Story: Flax and flax working

Flax milling (1st of 6)

Flax milling

Men cut flax and tie it into bundles. This is the first stage in the process of producing flax fibre. They are working in the Makerua swamp, which supplied the Miranui flax mill near Shannon. The date is around 1917, when flax milling was at its height. Miranui was built in 1907 and was the largest mill in New Zealand.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-065683-G
Photograph by George Leslie Adkin

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:

Nancy Swarbrick, 'Flax and flax working - The flax fibre industry: 1860s–1930s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/10409/flax-milling (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 24 Sep 2007