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Story: Southland region

‘Customs men with captured still’

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‘Customs men with captured still’

Trevor Moffitt (1936–2006) painted a variety of Southland scenes, including this image of customs and excise men seizing illegally distilled liquor from a truck, from his Hokonui moonshine series of paintings. Distilling was very common in the Hokonui Hills in the 1920s and 1930s, when much of Southland was officially ‘dry’.

Image courtesy of the artist's estate.

Using this item

Southland Museum and Art Gallery

by G. T. Moffitt

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How to cite this page

David Grant, Southland region – Society and culture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/20141/customs-men-with-captured-still (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by David Grant, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.