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Story: Women and men

Food for war

Video file

Women had always worked in food production. During the Second World War, when many of the men who had worked on production lines were away fighting, women’s labour was essential. These women are processing cabbages in a Pukekohe factory. Once dried, the cabbage was sent to Allied forces in the Pacific.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 181. National Film Unit, 1945

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Charlotte Macdonald, Women and men – War and suburbia, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/29241/food-for-war (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Charlotte Macdonald, published 30 March 2011, updated 1 August 2017.