Kōrero: Factory industries

Tinsmiths and sheet metal workers are shown here in an early Labour Day parade in Christchurch. Labour Day was introduced in 1890 to commemorate the struggle for the eight-hour working day. Metal-working tradesmen such as these were an integral part of many factories, producing goods like the pots and pans displayed on this float, to larger goods ranging from bridge parts to trains, and running the boilers on which many factories depended to power machines and provide heat in winter.