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Dalmatian gum diggers

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Dalmatian gum diggers

In the hunt for kauri gum this gang of Dalmatians is draining the Aranga Swamp at Maunganui Bluff, Northland, in 1899. One possible explanation for these unpleasant working conditions is that the Kauri-gum Industry Act of the previous year had reserved more desirable locations for British-born diggers.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: PAColl-2144-2-03

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

Claudia Orange, Northland region – European settlement: 1840–1900, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/28171/dalmatian-gum-diggers (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Claudia Orange, published 17 February 2011, updated 1 May 2015.