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Story: Dairying and dairy products

Milking time

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Milking time

Milking used to be done in the open, sometimes in the middle of a paddock if the cow was quiet enough. More often the cow was held in a simple bail or by a rope halter. Milking was usually the job of women or children.

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Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: C9166

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

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How to cite this page

Hugh Stringleman and Frank Scrimgeour, Dairying and dairy products – Beginnings of New Zealand’s dairy industry, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/15684/milking-time (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Hugh Stringleman and Frank Scrimgeour, published 1 March 2009.