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Story: Gender inequalities

Homecraft lessons, 1947

Video file

At this Ruatōria Native (Māori) School in 1947, the female pupils were taught homecrafts, like their counterparts throughout the country. Girls learned how to cook and sew and were also given basic lessons in home health. The girls in this film clip are dispensing the daily dose of cod-liver oil to their fellow students.

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Archives New Zealand – Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 324. National Film Unit, 1947

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

Anne Else, Gender inequalities – Education, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/28648/homecraft-lessons-1947 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Anne Else, published 4 August 2014.