made them conspicuous and they often formed the subject of my deliveries…. ” A Miss Thwaites was the mistress of the Corset Department, and “my only brush with her occurred when under orders I was cleaning some high lamp shades from a ladder, when the disturbed dust fell on some of the reinforced and shapely objects…”

Crown Lynn section at James Smith store, 1962. K E Niven and Co : Commercial negatives, Alexander Turnbull Library, Ref: 1/2-213392-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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James Smith Ltd. window display of Moore’s hats for men, 1939. Alexander Turnbull Library, Ref: PAColl-3332-03-34. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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An addition was built in 1934 down the Manners Street side, and two additions along the Cuba Street side in the 1960s. Cuba Street was always the flagship store. No doubt it had all the fairly standard departments – but those specifically recalled as far back as the 1950s were: Fashion, Shoes, Juvenile clothing, Corsetry, Hosiery, and Kitchenware. The Millinery area was on the first floor.

In the 1960s employees recall departments for Cosmetics, Jewellery, a record bar, Watches, Haberdashery, Knitwear, Swimwear, Toys and Stationery, Novelties, Home Services (appliances) and Books. There was also an in-house hairdresser’s to cater to those ladies who lunch (and also those that didn’t) in more formal times, when you got your bonce baked and lacquered to an almost indestructible finish at least once a week.

Salesman at counter of the James Smith Model Ships and Toys Department, 1961. Alexander Turnbull Library, NLNZ Ref 12-212697-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.  

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 The James Smith Xmas Parade: Clockwise from top left:  Kent or Cambridge Terrace  by K E Niven Ltd, 1962-1968, Ref: PAColl-3332-05-08. Noddy float, Negatives of the Evening Post, 1958 Ref: EP/1958/4007-F.  Shopping for Christmas cards 1955, Negatives of the Evening Post, Ref: EP/1955/2797-F. Gulliver float by K E Niven Ltd, 1962-1968, Ref: PAColl-3332-05-07. All images  from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection, courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. 

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There was a wool bar, justified in the days when home crafted items were more of an expected necessity – than a cutsey revivalist hobby. There was a TV and Service division for that relatively new-fangled form of entertainment. Also a travel booking agency, and a post office – Ray Judson remembers “the James Smith branch was my first postmaster job and was I so proud. I had four staff and what a busy office it was. However I used to (find time to) slip into the fashion shows, just to see what was what!”

Staff  busy hanging lengths of fabric from the windows and roof  to dry out after the fire at Te Aro House of 18 April 1885. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: PAColl-3332-1-3. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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James Smith Ltd Window Display for women’s hats, taken by Thomas Hugh Tingay, 1940, Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: PAColl-3332-03-37. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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There was an Advertising department as well as a design studio and workshop for the enormous amount of labour-intensive window decorating that came with the territory. One of the perks of changing over the displays was “entertaining all of the drag queens from in the windows”, remembers one designer of the 1970s. I suppose they may be referring to customers to-ing and fro-ing from the infamous “Carmen’s International Coffee Lounge” not far away, as well as the notorious “ladies” of the night that frequented the local area plying their trade.

Demonstration of facial care with Max Factor products, 1960. Negatives of the Evening Post, Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: EP/1960/1508-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Male staff in drag, putting on a comedic fashion show at a James Smith Ltd staff Christmas party in 1953. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: PAColl-3332-3-1. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Underlining the idea touched upon in the Fuller Fulton article that Cuba Street and surrounds was a hotbed of bohemia – a coffee bar was introduced with a machine serving espresso – customers could order cappuccinos, as well as more standard cafe/milk bar fare of the era like Spiders. Jean Kahui, who worked there, remembers this was quite innovative for the time , even into the following decade. The coffee bars – if not straight away, then certainly by the next decade were operated by Fagg’s – a local Wellington brand (established 1926) that later went national and is still going today.

James Smith’s Corner in 1962, by K E Niven Ltd. Alexander Turnbull Library collection,  Ref: 1/2-213413-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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The James Smith Ltd Women’s marching team, 1930, with managers A.P. and J.G. Smith. Alexander Turnbull Library collection,  Ref: PAColl-3332-01-01. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Brands carried by the store in the 1960s included Canterbury clothing, Crown Lynn china, Farren-Price watches, and Whitcombe and Tombs books. The two level Porirua store with a large car park launched to much fanfare in 1964 and included a cafeteria. Eventually the department store had branches in Upper Hutt and Lambton Quay too, which also had a delicatessen. By the 1970s there was also a store in Johnsonville. There was also a Sports Depot in Willis St (formerly Witcombe & Caldwell, acquired by James Smith sometimes after the early 1960s).

James Smith Ltd display department at work on floats for the Xmas parade of 1958. Negatives of the Evening Post,  Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: EP/1958/3939-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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James Smith department store Hairdressing Department and Beauty Salon, by K E Niven Ltd, Alexander Turnbull Library collection,  Ref: 1/2-211677-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Into the 1970s the main store had a Pattern dept on the second floor, Men’s Suits, Men’s Ready to Wear, Boyswear, Girl’s School, Young Fashion, and Ladies Fashion and Sportswear (the Miss Wellington line had its own section). There was Men’s and Ladies’ Shoes, Sports and Sportswear, Home Appliances, Knitwear/Swimwear, Dress Fabrics, Soft Furnishings, Corsetry, China and Glassware.

Model in a fashion show for “outsize women”, 1950. Negatives of the Evening Post, Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: 114/204/04-G. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Barbara Goalen modelling in a fashion show held in the James Smith tearooms,by K E Niven Ltd, Alexander Turnbull Library collection,  Ref: 1/2-210005-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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One dresser recalls an amusing story of knocking over the large display China Bull from Hereford, “breaking off its crown jewels”, as well as “having cabbages thrown at us by Hudson & Halls, yet again at the expense of the department buyer”(I don’t quite understand why this happened or what it was about, unless the couple of TV cooks had some kind of product that needed to be merchandised). There was Greeting Cards/Stationery, Costume Jewellery, and a coffee lounge. Cosmetics now included the swinging Mary Quant brand straight from Carnaby Street.

Shopping in the Record Department, 1960. Negatives of the Evening Post,  Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: EP/1960/1515-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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All the menfolk and just one gal: Meeting of James Smith Ltd male staff members, 1933. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: PAColl-3332-15-3. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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The 1980s saw Lingerie, Childrenswear, Babywear, Handbags, Accessories, and Whitegoods departments as well as “Young World”( probably Tweens), and a beauty salon. Salesgirls at the makeup counters spruiked Shiseido, Clarins, and Estee Lauder. Behind the scenes was an executive suite, and the offices known as “the goldfish bowl”, for the typing pool and operators running the switchboard. Christine Lamberton remembers “I was the telephonist, working on the old plug and cord- type switch. Many a time I put toll calls through and then had to page the buyer who put in the request!” There was also marking off, credit control , and computing departments.

Housewife on a washing machine, photographed for James Smiths Ltd promotional material. K E Niven and Co : Commercial negatives. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: 1/2-215299-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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The new James Smith Ltd Porirua store in 1964. K E Niven and Co : Commercial negatives. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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It makes me lament the times gone by that stores had specific departments just for what seems strange and obscure things now – but were in the era quite an everyday thing if one wanted to “keep up standards.” So many of those rituals have fallen by the wayside in just a couple of decades. Who sends greeting cards these days, let alone devotes a department to stationery? And, with the amount of unbecoming muffin tops I see spilling out of hipsters these days – some corsetry wouldn’t actually go astray.

Secretary taking shorthand  in the executive suite, K E Niven and Co : Commercial negatives. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: 1/2-214625-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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The TV Department of James Smith’s in 1961, K E Niven and Co : Commercial negatives. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: 1/2-213170-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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James Smith were also famous for the Wellington Xmas Parade which was a serious event in Wellington in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, as well as their themed window displays and Santa’s Grotto. Patricia James McDonald, who was an employee in the mid-late Sixties, remembers the annual Xmas parade was a big thing for staff and audience alike. A number remember playing Santa or elves. Sally Lewis who worked for the store from 1961 to 1965 remembers: “Every Year I was the Noddy in the Christmas Parade as I was the only person who could fit into the car!”

 James Smith Ltd workers with a lorry load of My Fair Lady records, 1958. Negatives of the Evening Post, Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: EP/1958/4262-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Musical Fisher-Price pull toys, 1960, photographed for James Smiths Ltd promotional material. K E Niven and Co : Commercial negatives. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, all images courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. Refs Clockwise from top left: 1/2-212236-F, Ref: 1/2-212232-F, Ref: 1/2-212235-F, and Ref: 1/2-212231-F.

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Sometime between 1982 and 1987 the business was sold to L. D. Nathan, now Australia-based behemoth Lion Nathan. Probably resulting from a redundancy agreement made with a portion of employees, around this period came a mess of legal issues – Administrative & Related Workers Industrial Union versus James Smith Limited (Dispute of Right) in 1982, New Zealand Shop Employees Union versus James Smith Limited (Dispute of Right , personal grievance of Miss E. Orr) in 1983, and Shop Employees versus James Smith Limited (personal grievances) in 1985.

 The James Smith Xmas Parade, by K E Niven Ltd, 1963-1968. Alexander Turnbull Library collection,  Ref: PAColl-3332-05-05, courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. 

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The display department at James Smith Ltd. In three years and over 100 articles I’ve never had a personal family connection to a story yet. In an interesting incident, three days after I had written the story, a relative told me that my first cousin, whom I never got to meet, had worked at James Smith doing display, and I immediately showed this set of images to see if he was possibly one of the men. I was blown away to find that he is, and that’s Michael Begelman crouching on the right. Image by K E Niven Ltd, 1950s, Alexander Turnbull Library collection,  Ref: 1/2-209977-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. 

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Further to that James Smith Limited along with Woolworths and McKenzie’s was tangled up in a court case with the planning/environmental tribunal in 1987. Possibly in order to improve their public image, James Smith Ltd. donated hundreds of children’s car seats to the Plunket Society in 1984 in the midst of all this disruption.

In the aftermath of the sale, Summons were issued by the Financial Markets Authority to the New Zealand Stock Exchange, Doyle Paterson Brown Limited, and Australia International Ltd in enquiry into dealings in James Smith Ltd-issued securities in 1988.

The display department at James Smith Ltd, hard at work on Christmas window elements. My first cousin  Michael Begelman is again on the right, putting finishing touches to a papier-mâché pudding. He was also employed window dressing for D.I.C. department store in Wellington. Image by K E Niven Ltd, 1950s. Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: 1/2-209976-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. 

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James Smith Ltd Window Display for Canterbury men’s socks, circa 1960, by K E Niven Ltd, Alexander Turnbull Library collection,  Ref: 1/2-215328-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Into the late 1980s Geraldine Brackley recalls “I spent some concentrated time in the display department operating that horrible letter press for the sale cards, I think they thought I needed penance!” With the very old-fashioned switchboard as well as the letterpress in use late into the game , it sounds like they were lagging way behind the times in administration and work practice . It would be no surprise to learn that one of the reasons for the sale of the business may have been a downturn in profits due to inefficient management, but the legal matters on record with the government tell a story of unrest, underhanded treatments and a hostile work environment.

Fridge in the Whitegoods Department at James Smith’s, by K E Niven Ltd,  Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: 1/2-213411-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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 Various departments of James Smith’s store in Cuba Street. Clockwise from top left:  Service TV and Appliances Ref: 1/2-213236-F,  Post Office and Travel 1963  Ref: 1/2-213432-F,  Kitchenware 1966 Ref: 1/2-213943-F, and Toy and Stationery 1963 Ref: 1/2-213430-F. All images by K E Niven Ltd, Alexander Turnbull Library collection, courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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However even though more than a couple of times former staff make reference to the “awful pay” – most people seemed to have very much enjoyed their time at the company – and for the most part have good recollections of the previous two decades in particular, and even for the most part the Eighties. But how quickly things can change.

The store closed for good in 1993, when L.D. Nathan passed it to Farmers’ Trading Co. Some remaining staff were transferred to Farmers’ Cuba Street and Lambton Quay. People specifically mention it “closing down” so Farmers’ clearly called it a day on the James Smith enterprise – and retained what staff they could.

James Smith Ltd. window display of  spring season hats for women, probably late 1940s. Image by K E Niven Ltd, Alexander Turnbull Library collection, Ref: 1/2-208553-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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Various departments of James Smith’s store in Cuba Street. Top: Women’s Hat Department, Ref: 1/2-213429-F. Below:Women’s Shoe Department, Ref: 1/2-213428-F. Images by K E Niven Ltd,  both taken in 1963,  from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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James Smith was ultimately the best known department store, in the district for over seventy years. One former staffer declares that that every time she goes to Smith and Caugheys it reminds her of the James Smith stores, so given that S&C is basically the equivalent of Australia’s David Jones – James Smith Ltd must have posited themselves as quite upmarket. This led me to wondering whether there was a connection. Marianne Smith founded Smith and Caugheys in 1880 primarily in fabrics, but there seems to be no relation to James Smith excepting the coincidence of having the same surname and being in the same line of business.

“I got the underwear job!” Employment opportunities with James Smith Ltd, 1960. Image by K E Niven Ltd, Alexander Turnbull Library collection, ef: 1/2-212977-F. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand.

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The  new James Smith Tearooms: All images by K E Niven Ltd  from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection, courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand. Clockwise from top left: Refs:  1/2-211392-F , 1/2-211398-F, 1/2-211402-F, and 1/2-211390-F.

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Nevertheless after all the decades of business as well as some turbulent issues towards the end of its life, the store still stands today, now a retail centre. The gloriously deco five story building is painted in perky pastel colours, enhancing its good looks and still proudly proclaims down the front that it is “James Smith’s Corner.”

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All content of Longwhitekid copyright Darian Zam © 2014. All rights reserved.

The Shelf Life of Reilly

A row of labelled cans retrieved from the hole, mostly 1960s vintage. Raro wasn’t launched until sometime in 1961, and the can looked like this from the beginning.  I have previously recreated this Wattie’s fruit salad label here, which
was definitely in stores in 1964, and Wattie’s cans were selling for 2/3 in that year. Imperial pricing pencilled on both items indicates prior to mid 1967, so  I’d date them (widely) between 1962-1967.

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Recently, a reader of this blog contacted me to ask whether I would help them date a cache of items that were found in an old school building complex. They had been discovered when vandals on the property had removed some of the floorboards in one of the old dormitories, presumably looking for copper pipes to take. Whilst attempting to secure the aperture, before there was some kind of accident, they noticed a couple of things in the recesses of the dim hole. Upon further investigation was a selection of items that had been discarded over the years by a former student, or plural.
Found repositories and the story they tell are one of my favourite things, like this lot, found inside a long forgotten American house cistern.
These types of accumulations are obviously very different from collecting in which the acquirer may be particularly discriminate about categories; or hoarding – where there is complete indiscrimination in regards to a singular, or often multiple genres. A good example of this is children’s scrap books and things that they select to keep and then edit, gluing in items that may appear to be random, but in fact are not at all – it is done with complete deliberation and within that selection of items is data that tells a tale of the time.

Erskine College, courtesy of and © Tom Law, TELPortfolio on Flickr.

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Discards on the other hand while equally as fascinating, have many different factors come into play that affect the agglomeration. Foremost, apart from the initial partiality involved in acquisition, what survives from that juncture is completely random – as opposed to any further intention being involved. There’s a lot of chance with what endures the circumstances and the environment – so many aspects become involved from thereon of what you will end up with. But essentially even though the items found may be just a fragment of a bigger picture, it can give you an awful lot of information about the lives of the people who discarded the items – you could write an entire thesis analysing the selection of items and the narrative it supplies.

Erskine College, courtesy of and © Adrian Pratt, Life In The Land of the Long White Cloud blog.

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Wellington’s Erskine College, at the corner of Avon Street and Melbourne Road, Island Bay, Wellington was formerly known as Sacred Heart College, or in long form – the Convent of Sacré Coeur Catholic boarding school for women – until well into the 1960s when the name was changed to avoid confusion with Sacred Heart College in Thorndon. It is a collection of Category I historic buildings – as bestowed by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust – including former dormitories, and the Chapel of the Sacred Heart (considered one of the country’s best examples of Gothic architecture). Built during 1905-1906 by the Society of the Sacred Heart (Sacré Coeur), and designed by John Swan, it was not only convent and school but surrounded by a farm, gardens and a grotto.
Some of Peter Jackson’s film, The Frighteners (1996) was filmed at Erskine, especially the flashbacks, the exterior mansion shots and the chapel scenes. The flashbacks occurred on the third and fourth floors in the hallway outside the room where these items were rescued from. It also seems during the Nineties and Noughties that some of the buildings were used for art studios as well as exhibitions (Learning Connexion art school). It has also been, in the past, a very popular venue for weddings and other functions.

Sacred Heart Convent School, Island Bay, circa 1900. Courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull manuscript and pictorial collection, ref 1/1-002748-G.

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Not only is it considered a sort of teenage rite of passage to visit the abandoned buildings, but stories also abound in regards to the property being haunted which only encourages break-ins and vandalism. The current residents who say that since they have moved in to one of the accommodation wings on Erskine‘s grounds – there have been “no signs of ghosts yet” do attest to having to be vigilant and have kicked live trespassers out several times in the past. Those thinking about “exploring” inside should take into consideration that not only are some of the buildings dangerous given they are abandoned and deteriorating rapidly, but also closed off because they are earthquake prone. Options are the owners doing very costly stabilising work, or alternately demolition, discussed in an article here.

It’s a shame about all the politics surrounding the property. Quite frankly it sounds like the owner that bought it a decade ago or more, typical of developers, knew what he was in for but went in with plans to eventually try to overturn the heritage protection in any way he could, just letting it run down, tying everyone up with red tape, and then blaming everyone else for exactly the same thing. The on-going battle of wills is discussed in article here.

I predict eventually he will probably get a healthy leg up from local government for restoration as well as permission to remove all the non-heritage listed structures and build it in with apartments. I am sure he has plans to make his money out of it. In the meantime all the agitation in the community will probably only serve him to achieving his end goal I imagine. It’s one of those situations where, as they say – damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

Erskine College and grounds, © Lindsay Shelton and courtesy of Wellington Scoop.

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However, contrary to posting around the web saying there’s no electricity on the premises and nothing to restrict would-be adventurers, it is par-residential, there is a security system which is in place and working, as well as odd patrols after a break-in incident in which “youths tore up yards of flooring” according to someone who reported the incident on the College’s Facebook page. That’s obviously how the assemblage I feature here came to be inadvertently revealed – found in the main college building, one of two “red-stickered” areas on the property.

Erskine College in 2013, courtesy of and © Louise Sutherland at The Queen Stitch blog

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It is unknown whether all of the items were placed there deliberately (given that the floor board seems to have been easily removable, this is very likely), or some of the smaller bits and pieces just fell through the cracks into a cavity between the fourth floor and the third floor ceiling. It may be a bit of both. There may have been just one occupant to the room for a length of time who made a habit of doing that (unlikely that anyone else knew about the loose floorboard). Some immediate things that struck me – mostly the items were sweet things, such as snacks. Perhaps contraband, and disposed of where it would not be found. The schools may have been strict about eating anything in dorms – as well as junk food and non-school foods found in rooms. Along with the Disprins, You get the idea that these items may have been cravings that accompanied “that time of the month” perhaps. Sheep’s tongues may now seem a strange thing to have druthers for on the sly but no accounting for taste (not often seen on the lunch or tea table these days, they were extremely common in decades past; still popular even when I was a child). This tells me the person was missing domestic life and home cooking probably, and this was a little bit of “comfort”, or perhaps they were part of a care package from home. Of course a big question is – why they would put all those things under there when it was easier to put it in a bin? It does point to not wanting anyone to know about it, or for it to be found. It could be just as simple as laziness, or good old (Catholic) guilt. Or both.
It’s fun for me to try and narrow the cache down without any idea of dates or significant clues, but of course the biggest lead is a potential name . The serial litterer seems to be a fourth form boarder named L. Reilly. If we could track the person in question down, there may be some more information on the details of their life at Erskine and the motivation behind dropping this stuff into a gap under the floor. On the other hand, she may not like the idea that some things have been dredged up unexpectedly such as an English test she likely cheated on (otherwise why not just put it in the bin instead of stuffing it in a can and hiding it), or the nicked spoon that accompanied the empty tins, (which bears the college’s initials SH for Sacred Heart). Personally, I know I would feel a bit weird about people going through my old trash.

However, there’s a possibility that our culprit is included in one of the Sacré Coeur reunion photos in this archive here,  Which feature classes from 1930s onwards.

Erskine College, circa 1937-1938. Courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull manuscript and pictorial collection, ref 1/2-046458-G.

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All of the items were well-documented in detail which means quite a number of images. Ergo with the author’s permission I’ve selected and edited the most interesting and curious things for this article – either they have a good story behind them or they are the sort of thing that rarely survives the dustbin or dumpster so that in its self makes them worthy of being featured (how many used ice cream wrappers survive for example? Very few that I have seen).
The salvager is intending to use a section of the floorboard in question that had been pried up as the base for a small cabinet to protect and display the items as a fascinating microcosm of student life in days gone by.

A shot of the hole with some of the items beginning to be retrieved – a can, a spoon and a Sun Maid raisin packet.

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So, what’s my prognosis as far as a time period on this haul? Initially I had dated it between 1965-1968.
Now I’ve gotten a good look at the Sun Maid packet below, this definitely dates between 1969-1976 – but probability is on 1971-1972. Since the Disprin bottle indicates things are as old as 1961, It’s looking likely there were multiple discarders over a successive period of up to ten years, but most of it was just one person with perhaps later items like the raisins and the NZ Rail ticket just slipping through gaps in the boards by chance. If I re-narrowed the dates to the least possible, it would still be 1967-1972.

Oh, and – L. Reilly…where are art thou, you naughty minx? No worry about getting detention now – so come out, wherever you are.

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Credits: all photos © Kylie Walker unless otherwise specified.

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Study of the spoon found with cans, S H (Sacred Heart) indicates it dates from before 1960 when the name of the institution changed to Erskine.

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On the left a page from a fourth form literature test. We suspect it may have been pinched in order to cheat, otherwise it would have been thrown in a regular bin and not hidden. The test questions, a Newman’s Coach ticket and the picture of P.F. Jones were all tucked away in a tin with removable lid. On the right, another shot of the hole in the floor.

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James Smith was a Wellington institution established in 1866 and ran until 1993 when Farmers’ purchased it from L.D. Nathan and shut it down. The five-story flagship department store was on the corner of Cuba and Manners Street. By the 1980s they had five branches around the Wellington area. By at least 1972 they were definitely known to have a devoted girls school uniform department so I would say that this dates from before that decade. I was unable to find any information on Garrattco or Rabo, indicating it was likely a company established post 1945 – the 1950s onwards. I think this came from a new uniform garment that was ordered and then fitted  in-store, and was brought with the person at the beginning of a term. Hence no price on the tag,and the measurements, as well as customer’s name scribbled on. I’m guessing early 1960s.

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Possibly a card with the dorm room number, as well as the name of the occupant. We do know that Reilly was in situ in the late 1950s-early 1960s, and likely around the age of 13-14 years old. ergo, born in the early 1950s.

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This Jaffa Box is likely from the early-mid 1960s. I think they were running this design for a while so it could have been around up to the late 60s. Imperial weight only shows  it was definitely produced before 1972 . It was exactly the same in Australia. One clue here is the printer’s mark B.B. which likely stands for Bank’s Box (Company), who were around from at least the 1920s-1930s. They had factories in Auckland, and Wellington.

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This was in stores early-mid 1960s. Imperial indicates pre 1967. Wattie’s tended not to change some labels very often and would frequently run designs for over ten years or more. I have one almost identical except they have revised the picture of the peaches in the blue bowl, here.

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New Zealand Refrigerating Company ( also known as CMC or Christchurch Meat Company), was one of those products where they never really changed the label for decades. It pretty much looked the same from its inception back in the 1900s. As I recall CMC shut down around 1984. Given the cache are together, they probably date from the 1950s-1960s.

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Peter Frederick Hilton Jones played for the All Blacks in 37 matches including against the Springboks in Johannesburg in 1960 and notably scored a try in the 4th test of the 1956 South Africa tour of New Zealand. I wondered what significance the picture torn from a sporting article in a magazine has? It seems such a random choice that it’s in likelihood not random at all. There’s a few options: schoolgirl crush perhaps, or it had some kind of personal significance, or was used for some kind of drawing project. There are considerations in why someone would remove a picture to keep it, and then crumple it up throw it away stuffed in a tin where nobody would find it. Along with the test paper and the picture of P.F. Jones, the discarder obviously did not want anyone to find the items in a communal bin. I wonder if the sisters used to go through the rubbish looking for anything incriminating? I imagine it was very strict and even if not breaking a rule, it would be embarrassing to be questioned.

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Lifesavers were actually around in New Zealand from the early 1920s. Again this was one of those products where they never really changed the label much except for minor adjustments. In later years  Parnell-based Heards confectionery, established 1914 by Leonard Heard, had the domestic license for this brand. It could date from any time between mid 1950s-mid 1970s probably, but I would guess the mid 1960s.

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Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company was the first woollen manufacturer in Canterbury, established in 1878 , and closed in 1978 – so this item definitely dates before that time. In 1963, the company became Kaiapoi Petunia Group Textiles Ltd but there’s no indication of the company name here to help narrow things down. Again I’d guess 1960s for this school garment label.

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Tip-Top Trumpet wrapper. These were launched in 1964, so this item is after that date.

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Giant Trumpet on a roundabout in Panmure, Auckland, year unknown. Obviously post-early 1964 although late 1950s car models are visible. The design is the same as the wrapper above. Provenance of photo unknown, probably from the Fonterra Archives.

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Close-ups of the Tip-Top Trumpet wrapper. It is kind of amazing this has even survived. Given they were almost without exception tossed in the bin – or if kept easily damaged or deteriorated from contact with food, any frozen confection wrappers are extremely rare.

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I’ve never heard of this product but I would guess 1950s-1960s, more the latter. Aulsebrook’s commenced to manufacture confectionery sometime in the 1890s and were probably the biggest brand in New Zealand next to Cadbury Hudson. Wrapped candies in bags or packets seem to have popularised from the late 1950s-early 1960s. Singular indicates that it may have just slipped through the floorboards but unlikely. It is likely they were part of a Woolies pick ‘n’ mix, purchased in the bags below. There may have been other different wrappers but they have either disintegrated, been eaten by insects, or carried away by rodents to a nest.

Update early 2015: One of my readers has now claimed they remember these being made in the 1970s.

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So, these are the bags for some of the random lolly wrappers like Aulsebrook’s above. I’m theorising that because the bag is printed with “fresh” indicates it was made specifically for marketing food, the striped peppermint canes of the font pretty clearly indicates candy. Woolies didn’t really start having separate food markets until late 1963 onwards. this logo was definitely in use at that time. Before that Food Fair was always a department. I would take a stab at mid-late1960s for these items.

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Woolworths Variety Store, Lynnmall , late 1963. This photo shows the confectionery section with Refreshment Bar near front of store. Woolies would have open glass pick and mix bins, you can see them to the left. I remember as a very young child going to (this particular) store and occasionally being allowed to get a selection. Photo courtesy of and © Lance Bates, Degilbo on Flickr.

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I’m not familiar with this particular product, but obviously I remember the Mackintosh’s brand very well – particularly their bagged Toffee De Luxe which was extremely popular in the 1970s-1980s. I would guess 1950s-1960s for this, more the latter. These kind of snap-apart bars were popular in the late 1950s-early 1960s from ads I have seen.

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Inner and outer wrappers of above , showing the embossing on the foil. You never get to see things like this outside of a scrapbook, and even then people tended not to keep foil – it was usually easily damaged in the unwrapping and not that interesting anyway in comparison to the outer.

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Mini Drink, which was pretty much Fresh-Up in a different can –  was apparently launched by the N.Z. Apple & Pear Marketing Board in 1967, according to company literature (I don’t know if I believe this date entirely). If I had guessed without knowing anything about a date I would have guessed 1966-1970.

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A dozen or so Sweetacres Minties wrappers were stuffed in a grease-proof paper bag. I do wonder why it was not in a proper Minties bag or container. I guess they were bought locally from a dairy or corner grocery and were from a bulk counter tin. Minties were present in NZ from the 1930s; Sweetacres was an Australian Brand made by Henderson Sweets/James Stedman. This was one of those products where they never really changed the label (and still haven’t much). I’m a little confused about the history of Sweetacres in Aotearoa but I believe that Griffin’s had the rights for the brand until 1984 when Pascall purchased it. So it’s one of those things that you can’t really narrow down unfortunately. I would guess 1960s.

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Newmans has run coaches since the 1870s but it was in the mid-late 1920s that a fleet of motor vehicles was established. It remained a family-owned business through to 1972 when it merged with Transport (Nelson) Ltd, so it’s likely this ticket on the right dates before that time. As for the New Zealand Railways cover and stub on the left – I get a late 1970s-early 1980s vibe from these graphics, giving credence to possible multiple discarders. It could not  be any later than the end of 1985 as the school shut at that time. This was the kind of ticket that was for long train journeys cross-country so obviously was from a pupil that travelled quite some distance to board at Erskine.

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This label from a garment indicates it was printed in Britain and I can’t see any reason that would be done unless the whole garment was made there and imported. ICI didn’t start commercial manufacture of Terylene in England until after 1955. I am sure this fabric revolution made its way down under pretty quickly, but it still would have taken some time. I am guessing early 1960s for this item.

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Sun Maid raisins, imported from the Sun-Maid Growers of California in the U.S., were present in New Zealand from the 1920s and the imagery and packaging barely changed well into the 1980s. It’s probably still the same now. It would be really hard to date this item if it wasn’t for the presence of dual systems indicating the weight. Metric began to be introduced in 1969, and the bulk of the changeover was undertaken over 1971-1972. However up until as late as 1976 both were included on some products for those that were pretty slow on the uptake. However what should be taken into consideration is when both metric/imperial was included in duality on American packaging for export, even though they never switched over themselves. As far as I am aware an Act to include both on domestic products was only introduced federally in 1992. However this practice for exported goods may have commenced earlier than New Zealand introduced the metric system, to cover a multitude of different countries and accommodate their various systems.

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Reckitt & Colman (NZ) Ltd changed to Reckitt, Colman, Nugget in the very early 1960s – definitely by May 1961 – so this bottle likely dates before this – perhaps stretching out the date of the stash taking into consideration that it may have been old stock, or were sitting around for a couple of years until finished and discarded. There’s a possibility that the company just didn’t bother updating the company name or had piles of packaging stock to use up that lasted some time. I’d like to think that we have a single discarder, but this indicates not – and that other boarders knew about the hidey-hole.

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All content of Longwhitekid copyright Darian Zam © 2013. All rights reserved.

Power Outlet: The Force of Four Square and Foodstuffs NZ Ltd

A recreation I’ve made of a rare Australian contest poster of the 1950s.

Note: Due to repetitive theft by those who take my intellectual property from this blog without my permission, and reproduce it as merchandise for sale on sites such as Ebay, Redbubble and Trade Me,  I have now watermarked this image. If you are interested in purchasing merch of this image you can head to my personal Redbubble store.

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The Four Square brand originally emerged from a grocers’ co-op, which was established based on the concern that competition from grocery chain stores in the New Zealand market place was making business very difficult for small, independent store operators. How much truth there is to this claim is dubious since at that period of time in the early 1920s, the only specific food chain that comes to mind that would have provided any serious competition was Self Help, also a co-operative, which I covered previously in a fairly brief and superficial article of May this year here.

J. T. Hammond’s Mangatoki Four Square with sign writing done by Jack Wood, probably 1930s. Courtesy of the Puke Ariki collection.

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Between just 1922 and 1923, during the initial formation by the Auckland Master Grocers’ Association of what was soon to become Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd, Self Help had gone from just one store to a string of seven which must have been a frightening concept for anyone in the field looking to the near future and their prospects within.

Logos through the decades, clockwise from left: mid-late 1920s, 1932, late 1950s-early 1960s, mid 1930s-early 1940s, unknown – probably late 1940s , and 1980. From the mid 1950s the logo has remained almost the same in colour and design. a

Although a small company named Fletcher’s can probably lay claim to being the very first “self-service” style enterprise in the history of New Zealand, it had probably fizzled out by the early twenties. However in 1919 Laidlaw Leeds, a very successful mail order company had acquired the Green and Colebrook chain to become Farmer’s Co-op and they opened their twenty-ninth store in 1921. Although a general department store, Farmer’s were marketing at least flour, tea and spices that I am aware of, but hardly specific competition, however – that may have been all it took.

Colouring book produced as a competition promotion in 1954. a

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Since at the time the Self Help concept was a huge revelation in grocery shopping and pricing I can only conject that Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd was formed in direct response to Self Help’s extremely sudden success within that narrow timeframe – having pushed the situation to the edge. This allegedly pertinent issue was raised by a man named John Heaton Barker – to Auckland’s main grocers’ association, in early July of 1922. The co-op became official when it formed a company – which was registered on 1st of April, 1925. It’s first contract was with Te Aroha Dairy Company to carry their “Arrow” brand butter. Co-operatives were also formed in Wellington (named United Buyers, the same year, 1922, which became the “4 Triangle” chain) and in Christchurch (1928, which was named the “AG Stores”) . By 1935 all these co-ops had already come under the Four Square brand but were now officially renamed branches of Foodstuffs Ltd.

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Advertisement showing the white pepper and cornflour from their self line, Evening Post, March 1934 a

Seemingly well documented, the Foodstuffs legend goes that on the 4th of July 1924, two years into the co-op being formed, Barker, in position of company secretary at this time – was doodling on a pad during a telephone conversation with his colleagues and drew a square around the date. He presented this concept with the buoying manifesto that the group would stand ‘four square to all the winds that blew”.

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Above: Four Square white pepper tin from my own collection. This design was in use during 1934-1935. Below, I’ve recreated the label.

It wasn’t long before the first logos for the brand were bumped into all the stores in the form of hand-painted glass signs, with products appearing under the moniker by the end of that year. A primitive version of the formal logos we know today were going up on stores by 1929, with 4 Triangle, and AG Stores becoming part of Four Square not long after in December 1933 – as well as another co-op which had been formed in Southland (but much later down the track, in 1948) . The distinctive colours, however, were not adopted until 1931 when on a field trip to view a particular store belonging to a Mr. McInnes, the initial tangerine and yellow scheme (with green added to it in the form of the logo) was requisitioned.

Promotional puzzle showing many of Four Square’s line of products circa late 1940s. Image courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull Manuscripts and Pictorial collection. a

By the time the early thirties co-op merger had taken place (of which the date both Fairfax’s Business Hall of Fame profile as well as Foodstuff’s own history quote incorrectly), Four Square now boasted a total of 266 stores nationwide – what can only be described as an explosive success and had far outstripped even the phenomenal growth success of Self Help – and not even bothering to mention any other competition like McKenzies, Woolworths and Farmer’s which were semi- players at best in the burgeoning grocery market at the time. In 1935 the stores bearing Four Square signage were at 285. By the post war years food groceries bearing the Four Square name had shot up to nearly 400 and climbing quickly – 700 by 1950. By 1956 there were an amazing 1000 stores nationwide.

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Promotional game produced in Australia, probably the mid 1960s. a

By some time in the 1950s Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd had decided to hop the ditch to invade our Australian cousins, as my poster recreation at the head of this post, as well as the  board game on road safety I have found above, attest. By 1980 a Happy Family promotion shows the logo for Australian chain CPS (Central Provision Stores), alongside Four Square and New World’s logos – having been added to the empire via Four Square Stores (Australia) Pty Ltd.

J. Heaton Barker’s new offices bringing everything together under one roof – Auckland Star, 8 October, 1925. a

Barker was one of two children of a family from Derby, Britain. Perhaps his father – mention is made of a John William Barker – stayed behind when he immigrated with his mother and sister in 1886; arriving in Wellington on 6th August aboard the S.S. Ionic. Perhaps he died, and they decided to leave. Whatever the story was, his mother was free to marry a Reverend John Crump seven years later. A devout Christian, J. H. Barker was seriously involved in the Baptist church throughout his life, particularly in Mount Eden, Auckland where he was an elder, and at various times a chair, treasurer, as well as president of the City Baptist Auxiliary.

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Promotional Snap set featuring many popular products sold through Four Square stores; circa late 1950s-early 1960s. a

That was much later on in his life though; originally he settled in Nelson (where he was the facilitator of the PSA or “Pleasant Sunday Afternoon’ movement which had begun in Britain, was active in the Mutual Improvement Society, and on occasion stood in for his local pastor at the pulpit, was a member of council for the NZ Accountant’s and Auditor’s Association, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, and secretary of the Foreign and British Bible Society).

Promotional Snap set featuring many popular products sold through Four Square stores; circa late 1950s-early 1960s. a

More specifically he had spent time in Richmond to the south-west of the town where he was at one time or another secretary of the Richmond Lawn Tennis Club and also the Workingmen’s Club (I think at this point we can already establish that he was quite the busybody do-gooder). In 1896 he sold up and moved to a more central location in Bronte Street, Nelson.

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In-store Disney promotion – Hutt News, December 1934. a

In an article entitled “Farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Barker” in the Nelson Evening Mail of 14th March, 1901, an interesting mention is made – of Barker’s “severing his connection with S. Kirkpatrick and Co., Ltd” in order to move. This was a popular foodstuffs company primarily famous for their jam, in particular the “K” brand, but ranged across a wide array of products from jelly crystals, canned meat and spices to coffee, poultry tonic, vinegar, honey and baking powder.

Triangle brand products – Evening Post, December 1933 . a

This is a very interesting detail to discover because Kirkpatrick play an intrinsic part in the corporate history of the canned food industry in New Zealand – passing through a number of owners and lasting into 1971 when it was finally dismantled by Wattie’s upon their acquisition of the brand and Nelson factory. In what capacity he worked for the firm is unknown (presumably accounting); but whatever it was he had achieved in just a few short years it was important enough for Mr. Kirkpatrick , the CEO himself, to attend in person and present Barker with a gold Albert fob chain for his services.

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An unusual Four Square promotional chair which was auctioned recently. Photos © and courtesy of Trademe menber cache10 (Phil). a

He moved with his wife Mattie and eight offspring to Wellington in 1902 (where he was president of the city’s Sunday School Union, president of the Sunday School Teacher’s Association, vice-president of the YMCA Cricket Club, vice-president of the Gregg Shorthand Association, and prone to giving rousing public speeches on the gospel everywhere he could, it seems).

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Four Square’s self line of preserving jar skins probably date from the 1950s or early 1960s. From my personal collection. a

In 1907 we find him managing director of Messrs. Yerox, Barker and Finlay, Ltd., a company primarily moving cash registers and typewriters. In 1908 he moved to directing the interests of the National Cash Register Co in New Zealand at 17-19 Cuba Street – and in 1911 he gained inches of press when he invented an automated telegram sorting and stamping machine, which was subsequently installed in Wellington’s General Post Office. Following that the family relocated to Auckland in 1912 (where he had a spell as a director on the board of the Auckland YMCA, and led Baptist services at various church venues).

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Rare canisters issued for the Southland Four Square Co-op’s general area centennial of 1956 crop up at auction very occasionally to be bid on competitively. a

Presumably he eventually became somehow involved in the grocery industry to bring him into the relative picture; A newspaper article of 1924, in which he is called to give testimony in a case to do with milling industry price fixing, defines him as the Auckland secretary of the New Zealand Master Baker’s association, as well as the editor of their magazine “Baker’s Review” since 1920 (he remained secretary until 1930 when he stood down voluntarily).

George Allen and staff in the Dominion Road Four Square store, Auckland, late 1940s. Photo © and courtesy of the estate of George Allen. a

Clearly from the court report he was a significant player in the supply and demand of flour and other goods for some years. Quite frankly I was surprised to find a dearth of biographical information on a major player in New Zealand industry; One of his children grew up to become well-known newspaper editor and politician Sir Harry Heaton Barker – and much more is written of his long term mayor son. Certainly at this point with his various experiences in foodstuffs, accounting, sales, administration and a clear talent for creative invention – he had everything he needed to take things to a spectacular new level.

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Advertisement showing the custard powder and tea from their self line, Auckland Star, 11 April, 1935. a

Barker, as well as also being secretary, accountant and auditor of the NZ Master Grocer’s Association – ran the Auckland branch of the food co-op from its inception until 1934 when he became director of Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd – a position he remained in until 1947 when he passed away. In 1932 he was made a life member of the New Zealand Master Grocer’s Federation, of which he had been secretary since 1923.

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Four Square brochure of 1977 showing product specials to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Four Square in Otago/Southland. Image courtesy of the Foodstuffs (NZ) Archive. a

He also launched an industry magazine, “Grocers’ Review” in the early 1920s – which later seems to have joined forces with the milling industry and amalgamated his previous work there to become “New Zealand Grocer’s and Baker’s Review“. Sources seem to indicate that this version wrapped up in 1939; what I have seen from the Foodstuffs Ltd archive (I was lucky enough to get an insider peek at their collection courtesy of a food technician friend who is part of the team, and loves retro stuff herself) show two images of a “New Zealand Grocergram” magazine so presumably that became it’s moniker. Last reference to it in public collections is in 1974 -1975 however AdMedia ran an article in 2003 that it was being revamped. Current status is unknown, with the website down – but presumably it is still running – if so making it one of the longest running periodicals in the history of the country.

Waxed cardboard pot for Four Square’s self line of honey from the Christchurch Co-op, circa mid 1970s. a

By the mid 1930s Four Square had under its own line tea, honey, culinary essences, Worcester and tomato sauces, cornflour, macaroni and vermicelli, custard powder, malt extract, butter, coffee essence, spices, salt and pepper, canned fruit, and raisins. There was also jellies, candles, soap and toilet paper under the “Triangle” brand. Later boxed chocolates, vinegar, and cordials were added (1940s) as well as mixed dried fruit, preserving equipment,  and “Rawakelle“; their brand of tea that was in the 1950s and 1960s quite popular with the public.

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Front of cardboard box for Four Square’s self line of dried cake fruit from the Foodstuffs archive collection, probably early 1960s. a

Starting with baking powder – and then a few years following custard powder – “Pam’s” was launched by Four Square Stores in 1937 to offer lower price, quality goods that competed even more vigorously with opposing chain’s lower price bracket products. Although there were several “self” lines from other stores at the time, “Pam’s”  has stood alone, lasted into the present day as a “private” brand, probably the only surviving one. I previously documented my recreation of the first Pam’s marketing campaign/product label when I wrote about agency Dormer-Beck, who were behind it, here.

Advertisement announcing merger of 4 Triangle and AG Stores under the Four Square brand, making a total of 266 stores. Evening Post, December 1933. the co-ops changed their names to Foodstuffs two years later in 1935. a

“Mr. Four Square” , who has also come to be known as “Cheeky Charlie“, was a welcoming storeman figure with a big thumbs up – yet to many he always had a slightly imposing, sinister air about him (he looks like the type of guy that if you were left alone in the store room with him he might try to cop a feel). The mascot was developed sometime in the 1950s for print advertising initially – although the exact date and who the specific the creator of the character was, is unclear – one source quotes the Foodstuffs advertising department as responsible. Another states it was a son of J.H. Barker’s who came up with the concept around 1951.

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A corruption of monopoly with products instead of property, Milton Bradley-produced “Checkout” in 1959. They also did a version for the Acme chain of stores in the USA. a

He is often mistakenly attributed to renowned Kiwi pop artist Dick Frizzell who was a commercial artist in the 1960s and 1970s, but this is incorrect. Frizzell was, however, involved with the iconic Ches and Dale characters, and the fact that he has used Charlie in some of his most famous art works only adds to the confusion.

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Promotional Happy Families set featuring many popular products sold through Four Square stores, New World and CPS stores (Central Provision Stores, Australia); circa 1980. a

Another well-known contemporary artist Mike Weston, who coincidentally partners with Frizzell’s son Otis to produce humorous Kiwiana-inspired works under the moniker Weston-Frizzell, seems to recall hearing that Charlie was “allegedly a knock off of a Santa Monica supermarket character from the fifties called “Freddy Fireside” – of the Fireside Market. Although I’m still looking for evidence” . I myself was also unable to find any information to even hint at this.Today when people think of the brand they definitely think of Charlie beaming at them from shop windows and hoardings so, although a rather overused word -he has definitely become a New Zealand icon (with a few modernised features). Extremely collectable now, original Mr. Four Square cut-out signage old or newish – sells for competitive prices well into the hundreds and sometimes even the thousands.

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Interior of the Dominion Road Four Square store, Auckland, late 1940s. Photo © and courtesy of the estate of George Allen. a

Quite a few different items have been issued to promote the business over the years. Snap and Happy Family card sets were produced featuring their most popular product lines in the late 1950s-early 1960s, and another Happy Families set of 52 cards in around 1980 from which many of my age group will remember all the products – I featured some of them here, here, and here.

Four Square’s warehouse opens  in Southland, 1956.  Image courtesy of the Foodstuffs (NZ) Archive.

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Other fun items to rope in the punters and strengthen allegiance to the business were a puzzle (late 1940s), a board game with Milton Bradley – “Checkout”, around 1959. a highly desirable colouring book “Fine Things of the Future” (1954), calendars (1950s-1960s), a stamp collecting book. Recipe/household hint books such as “Homeways” was published in the late 1960s, and “Take A Tip” of the early 1970s. A cast metal can opener was issued as a complimentary gift to customers.  Very rarely the hard-to-get canisters issued for the Southland Co-op’s general area centennial of 1956 crop up at auction to be bid on feverishly; and not so long ago even a very unusual Four Square chair.

Foodstuff’s former cut-price – now “private” – brand Pam’s started in 1937 with one product; baking powder. Photo courtesy of and © Eriq Quaadgrass, eRIQ on Flickr. a

Icon Products, who partner with Four Square as well as several other brands , currently hold a license for the Cheeky Charlie character, producing aprons, shirts, tea towels and carry bags – which have been marketed through another Foodstuffs enterprise – New World supermarkets – established at the end of 1963 (the same year that Woolworths rolled out their first dedicated food store Food Fair, a New Zealand first at New Lynn).

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This classic version cut-out Cheeky Charlie signage just sold recently for around the $1000 mark or a little over. a

Although significantly less than in their heyday – today Four Square stores in New Zealand remain as 300 plus independent operators as well as a few still dotted about Australia. It is one of very few companies that has ever reversed the usual trans-Tasman power play of brands being foisted on the comparatively tiny country and marketplace of Aotearoa. Even Ozzie brands like the re-tooled IGA still can’t usurp the sheer power in numbers, well – yet, anyway.

A modern store in Waitarere using the classic Four Square colour scheme to the maximum effect; with the newest version of Cheeky Charlie, said to have been “made over” by Dick Frizzell at Foodstuff’s request recently. Photo courtesy of and © Kiwi Frenzy on Flickr. a

Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd is still comprised of three co-ops and has grown to include a slew of chain brands in its portfolio including aforementioned New World, Pak ‘N’ Save (established 1985), Write Price, On The Spot, Shop Rite, Raeward Fresh, Liquorland and Henry’s, Budget, Pam’s, and of course Four Square (and that’s just the food and drink enterprises) making it the largest retail organisation in New Zealand to date.

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Contemporary Four Square store and staff. Photo courtesy of and © the Foodstuffs (NZ) Archive. a

You have to wonder if Barker, whilst scribbling on his calendar absent-mindedly that day, ever in his wildest dreams could have comprehended he was launching an empire worth more than four billion dollars per annum.

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Neither the classic or contemporary version of Mr. Four Square -this was the in-between version with a few new touches in the 1990s-2000s. Photo of Cheeky Charlie on left courtesy of and © emilyandadam on Flickr. Image of modern Four Square logo graphics on right courtesy of and © the Foodstuffs (NZ) Archive. a

The Four Square Contest Poster is available from my online store here , as well as greeting cards for a nominal price.

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All content of Longwhitekid copyright Darian Zam © 2014. All rights reserved.