Story: Sewing, knitting and textile crafts

Knitting during a lecture, 1940s (2nd of 3)

Knitting during a lecture, 1940s

Women have often knitted while attending lectures at universities and other tertiary institutions, although not always with the approval of the lecturer. In 1934 Horace Belshaw, a professor of economics at Auckland University College, asked women to refrain from knitting during lectures because he found it distracting. On the other hand Crawford Somerset, the lecturer shown here at the Feilding Community Centre, seems to have managed fine, despite the intimate surroundings of the room. 

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Alexander Turnbull Library, National Publicity Studios Collection
Reference: 1/2-029887-F

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:

Kerryn Pollock, 'Sewing, knitting and textile crafts - Home textile crafts', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/40519/knitting-during-a-lecture-1940s (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Kerryn Pollock, published 5 Sep 2013