Skip to main content

Story: Food shops

Wellington St dairy

Wellington St dairy

Corner dairies were the centre of life in the suburbs on weekends from the 1940s to the 1980s when most other stores were closed. The Wellington St dairy in Freeman's Bay, Auckland, is seen here in 1980. Dairies often had prominent advertising on signs or walls for one of the products they sold – in this case Bushells tea.

Using this item

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: RMS12/1/16

by Robin Morrison

Courtesy of the Estate of Robin Morrison

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Food shops – Dairies, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/25494/wellington-st-dairy (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 19 July 2011, updated 1 September 2016.

Comments

James Falanitama
07 February 2025
I remember this shop well we use to live just up the road. We would come down and buy lollies an ice cream from Mr Ruper. I went to Beresford Street School and my teacher was Mr Ihaka after that I went to Ponsonby Intermediate. I remember the Freemans Bay Community Hall being built. This was the best years growing up in Ponsonby unfortunately we left Ponsonby in 1982 and moved to Mt Wellington.
Arnita Repia
20 April 2021
I remember Mr Ruper use to be the man behind the counter I use to buy my lunch from this dairy in the early 70s. I was a pupil at Beresford Street School my teacher was Miss Gilbert a Maori lady. I loved Sally lun buns and that's what I would buy when I had lunch money. Awesome memories of this dairy.