When washday was Monday
A DigitalNZ Story by Zokoroa
Revisiting when clothing was washed by hand by women (and sometimes by men), traditionally on a Monday until the introduction of electric washing machines
Laundry, Washing, Washing machines, Clothing, Household, Domestic chores, Housework, Electricity
In the early days, washing was done by hand by women and also by men who were living in predominantly male settlements (timber felling, mining, breaking in land for farming, and soldiering). Clothing and linen would be taken to streams, rivers, lakes and hot pools, or water would be carried from the nearest waterway to the dwelling. Eventually, piped cold water was available in the main centres from the 1870s. Hand-operated wringers/mangles and wooden washing machines began to be used in the later nineteenth century.
Washday was traditionally held on Mondays, so that the clothing and linen would be clean, dry and ironed before Sunday - the day of rest. Washing by hand took all of the morning or most of the day. Some households employed maids or the washing was collected by washerwomen (and sometimes men) who did the washing at their own residence. An alternative was to use laundromats which began operating from the mid-1870s in some towns and cities. After hydroelectricity and coal gasworks became available in the cities and some towns, washing machines were increasingly used in households from the 1920s onwards. This led to washing being done more frequently. Nowadays, electricity for washing machines can be supplied by renewable energy sources (water, geothermal, biogas, wood, wind and solar power) and fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.
Māori would wash by hand with water from streams, rivers, lakes and hot pools
Photo: Women washing clothes in the Ruapeka Lagoon, Ohinemutu, circa 1880
Alexander Turnbull Library
With early European settler families, washing was traditionally done by women
Photo: Woman hanging up washing with two men standing outside a dwelling thatched with nikau palm in Waikato in 1863
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
By necessity, washing was done by men who lived in predominantly male settlements
Photo: Bushmen in the Hokianga doing laundry & housework outside their hut with a 'GIRL WANTED' sign, c.1900-1909
Auckland Libraries
Washing was traditionally held on Mondays so that it would be clean, dry & ironed by Sunday - the day of rest
Photo: Washday with water boiling, hand-powered wooden washing machine (on left), a washboard & clothesline, 1904
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Some households employed live-in maids, or a washerwoman who visited to do the washing
Handwashing of clothes & linen would take a full morning or all of the day
Auckland Libraries
Washing was also collected from private homes & washed at the collector's own residence
Article (1912) about a male who took in washing to supplement his old age pension
National Library of New Zealand
An alternative was to use a laundromat which first appeared in NZ in 1874 followed by Chinese laundries in 1880s
The oldest steam laundry was the Empire Steam Laundry which opened in Wellington in 1874
National Library of New Zealand
1. HANDWASHING, 1800S-1900S
Māori and early settlers washed clothes and linen by hand. Items were either taken to rivers, lakes and hot pools, or water was carried to the home. Tubs filled with water were heated over an open fire or on a kitchen range, and clothing was hung nearby to dry.
In traditional Māori communities anything associated with the body was kept separate from food preparation, a belief which has survived into the 21st century. Items used in food preparation should be kept separate from those which have come into contact with the body – kitchen tea towels and tablecloths are washed separately from clothes.
Source: Kerryn Pollock, 'Washing, cleaning and personal hygiene - Washing clothes', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/washing-cleaning-and-personal-hygiene/page-1
Three young women washing clothes in a hot pool at Whakarewarewa, c.1900-1910
Washing clothes in a hot pool at Whakarewarewa
Alexander Turnbull Library
Māori tradition: Items for food preparation washed separately from items in contact with the body (Photo: c.1900-1909)
Washing clothes
Auckland Libraries
Washing clothes using hot water boiling in background & rinsing with cold water in a river near Hokianga Harbour, 1906
Washing in a river, 1906
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Clothes being washed by laying them on a stone and beating with a stick, c.1910-1919
The old Māori method of washing the clothes by laying them on a stone, and beating them with a stick
Auckland Libraries
Women doing their laundry with a ready supply of hot water at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, 1916
Washing clothes
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Two women washing clothes in a thermal pool, with clean laundry drying on the fence, c.1920-1929
Laundry day at Rotorua
Auckland Libraries
Carved house at Te Hauke, Hawke's Bay with laundry hanging in the foreground, c.1880-1900
Carved house at Te Hauke, Hawke's Bay
Alexander Turnbull Library
Two miners washing their clothes outside their 'shack', with 'A GIRL WANTED' sign above the doorway, c.1890
Photograph of Two Miners
Te Aroha & Districts Museum
Three men beside a hut with clothing hanging from a washing line at Putara (No date)
'Jim Reument? Shooting at Putara'
Wairarapa Archive
Bushmen catching up with their laundry & having their hair cut (No date)
Day of rest
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Mother handwashing in a tub with clothing hung on the line strung nearby to dry, 1894
Auckland Libraries
Washing day at Newstead, c.1900
Washing day at Newstead. From the album: Snapshot album - Nga Mahanga
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Three girls washing clothes, c.1919
Aileen and Dulcie Howard and Nan Welch as girls : Photograph
Wairarapa Archive
Monday was usually WashDay
Monday was usually washday, which was an old Victorian tradition "based on the premise that if you did your washing on Monday it would be clean and dry by Sunday, the day of rest and clean clothes". (Source: Wairarapa Times-Age, " The birth of a revolution in laundry", 7 May 2015)
Another theory was advanced by an article in the Thames Star, "Why not wash on Tuesday" (1 Dec 1917):
Wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, is the old schedule which from time immemorial has goaded the housewife to the wash tub on Monday, rain or shine, sickness or health… Why should Monday be wash day. Ever think of it? Well, it is because back in 1682 the private houses of London were supplied with fresh water only twice a week. One of these was Monday, and Monday has been wash day ever since.
Washing was usually done once a week and on a Monday to enable clothing to dry before Sunday - the day of rest
Auckland Libraries
Monday had also become a washday tradition since 1682 in London which emigrants spread to the colonies
In 1682, London's private houses were supplied with fresh water only twice a week including Monday which became washday
National Library of New Zealand
A maid or washerwoman was employed in some households, or washing collected & washed at person's residence
(Painting by Frances Hodgkins of their family's housemaid, c.1890)
Alexander Turnbull Library
Cartoon: Fashionable for women who employed washerwomen to go out shopping only on a Monday (12 June 1909)
If you attended bargain sales on other days, you could be thought of as being the washerwoman
National Library of New Zealand
To many, wash day was known as 'Blue Monday', which was attributed to the day's drudgery or to the use of blue dye in the washing. (Source: Kerryn Pollock, op cit.)
"Monday is Wash-day" adverts appeared in newspapers marketing washing products
National Library of New Zealand
Washing powder with the brand name 'Easy Monday' was marketed to households
National Library of New Zealand
HANDWASHING EQUIPMENT
TUBS:
Family washing clothes in tubs photographed by Samuel Heath Head, Christchurch, c.1890s-1930s
Maori family washing clothes in tubs
Alexander Turnbull Library
Oval, galvanised tub with handles brought to NZ by UK immigrant aboard SS "African" in 1860
tub, wash
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Two young men washing clothes in a tin bath sitting in a wooden wheelbarrow, 1910-1919
Washing clothes
Auckland Libraries
Mrs Clevely of Bunnythorpe in the Manawatū doing her laundry in a tub under a tree in the garden, 1926
Clothes washing
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
White enamel washing tub manufactured by Kockums in Sweden, c.1930-1940
Washing Tub, Enamel
Wyndham & Districts Historical Museum
Mrs Wereta washing clothes in a tub over a small fire, photographed by Ans Westra for 'Washday at the Pa' series, 1964
...watch Mother put some of the washing... From the series: Washday at the pa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Hand HELD tools to agitate the Wash:
Hand vacuum washer, also called a posser or plunger, to mix washing when in a tub of soapy hot water
The cone produced a vacuum effect that helped agitate the clothes when thrust up and down in the tub
Mangawhai Museum
Swiftsure vacuum washer (1921 model) patented by subsidiary of British Vacuum Company, founded in 1901
Plunger, Laundry
Wyndham & Districts Historical Museum
The head only of the Swiftsure Vacuum copper washing plunger. Three holes near the top let the water out.
Copper vacuum plunger
Mangawhai Museum
Washing dolly or dolly peg
The washing dolly or dolly peg was like a small short stool with a long handle protruding from the middle of the seat
Cromwell Museum
A dolly tub & a dolly tub plunger
Dolly tub and dolly tub plunger at Howick Historical Village used for washing clothes.
Howick Historical Village
Stirring the washing in the newly-settled Manawatū community of Āpiti in the 1890s
Doing the washing
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Washboards:
After being soaked & boiled, clothes & linen were scrubbed on a washboard, then rinsed before being hung out to dry
Katherine Mansfield House and Garden
Clothes were rubbed along slatted surface with (occasionally) a bar of soap, while the board sat in a tub of hot water
Live Days : Joyce Lush at the wash tub
MOTAT
Wooden washing board
Katherine Mansfield House and Garden
Wood and glass wash board
Katherine Mansfield House and Garden
Two young girls with a a washboard and a zinc galvanised laundry tub, Māngere, c.1910
Babies with a tub, Māngere, ca 1910
Auckland Libraries
MANUAL Clothes wringer / mangle:
Clothes wringer / mangle to wring water from wet laundry
Wooden mangle, c. 1890
Te Awamutu Museum
Small mangle with clamps for securing to a tabletop, 1870-1890
Mangle, Small Tabletop
Wyndham & Districts Historical Museum
A cast iron frame & stand manufactured by Summerscales company, ca 1900-1910
Mangle, Iron Frame 'Record'
Wyndham & Districts Historical Museum
BOILERS:
Some households had a copper or washing boiler - concrete cylinder with a firebox at the bottom and a chimney.
Typically, dirty items were scrubbed on a wooden or glass washboard then boiled with soap in the copper, which was lit early in the morning. Next, the items were removed with a wooden stick, rinsed with cold water and wrung out, either by hand or with a wringer. The washing was dried outside or on an airing rack over the kitchen range. Bluing (the addition of a substance containing blue dye to make whites whiter) and starching (stiffening collars and petticoats) were additional steps.
Source: Kerryn Pollock, 'Washing, cleaning and personal hygiene - Washing clothes', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/washing-cleaning-and-personal-hygiene/page-1
Two women boiling the laundry at an outside brick fireplace area, 1910
Wash day outside, Whatipu.
Auckland Libraries
A copper tub or cauldron that sat inside a brick or concrete surround which had a wood fire underneath to heat water
Copper
Mangawhai Museum
Child stirring a copper sited outdoors, 1910
Child stirring a copper, 1910
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Woman doing laundry in a Methven washing boiler set up next to a tree stump in Rotorua, 1916
Woman doing laundry in a boiler, Rotorua, 1916
Auckland Libraries
Piped COLD water, 1870s -
Eventually piped cold water was available to households in the main centres from the 1870s. The water was heated by wood-fired boilers or by wood or coal-burning ranges which had an added water tank. The tank was filled by hand or connected to the household cold water tank with a pipe and tap. Later, chip heaters were used which were solid fuel burners (wood or coal) with cold water entering at the base to sit at the rear inside the 'wetback' and the heated water exiting from the top ('flow line') and cold water coming into the base to be heated ('return line').
Piped cold water was available to households in main centres from 1870s
Water was heated by woodfire boiler or wood/coal range with a water tank. Later, chip heaters with a wetback also used.
Auckland Libraries
COAL Gasworks, 1870s -
Gas heaters were available to households in the main centres from the 1870s. Town gas, produced from coal, was available first in Auckland in 1862 but by the 1870s there were also gasworks in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. However, water tended to be heated by wood-fired boilers rather than gas.
Display of gas-powered laundry water-heaters, c.1890s-1930s
Display of gas-powered laundry water-heaters
Alexander Turnbull Library
Gas water heater (califont) next to bath, c.1890s-1930s
Bathroom interior with califont [gas water heater]
Alexander Turnbull Library
Metal plated copper water heater with lid stand. 'Tui Geyser' brand. Used in 1950s.
Califont 'Tui Geyser'
MOTAT
WashhouseS / LAUNDRIES
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, washhouses tended to be built in the back garden of villas and cottages, to house the copper boiler.
Three women with tin tubs & buckets, a wooden bench, pegs & clothing, in front of a shed or outhouse, 1900
Three women, with tin tubs and buckets
Christchurch City Libraries
Rear view of family home shows a water tank, outside toilet & washhouse, 1900
Exterior of Wilson homestead.
Auckland Libraries
Plans for a cottage included a separate washhouse (top right)
Cottage North Road for Mrs Hille
Waitaki District Council
During the 1910s and 1920s, bungalows began to incorporate the washhouse - the forerunner of the laundry in present-day homes. Nowadays, the washing machine and dryer can be found in a laundry or the kitchen or bathroom or a small cupboard - inside the house or the garage or basement.
Plans for additions to an existing villa included a washhouse, 1911
L. G. West, Plan of Additions and Alterations to a Residence, Gillespie's Road
Palmerston North City Library
House built during 1928-1930 included a washhouse with tiles and a boiler and double tub
Wilkinson House - Laundry
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Laundry area with an automatic washing machine & dryer in a house, 1984
Laundry area inside the Satterthwaite's house in Tawa
Alexander Turnbull Library
HAND-POWERED washing machine
Hand-operated washing machines and wringers became available in the later nineteenth century.
Blackstone Rotary Washing Machine invented by William Blackstone (Indiana merchant) as birthday gift for his wife. 1874
Washing Machine, Blackstone Rotary
Wyndham & Districts Historical Museum
The 'Majestic Rotary Washer' rebuilt with ACME wringer by Russell E. Williams of Darfield, Canterbury, c.1898
Washing Machine, Majestic Rotary Washer
Glentunnel Museum
Round copper hand-operated washing machine with a hose to let out the water manufactured by Speedway Products Ltd, 1930s
Washing Machine
Mataura Museum
Three perforated metal agitators which lift washing up & down are operated manually by the lever attached to the frame
An early washing machine
Western Bay District Council
2. Electricity availABLe to the puBLIC, 1888 -
In August 1888, the goldmining town of Reefton became the first place in NZ to have electricity available to the public when the Reefton Power Station opened. Private companies and local authorities began supplying and transmitting electricity in some cities and towns. From 1912 to 1918, the Government's Public Works Programme issued licenses for the building of local power stations. The first modern hydroelectric power station was opened in 1914 at Lake Coleridge in the Southern Alps, and 55 local power stations were in operation by 1920.
In August 1888, the goldmining town of Reefton became the first place in NZ to have electricity available to the public
Electricity was supplied by the Reefton Power Station
Christchurch City Libraries
Other power companies & local authorities of cities & some towns began supplying power for workplaces and households
(Photo: Harris Street Power Station, Wellington, c.1890s)
Alexander Turnbull Library
From 1912-1918, Government's Public Works Programme issued buildlng licenses & 55 local power stations opened by 1920
The first modern hydroelectric power station was opened in 1914 at Lake Coleridge in the Southern Alps
Christchurch City Libraries
In 1919, the Southland Electric Power Board became the first local power supply authority. By 1920, NZ's cities and most towns were connected to either the South Island transmission grid or the North Island transmission grid set up by local authorities and central government to supply electricity to households and workplaces. Nearby rural areas began to be connected from the mid-1920s.
In 1919, the Southland Electric Power Board became the first local power supply authority
Alexander Turnbull Library
By 1920, two transmission grids (Nth Island & Sth Island) were set up to supply electricity to the cities & most towns
Tauranga City Libraries
The rural areas near towns & cities began to be connected from the mid-1920s
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
ELECTRIC WASHING MACHINE - EARLY MODELS
As electricity became available in the cities and towns, it was mainly used for electric lighting. Only some households acquired early model electric washing machines due to the cost.
Electric 'Laundress Oscillator' - both, the copper oscillating tub and wringer are electric, c.1912
Washing Machine ABC 'Electric Laundress' Oscillator
MOTAT
HOT WATER CYLINDER - ELECTRIC
In 1915, Lloyd Mandeno (Tauranga Borough engineer) developed the world’s first electric hot-water heater for use in households. The cylinder was made of heavy-gauge corrugated galvanised iron fitted with two elements (350 W and 500 W), which sat inside a larger container insulated with a layer of pumice. The container was placed in the ceiling, with pipes to the sink and the bathroom. After a couple of years use, the iron had corroded, which Mandeno replaced with copper. He patented his copper hot-water electric heater on 25 October 1923, which became the forerunner of hot water electric cylinders in use today. (Source: Nigel Issacs, "Hot water plugs into the mains", BRANZ Build, 1 June 2006)
In 1915, Lloyd Mandeno (Tauranga Borough engineer) developed the world’s first electric hot-water heater
When the iron cylinder corroded after a couple of years, he used a copper cylinder, which he patented in 1923
Radio New Zealand
By 1945, about 75% of houses had a hot water system (Photo: Hot water cylinder, 1940)
Hot water cylinder
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
CHEAPER ELECTRICITY IN 1930S
By 1934, the North Island's transmission grid also linked the three new hydroelectric power stations - Mangahao (Manawatu) which opened in 1924, Tuai (Lake Waikaremoana) which opened in 1929, and Arapuni (Waikato River) which opened in 1929. By 1938, power from the Waitaki River hydro scheme joined a network connecting two-thirds of the South Island - from the West Coast to Canterbury through to Otago and Southland.
Consequently, the cost of electricity became cheaper in the 1930s, which led to electric washing machines becoming increasingly marketed.
Most cities and towns were electrified by 1920, but electricity was expensive, so power was mainly used for lighting. In the 1930s cheaper electricity allowed for greater uptake of electric hot-water cylinders and appliances, including washing machines. However, the machines were expensive and limited to wealthier households. Over time they dropped in price, and by 1956 over half of New Zealand households had an electric washing machine. This grew to over 90% in 1971.
Source: Kerryn Pollock, 'Washing, cleaning and personal hygiene - Washing clothes', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/washing-cleaning-and-personal-hygiene/page-1
By 1934, the North Island transmission grid included 3 new power stations: Mangahao, Tuai & Arapuni
By 1938, power from Waitaki River hydro scheme joined a network connecting two-thirds of the South Island
Alexander Turnbull Library
Cost of electricity became cheaper in 1930s
Marketers targeted women for households to install electricity & buy electrical appliances, including washing machines
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
1937 advert for an electric washing machine with an electric wringer, costing £28/10/-
Page 8 Advertisements Column 1 (Ellesmere Guardian, 12 February 1937)
National Library of New Zealand
Mobile laundry service in Seddon, Marlborough began in 1938
Mary Watson began a mobile service with electric washing machine carried on her motorbike's sidecar (1941 Film: 1:09m)
Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Automatic washing machines, 1930s -
Automatic washing machines which washed and spun clothes were advertised from the 1930s.
'Maytag' washing machine imported by Fisher & Pykel who then began manufacturing Kelvinator machines from 1938
Wringer Washing Machine Maytag
MOTAT
'Bendix' washing machine - "Gyramatic" front loading washing machine which was first marketed in 1936
Washing Machine (Bendix)
MOTAT
Photo (c.1930s) was exhibited in 'Darling, I'm Home!' exhibition at National Library of NZ, 1 June - 5 July 1999)
Woman using a front loading washing machine
Alexander Turnbull Library
Post-WWII: Further power stations & increased ownership of washing machines
After the Second World War, central government built further power stations, and remoter 'backcountry' areas were connected to electrical supplies.
According to the 1956 NZ Population Census, Vol IX: Dwellings and Households, which provides the first recorded details of appliance ownership in NZ, over half the households owned a washing machine, as well as a gas or electric stove and a refrigerator. The results showed of the 563,052 respondents that 56.4% (316,511) had sole use of their washing machine, 0.95 (5,356) had shared use (by occupants of other flats etc), and 42.65% either did not have use of a washing machine (239,267) or did not specify whether they had use (1,818).
After the Second World War, central government built further power stations
Auckland Libraries
Remoter 'backcountry' areas were connected to electrical supplies
South Canterbury Museum
1956 NZ Population Census, Vol IX: Dwellings and Households: Over half of households owned a washing machine
Over half also had a gas or electric stove & a refrigerator. (Photo: Filling out the 1956 Census form)
Alexander Turnbull Library
SEMI-ELECTRIC WASHING MACHINES with manual wriNGER
'Hoover' Model 0319 semi-electric as the mangle on top is still operated using a crank handle, 1945-55
Washing Machine, Hoover Model 0319
Wyndham & Districts Historical Museum
'Acme' white hand wringer with clamps as feet used with an electric washing machine, c.1948
Wringer / Mangle Acme
MOTAT
'Acme' wringer washing machine, 1957
Picture puzzle, Acme wringer washing machine
Alexander Turnbull Library
ELECTRIC Wringer washing machines
Electric wringer washing machines became popular after WWII
'Easy' wringer washing machine, 1940s
Auckland Libraries
'Miele Extra' model: Wooden tub with rotating panels in its centre & a wringer - driven by electric motor underneath tub
Washing machine
MOTAT
A woman putting an item through the wringer of a 'Connor' washing machine, circa 1950s
Woman using a wringer washing machine
Alexander Turnbull Library
Wringer accidents & injuries began to be reported (e.g. hand, arm, hair or scarf being caught)
National Library of New Zealand
By 1953, 11,000 workers were employed making & assembling wringer washing machines
(1954 National Film Unit clip (0:29 secs) shows wringer washing machines being assembled)
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
![Image: [Electric washing machine assembly factory interior]](https://thumbnailer.digitalnz.org/?resize=770x&src=https%3A%2F%2Fcollection-api.aucklandmuseum.com%2Frecords%2Fimages%2Fmedium%2F547167%2F68ead11d3ad8ce4617634f9f53d0fd1ed43d3df0.jpg&resize=368%253E "[Electric washing machine assembly factory interior]")
Electric washing machine assembly factory interior, 1958
[Electric washing machine assembly factory interior]
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
'Beatty' wringer washing machine manufactured by Beatty Brothers, c.1960
'Beatty' wringer washing machine
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
After New Zealand Medical Journal 1966 reported wringer accidents, safety release mechanisms were incorporated
'Fisher and Paykel Whiteway' washing machine, model R with wringer on top, circa 1974
MOTAT
COOK STRAIT CABLE, 1965
In 1965 the transmission grid began operating nationally when the Cook Strait cable joined the North Island and the South Island and began transmitting power from the south to the north.
In 1965 the transmission grid began operating nationally when the Cook Strait cable joined North Island & South Island
Power began to be transmitted from the south to the north
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Automatic washing machine & clothes dryer, 1960s -
Automatic washing machines - front loading and top loading - became popular in households from the 1960s. Increasingly, homes also began to have electric clothes dryers.
Automatic & wringer washing machines on display, 1965-1975
Home appliances on display : Photographs
Wairarapa Archive
Washing machine and dryer display in store at Farmers, 1971
Washing machine and dryer at Farmers
Christchurch City Libraries
WASHING DONE MORE FREQUENTLY
Electric washing machines were advertised as being labour-saving devices. In comparison with using a boiler, time was saved using the electric washing machine. However, households started doing the washing more frequently during the week - not just on a Monday.
Electric washing machines were advertised as being labour-saving but households started doing washing more frequently
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
By 1971, over 90% of NZ households had an electric washing machine. (Source: The New Zealand Official Year-Book, 1975)
By 1971, over 90% of NZ households had an electric washing machine
Loading washing into machine, 1974
Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Laundry items over the decades
Collection of Laundry Products
Mangawhai Museum
Reckitt and Colman New Zealand :[Rinso packet. 1950s?].
Alexander Turnbull Library
Advertisements for Rinso, Lifebuoy Soap & Persil, 1931-1940
Soap and washing powder advertisements - De Lacy Limited : Sign and Showcard Writers
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Sandsoap - Triangle Pumice Packet
Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
Blue bag, Laundry
Te Hikoi Museum
Packaging, Levers New Zealand Limited
Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
Peg Bag & Pegs
Mangawhai Museum
Miniature laundry set (pegs, soap and laundry basin)
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Clothes Peg: Wooden
Canterbury Museum
Basket: one wickerwork laundry basket with hinged lid. Painted white.
Tairāwhiti Museum Te Whare Taonga o Tairāwhiti
Cane Laundry Basket
Mangawhai Museum
Summer Child Studies series, unidentified young girl, with a laundry basket
Alexander Turnbull Library
board, ironing
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Laundry irons
Te Ūaka The Lyttelton Museum
Laundry room in a family home, 2017
Laundry room in a family home in Bishopdale
Christchurch City Libraries
Washing line styles over the decades
Washing drying on the line, Dunedin, 1876
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Unnamed
Nelson Provincial Museum
Slack Children playing
Palmerston North City Library
At the Denton's cottage
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Washing on a line, Denniston
Alexander Turnbull Library
Clothes line
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Rooftop washing line, Wellington, 1943
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Houses on Whitson Terrace, Freemans Bay, 1953
Auckland Libraries
23-25 Airedale Street, Auckland Central, 1958
Auckland Libraries
Interior of house in Airedale Street, Auckland Central, 1958
Auckland Libraries
Silvereye (ssp. lateralis)
iNaturalist NZ — Mātaki Taiao
Ellis & Burnand - sample clothesline
Hamilton City Libraries
Welcome swallow
iNaturalist NZ — Mātaki Taiao
Washing & Drying tips
Washing day tips for using the boiler & wringer, 1930
WASHING DAY HAS TO BE FACED (NZ Truth, 06 November 1930)
National Library of New Zealand
Handy hints for washing different fabrics, 1930
SOME HANDY HINTS FOR THE LAUNDRY (NZ Truth, 06 November 1930)
National Library of New Zealand
1945: Rinse blanket in camphor (anti-moth chemical) if blanket to be stored after being dried
last rinsing water. This evenly distributes the anti-moth chemical in trie fibres of the blanket and is most effective. Just this small amount of c...
National Library of New Zealand
1941: The weight of the stones keeps socks from shrinking when drying on the clothes line
and allow them to dry gradually. The weight of the stones keeps them from shrinking, and allows them to dry in their original shape. This is a very...
National Library of New Zealand
1941: Wear woollen gloves under rubber gloves to keep hands warm when hanging washing
sary. Keep a pair of old woollen gloves and when you hang your washing out put these on first and slip over them your rubber gloves. In this way yo...
National Library of New Zealand
1949: Book “Southern Cross Housewifery and Laundry Work: For use in school and home” by M.A. Blackmore. (Rev ed)
Book, Southern Cross Housewifery and Laundry Work
Thames Museum
Memory Lane reconstruCtions of home laundries
Howick Historical Village
A sewing and washing display in the front room of Johnson's cottage in Howick Historical Village.
Howick Historical Village
Howick Historical Village
School children learning how to use a mangle in Historical Village during a school visit.
Howick Historical Village
Howick Historical Village
The laundry in Maher-Gallagher Cottage in the Howick Historical Village. Showing a tub and wooden washing machine.
Howick Historical Village
Howick Historical Village
Tracy Mulgrew ironing in Briody-McDaniel's cottage.
Howick Historical Village
Artworks
Painting by Frances Hodgkins of their family's housemaid carrying the laundry, c.1890
Alexander Turnbull Library
Chenille hand embroidered on printed silk, pre-1931
picture, embroidered
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
3. LAUNDROMATS: European & CHINESE
As an alternative to washing one's own clothes and linen at home, the washing could be carried out in a laundry. Laundromats first appeared in NZ in 1874 with the founding of the Empire Steam Laundry in Wellington. During the 1880s, Chinese laundries began to operate and started to close from the 1950s onwards when home laundries became popular. Nowadays, self-service laundromats have become increasingly available in cities and some towns, following the growth in the building of flats and apartments.
First steam laundry was thought to be the Empire Steam Laundry in Wellington, 1874
Victoria University of Wellington
In 1892, the satirical Washers and Manglers Bill was introduced into Parliament & withdrawn after its first reading
It was intended as a political satire by Conservative MP Frank Buckland on labour legislation introduced by Liberal Govt
National Library of New Zealand
Lue-Lee Laundry on Quin Street (later Sturdee Street, & later Victoria Street), Wellington, c.1903 - 1904
Quin Street, Wellington, with the Lue-Lee Laundry
Alexander Turnbull Library
The Factories Amendment Act 1910 included provisions for operation of laundries where two or more people were employed
The University of Auckland Library
1915 advertisement for fees charged by a Chinese laundry
National Library of New Zealand
1915 advert by the Wanganui Steam Laundry Co. Ltd
National Library of New Zealand
1916 advert for a laundry collection service by the Steam Laundry at New Plymouth
National Library of New Zealand
Chinese laundries began closing from the 1950s when laundries in homes became popular
Video of HeritageTalk (2019): Chinese laundries in Aotearoa New Zealand (2:42min)
Auckland Libraries
Chan Foon Laundry operated in Majoribanks St for 35 years & was the last one in Wellington when it closed in 1981
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Nowadays, with the growth of apartments & flats, laundromats increasingly available in cities and towns
Auckland Libraries
Gill Webbe in the Wash Inn launderette, Avondale, 1989
Auckland Libraries
Laundromat, Auckland
Alexander Turnbull Library
Laundromat, Dominion Road?, 2013
Auckland Libraries
Soak and Suds, Dominion Road, 2013
Auckland Libraries
4. energy options nowadays for hot water & washing machines
Hydroelectricity has been historically the main form of energy used by washing machines and other electrical appliances in households in NZ. Over the decades, other energy forms have been obtained from other renewable sources (geothermal energy, biogas, wood, wind and solar power) and from fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.
In the early 2000s, increasing numbers of people began producing their own electricity, using small-scale hydro, solar and wind generation systems. By 2009, power companies provided reciprocal agreements that enabled the home generators to both take from, and supply energy to, the grid.
Source: Megan Cook, 'Energy supply and use - Energy sources', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/energy-supply-and-use/page-1
NZ’s electricity was generated using nine sources of energy in 2007
Hydro water, gas, geothermal power, coal, wind, wood, waste heat, biogas, & oil
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Hydroelectricity
Historically the main form of energy used by washing machines & water heaters
Auckland Libraries
Coal & coal gas
Provided domestic heating & cooking in 19th & early 20th centuries; declined in 1960s & replaced by natural gas
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Natural gas
Fossil fuel found in Taranaki inland & offshore of which 3% used for residential use (Photo: Maui gas)
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Geothermal
Wairākei, the first geothermal station opened in 1958. By end of 20th C, eight had been built.
Alexander Turnbull Library
Wind turbines
1st on large scale was at Wellington (connected to national grid in 1993) & 1st wind farm was Hau Nui in Wairarapa, 1997
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Biogas
Obtained from sewage treatment plants, farm waste & food processing industry. Local rubbish dumps also used from 1992
Radio New Zealand
Oil products - petrol, LPG gas, diesel & kerosene
Sometimes used for heating and cooking
New Zealand Maritime Museum
Solar power
Began to be used to heat water & charge batteries for power supply systems by 2007
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Find out more:
- Kerryn Pollock, 'Washing, cleaning and personal hygiene - Washing clothes', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/washing-cleaning-and-personal-hygiene/page-1
- Megan Cook, 'Energy supply and use - Electricity, late 19th to mid-20th century', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/energy-supply-and-use/page-5
- Megan Cook, 'Energy supply and use - Energy sources', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/energy-supply-and-use/page-1
- Megan Cook, 'Household management - Inside work', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/39690/clothes-washing
- Nigel Issacs, "Hot water plugs into the mains", BRANZ Build, 1 June 2006
- Wairarapa Times-Age, " The birth of a revolution in laundry", 7 May 2015
This DigitalNZ story was compiled in June 2023