Story: Picnics and barbecues

A picnic with the Model T

A picnic with the Model T

A family use their Ford Model T tourer as an impromptu picnic venue, probably in the early 1920s. The growth in car ownership and improvements to New Zealand's roads brought changes to picnic behaviour. While community picnics remained popular, it became more common for family groups to drive to a scenic site and hold their own picnic. By the 1920s religious opposition to Sunday leisure activities had declined. The Sunday drive, usually involving a picnic, became a very popular form of recreation.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-035360-G

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:

Peter Clayworth, 'Picnics and barbecues - Sunday drives and picnic spots', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/39294/a-picnic-with-the-model-t (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Peter Clayworth, published 5 Sep 2013