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Story: Voluntary welfare organisations

Shorthand machine

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Shorthand machine

This shorthand machine, invented for use by blind people, made it possible for a skilled operator to write 100 to 150 words per minute.

Using this item

Blind Low Vision NZ

Reference: Ken Catran and Penny Hansen, Pioneering a vision: a history of the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind 1890–1990. Auckland: Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind, 1992, pp. 28

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How to cite this page

Margaret Tennant, Voluntary welfare organisations – Welfare services expand, 1890s–1930s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/29047/shorthand-machine (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Margaret Tennant, published 24 February 2011.