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Kōrero: Sewage, water and waste

Guttersnipes and muck

Image
Guttersnipes and muck

A cartoon from an 1866 issue of Otago Punch shows piles of rotting animal and vegetable matter heaped up in streets alongside young children. The inspector of nuisances was responsible for seeing that the rubbish was removed. In a time before organised street collection of rubbish, people just dumped waste where they wanted.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Hocken Collections, University of Otago

Reference: S05-138h

Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Christine Dann, Sewage, water and waste – Māori and colonial settlements, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/cartoon/24422/guttersnipes-and-muck (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Christine Dann, i tāngia i te 12 April 2010.