Many of the immigrants of the 1870s were either agricultural labourers or craft workers, especially carpenters and builders, who were in great demand in the growing colony. This is the carpentry plane of Thomas Dewson, an Englishman who migrated in the 1870s. He found work making furniture and carving the coats of arms on government buildings. As was the custom, his name was etched on the side of the plane.
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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
by Emma Dewson
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