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Kōrero: Government and agriculture

Butter label

Image
Butter label

Sales of early New Zealand butter in England were hampered by its tainted flavour, so the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture set out to educate farmers on improving hygiene. Processors of export butter had to be registered, and all butter and cheese exports were tested before being shipped. Making butter boxes from native kahikatea wood helped improve the flavour, as the timber did not affect the taste of the butter.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: GH010066

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Tony Nightingale, Government and agriculture – Formation of the Department of Agriculture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/18058/butter-label (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Tony Nightingale, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.