Kōrero: Factory industries

In the 1960s and 1970s thousands of Pacific Islanders came to New Zealand on temporary work permits. Many found jobs in factories, where they were a vital part of the workforce. This photo shows a supervisor with three Tongans working as spray painters in the Todd Motors factory in the Hutt Valley, Wellington. They were from a group of 89 brought to New Zealand for six months by the local chamber of commerce to help meet the labour shortage that was then limiting production.