Soaking up the outdoors:
A hammock symbolises summer, relaxation, and easy living! It gives a sense of freedom and peacefulness as you sway gently in the breeze and wake up to birds chirping playfully in the warmth of the sun or see the stars twinkling in the night sky.
Relaxing reading a magazine in Auckland region (1938)
Swinging in a hammock: A cool retreat in the garden on hot summer days
Auckland Libraries
Two children and a woman in a hammock with a woman seated nearby (1910)
75 Martin Street; 'Haukaretu' garden scene
Upper Hutt City Library
Two boys enjoy the peace of a hammock and swing (2008)
Peaceful Garden
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
![Image: New Zealand Railways. Publicity Branch: Well away from worry. Wonderful Wairakei for your holidays. Easily reached by rail or road services / Railways Studios [1940]](https://images.digitalnz.org/bDn_ZcdWX3hIEuRlN-cO3pN-cP8=/368x0/https%3A%2F%2Fndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz%2FNLNZStreamGate%2Fget%3Fdps_pid%3DIE1262311 "New Zealand Railways. Publicity Branch: Well away from worry. Wonderful Wairakei for your holidays. Easily reached by rail or road services / Railways Studios [1940]")
NZR publicity: Woman relaxing in a hammock & watching a fisherman, a golfer & sunbathers (1940)
New Zealand Railways. Publicity Branch: Well away from worry. Wonderful Wairakei for your holidays. Easily reached by rail or road services / Railw...
Alexander Turnbull Library
Since times gone by:
Hammocks have been popular in New Zealand over the decades - either strung on someone’s porch or between two trees. Using hammocks is thought to have originated in the Caribbean and Central and South America. The Taino people of the Caribbean crafted them out of tree bark of the hamack tree and the Mayans and Incas weaved fibres from the sisal plant to create sleeping nets called hamacas. Later on, hammocks were used on board ships and in prisons and military camps. Then they became a backyard leisure activity and are also used for camping trips.
ca 1889: With a book and a fan in the garden of a house in Napier
Lydia Myrtle Williams in a hammock, Napier
Alexander Turnbull Library
Late 19th C: Reading in a hammock is the height of relaxation for Miss Archer of Buller!
Reading for pleasure, late 19th century
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
ca 1905-1926: Sitting on cushions and reading a book, possibly in Christchurch area
Studio portrait of unidentified woman, sitting on a hammock with cushions and reading a book, probably Christchurch district
Alexander Turnbull Library
![Image: [Sitting outdoors in a hammock]](https://images.digitalnz.org/uJAUibICILG9IlwQ2Onp14xkHKw=/368x0/https%3A%2F%2Fcollection-api.aucklandmuseum.com%2Frecords%2Fimages%2Fmedium%2F537118%2F30695b3c2217069d5077f42c49a76bdc2197349d.jpg "[Sitting outdoors in a hammock]")
n.d. Outdoor group study - one woman seated in a hammock; the other on the ground
[Sitting outdoors in a hammock]
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
ca 1905-1926: Woman and baby with a trumpet, possibly in Christchurch region
Outdoors amongst grass and trees, an unidentified family portrait of a woman and a baby with a toy trumpet in a hammock with a man with a handlebar...
Alexander Turnbull Library
1915: Reading aloud: Woman reads "Dora's Danger" to a young girl sitting on a cushion in the backyard in Epsom
Mrs Richardson and Jean
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
WWI: Nurse lying in a hammock in Malta harbour aboard the HMHS Gascon hospital ship "on a Sunday"
Medical Staff & Nurses: Egypt and England
National Army Museum
1933: Cat named Bill was the popular mascot of H.M.S. Rodney & had own hammock
Interesting naval mascot
Auckland Libraries
Jan 1937: Westfield freezing workers sleeping on hammocks strung up in cool store during ‘stay-in’ strike
Freezing workers’ stay-in strike, 1937
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
1941: Trainee sailors slinging their hammocks for the night at H.M.N.Z.S. Tamaki training camp on Motuihe Island
Ordinary seamen class turning in
Auckland Libraries
![Image: [Edmund Hillary in a hammock]](https://images.digitalnz.org/IrKTFR9RScTEv7c_vd_2x81TW4w=/368x0/https%3A%2F%2Fcollection-api.aucklandmuseum.com%2Frecords%2Fimages%2Fmedium%2F481051%2F5907fc073b9b5c7d731e83a48835bec27662347a.jpg "[Edmund Hillary in a hammock]")
No date: Edmund Hillary reclining in a hammock
[Edmund Hillary in a hammock]
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Tips for using hammocks:
Newspaper articles described mishaps with hammocks and shared tips on how to swing gracefully in a hammock!
1904: The art of swinging gracefully in a hammock!
HAMMOCK SWINGING AN ART. (Bruce Herald, 12 January 1904)
National Library of New Zealand
1880: That deceiving hammock
THAT DECEIVING HAMMOCK. (Star, 15 September 1880)
National Library of New Zealand
1884: That deceitful hammock
The Deceitful Hammock. (Waikato Times, 05 April 1884)
National Library of New Zealand
Hammocks versus beds:
1890: Sleep in a hammock
Sleep in a Hammock. (Tuapeka Times, 10 May 1890)
National Library of New Zealand
1913: Added advantage - hammocks useful for curing apples!
THE OPEN-AIR CURE. (Feilding Star, 29 July 1913)
National Library of New Zealand
1914: Hammocks also handy for campers
Handy for Camper. (Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 21 August 1914)
National Library of New Zealand
Cartoonists' perspective:
Husband: "You never told me that New Year resolutions are supposed to last ALL year!"
Hawkey, Allan Charles, 1941- :'You never told me that New Year resolutions are supposed to last ALL year!' Waikato Times, 2 January 2003.
Alexander Turnbull Library
Husband's New Year resolution is to become rich and lazy. Wife: "You've mastered half of it already."
Darroch, Bob, 1940- :'I'd say you've a fair chance of fulfilling your new year resolution of becoming rich and lazy. You've mastered half of it alr...
Alexander Turnbull Library
Eco hints for the holidays...touch the earth lightly
ECO HINTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS... Recycle. Minimise travel. Touch the Earth lightly. 28 December 2006
Alexander Turnbull Library
Opposition accuses Minister of having insufficient work to do. He decides to remove his hammock before media arrives.
Fletcher, David 1952- :'The media wants to interview you about the claim by the Opposition that you don't have enough work to do'. 2 August 2012
Alexander Turnbull Library
Hammocks written into folklore - Songs and Poems:
1889: He never knew the sequel
He Never Knew the Sequel. (Observer, 21 September 1889)
National Library of New Zealand
1890: Romance and life
Romance and Life (Southland Times, 16 December 1890)
National Library of New Zealand
1890: In the hammock
IN THE HAMMOCK. (Auckland Star, 27 September 1890)
National Library of New Zealand
1892: How Adam fell from Grace
3?^^A'iNGy�� (Taranaki Herald, 01 November 1892)
National Library of New Zealand
1894: Hammock song by Louise Duxham Goldsberry
HAMMOCK SONG. (Daily Telegraph, 13 October 1894)
National Library of New Zealand
1913: Ena's dream and it's reality
ORIGINAL VERSE. (Ashburton Guardian, 15 October 1913)
National Library of New Zealand
Find out more:
Chair in the Air (1 Jan 2023: The History and Culture of Hammocks
Norton, M & Kuhn J. (11 Nov 2025), "Towards a history of the hammock: An Indigenous technology in the Atlantic world". Postmedieval.
Wikipedia: Hammock
This DigitalNZ story was updated in Dec 2025