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Story: Agricultural processing industries

War boosts woollen mills

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War boosts woollen mills

During the South African War and the world wars woollen mills ran at full production to produce khaki for army uniforms. In this advertisement from the Second World War a drill sergeant shouts ‘Wait for it!’ to members of the home guard. Civilians often had to wait for material and other woollen products, such as blankets, while the mills filled their military orders.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: Eph-E-COSTUME-1940-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jane Tolerton, Agricultural processing industries – Woollen mills in the 20th and 21st centuries, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/25167/war-boosts-woollen-mills (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jane Tolerton, published 6 April 2010.