Story: Food

Milking the house cow, early 1900s

Milking the house cow, early 1900s

This man is milking his house cow in the early 1900s. Rural people farmed cows commercially but also kept house cows from which they got their own milk. Raw milk from the cow would have been drunk by the household, and also turned into butter and cheese.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, James McAllister Collection (PAColl-3054)
Reference: 1/1-009611-G
Photograph by James McAllister

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:

David Burton, 'Food - Dairy products', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/39133/milking-the-house-cow-early-1900s (accessed 27 September 2023)

Story by David Burton, published 5 Sep 2013