Foxton's Busy Bee Dairy was a fixture of the town on State Highway One. In late 2022 it moved from the highway to a building in Foxton's Main Street. 

The old dairy was full of advertising and has been photographed many times by travellers passing through. Local photographer Jacob Brookie heard about the dairy's relocation and wanted to take a photograph of the Coca-Cola bottle painted on the side of the building before it was demolished. The photograph was taken in August 2022.

It is a strange combination of advertising for a massive global company which was probably made by a local painter!

Jacob used a 1957 Lipca Rollop Automatic camera to take this photograph. This camera takes twelve photographs per roll of 120 format film, with the photographer composing the photograph by looking down into a hood on the top of the camera. 

A feature of Foxton for many years, the 'Foxton Trading Post' second hand shop closed in Winter 2022. Local photographer Jacob Brookie took this photo of the shop's front entrance just before it closed down for good in an effort to preserve this part of the Main Street.

Jacob used a 1934 Rolleicord to take this photograph. The Rolleicord was the budget version of the Rolleiflex camera and was made for amateur photographers. Nonetheless, it was well built and had a quality lens and shutter. 

Foxton's Main Street has been trading for well over one hundred and fifty years. During that time businesses have come and gone, with most known today only through saved newspaper clippings and public records. Chung Wah is not one of those businesses. Its name is still boldly displayed on the front of it's original 1905 premises in Main Street (even though the business itself has long since closed).

Records show the greengrocers were in Foxton's Main Street from 1905 and they were still trading in 1960. Kete records do not show them trading after that date- but another greengrocer called 'Soo's' was located in the same shop in 1985.

There were a few mishaps in all those years of trading. A fire in 1912 gutted the shop but it was restored and carried on. In 1934 there was an earthquake and Chung Wah's window was broken and their wares spread around the ground!

For much of the 20th century there was always a specialist greengrocer or grocery shop in the Main Street.

R.N. Speirs must have been the town's proudest Pinex promoter- this is the second slide of theirs which shares the virtues of this timber. Slides from this firm also promote electric heaters and ovens (presumably- the spelling of 'Speirs' is different in the latter slide). This slide dates from around the 1950s/1960s. The text below is from their first 'Pinex' slide which can be found on Kete.

 R.N Speirs had a long history in Foxton- Kete Horowhenua records show them on the town's Main Street as far back as 1905. They were still in Main Street in 1960 with their premises between Cook and Union Streets. Records do not show them there in 1965 so this cinema slide must have been made before then. R.N Speirs were timber merchants and this slide was made in the middle of the 1950s/1960s building boom. Advertising Pinex (made in New Zealand since 1941) would have been important in the 1950s- exotic pine was replacing native timbers as the preferred building material of choice due to pine being fast growing. Native forests were becoming depleted and pines were being planted in more accessible areas. This cinema slide showed the new wood as safe, cheap and easy to build with. This slide was shown locally but similar slides wouldn't have been shown down South- amble supplies of native timber there meant that the pine did not take over until the 1960s. 

W. Stuart Donnelly was a stalwart of Foxton's medical services. He began his career in the town working for pharmacist  Thomas Crotty  before buying his business. For a time an optician called at his chemist shop once a week- the only optician service the town had. Kete records show Donnelly's shop on Foxton's Main Street from 1960-1970. Records do not  show where his shop was before that time (records show that Donnelly owned a shop in 1952). He also appears to have owned a pharmacy in Levin.

W. Stuart Donnelly was also the Mayor of Foxton Borough from 1972-1978. A photograph exists of him standing in his shop (this can be found on Kete by searching 'W. Stuart Donnelly').

But is wasn't all about prescriptions! This slide was advertising cosmetics. If this slide is to be believed, a green shade about the eyes would certainly let them 'dominate'.....

 W. Stuart Donnelly was a stalwart of Foxton's medical services. He began his career in the town working for pharmacist  Thomas Crotty  before buying his business. For a time an optician called at his chemist shop once a week- the only optician service the town had. Kete records show Donnelly's shop on Foxton's Main Street from 1960-1970. Records do not  show where his shop was before that time (records show that Donnelly owned a shop in 1952). He also appears to have owned a pharmacy in Levin.

W. Stuart Donnelly was also the Mayor of Foxton Borough from 1972-1978. A photograph exists of him standing in his shop (this can be found on Kete by searching 'W. Stuart Donnelly').

There were more than just pills on offer at the chemists. This 'Trufood' would have been just the thing for a baby's meal. Judging by the different handwriting script which displays Donnelly's name, this slide would have been made by 'Trufood' in bulk and then modified with the name of each local seller.

 Records on Kete Horowhenua show the Foxton Shoe Company located on Main Street in 1950 and 1955 (but it may have existed before and after those dates). They were located just to the right of the Whyte Street intersection (from the perspective of Whyte Street). 

For those who think 'back to school sales' are a recent development this slide proves otherwise! The school uniform dates this ad to the 1950s (as does the satchel- no 'school bags' here...). Up until 1952 the Foxton District High School was located near the end of Main Street next to Ihakara Gardens. These buildings were still used for some secondary and primary classes for the rest of the decade. 

The students would not have had to walk far to get new shoes or see a film- Coronation Hall Cinema was located just a minute's walk from the school gates.

With the tagline 'A Lifetime Gift of Quality' this slide may well have been screened near Christmas. It, and slides just like it, were loaded into the projector near the end of intermission or (depending on the cinema) just before the film began. If left for more than a few seconds the heat from the projector's arc lamp would crack the slide. If you look just above the round watch face you can see a small crack on this slide. No doubt the cadet projectionist got a sound telling off about this!

The Levin branch of Parrington's advertised in the local paper in the 1950s (this slide would date to around then). There is no record of the Foxton branch on Kete's "Foxton 1888-1988 - Commerce". 

Whether you were driving a Ford Model T, Austin A40, Leyland Mini, Honda Civic or Toyota CH-R, the garage on Foxton's Clyde Street was ready to repair it! There has been a motor mechanic on the site almost continuously from 1915 and (as of May 2023) Lee Mason Motors carries on the tradition.

'Foxton Motors' traded there from around 1950 to around 1975 according to Kete records. It should be noted that this slide is from 'Foxton Motors (1959) Ltd' so there would have been a few ownership changes during this time.  

The big news on this slide was the new Silex muffler. A look at the names of the brands it fitted shows that many of them are long gone. Ford still remains in the New Zealand market but the others are consigned to history here (as of 2023!).

There is some uncertainty about the location of this business- but we do know something about a 'S.Mattar'. Kete records show an 'S. Mattar' trading on Main Street as a draper in 1930. In 1945 an 'S. Matter' was trading as a hairdresser alongside tobacconist 'L. Matter' on Foxton's Main Street (near the intersection with Whyte Street). By 1950 'L. Matter' was carrying on business as a hairdresser and tobacconist alone.

In the  MANAWATU TIMES, VOLUME LVI, ISSUE 5588, 28 FEBRUARY 1931, PAGE 2  an 'S. Mattar' was part of a team who retained a bowling title.

Did 'S. Mattar' have a shop of his own? Or was this watch part of a family business? At this stage that is uncertain. 

While the notion of a watch which can wind itself 'better than you can' may seem somewhat insulting at first, you cannot deny the convenience! There have been references to self winding watches dating back to the 1770s- wrist watches had this innovation from the late 1920s. 

Given the uncertainty around the business, the date for this cinema slide is very approximate.  

Cinema advertising slides promoted products, services, events and government messages- but advertising situations vacant is a much rarer sub-section of slides.

K. Hager and Co. Ltd made clothing- with a 1958 newspaper ad for new staff suggesting they specialised in shirts and blouses. At the time the company boasted fifty staff on the payroll in their Levin-based factory.

An online records search suggest that this company was established in 1956 and deregistered in 1993.

Te Papa has a collection of advertisements by K. Hager and Co. showing the latest 1970s styles. The firm doesn't exist anymore but they sure knew how to advertise to the flower power generation! You can see these ads by following this link.  https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/agent/31790

 There is some uncertainty about the location of this business- but we do know something about  'S.Mattar'. Kete records show an 'S. Mattar' trading on Main Street as a draper in 1930 (in 1932 identified as the 'Kosy Cash Drapery'). 1937 saw him selling golfing supplies on Foxton's Main Street. In 1945 an 'S. Matter' was trading as a hairdresser alongside tobacconist 'L. Matter' on Foxton's Main Street (near the intersection with Whyte Street). 

By 1950 'L. Matter' was carrying on business as a hairdresser and tobacconist alone. In the  MANAWATU TIMES, VOLUME LVI, ISSUE 5588, 28 FEBRUARY 1931, PAGE 2  an 'S. Mattar' was part of a team who retained a bowling title. Did 'S. Mattar' have a shop of his own? Or was he part of a broader family business? 

This is one of multiple slides from this business searchable on Kete. This one advertises Gillette razors. The 'Blue Blade' razor was introduced in the early 1930s- however this slide looks to be a lot later than this. The date is only a vague estimation on this one!

 W. Stuart Donnelly was a stalwart of Foxton's medical services. He began his career in the town working for pharmacist  Thomas Crotty  before buying his business. For a time an optician called at his chemist shop once a week- the only optician service the town had. Kete records show Donnelly's shop on Foxton's Main Street from 1960-1970. Records do not  show where his shop was before that time (records show that Donnelly owned a shop in 1952). He also appears to have owned a pharmacy in Levin. W. Stuart Donnelly was also the Mayor of Foxton Borough from 1972-1978. A photograph exists of him standing in his shop (this can be found on Kete by searching 'W. Stuart Donnelly'). 

The 'Gala' range of cosmetics seems to have been a popular line for Donnelly's business. This is the second cinema advertising slide featuring their products!

Every cinema advertising slide has a story to tell- and the story behind this one has changed a few times! Local businesses loved cinema advertising as it was reasonably priced and could be targeted towards local audiences- this slide would have only screened in Foxton.

However, a few of the words on this slide have been edited out with tape. Foxton Motors still does panel beating, welding and engineering but the option of 'Duco Spraying' has been edited out and the breakdown crane service is not longer 'at all hours'. Another stickers shows that the business changed hands to a Mister/Misses 'Woodcock'. Did the new owner get sick of pulling cars out of ditches at 2am in the morning?

The Foxton Historical Society shows a garage on Clyde Street as early as c.1909 and a garage is still on the street today. Due to the lack of images on this slide it is hard to date just when it was made.

Who says cinema advertising had to be complicated? This slide, screened at the end of intermission, is as simple as can be! The Foxton Beach Store seemed to be the 'go to' place for everything- but in April 1928 it burned down in a fire. It is not known when this slide was made, but it could easily have been around this date given how simple it is!  A 1950s advertising guidebook stated that the screen advertising business was quite new in New Zealand.

One thing the slide does not mention is where the store was located (neither does the report on the fire). However, given how small Foxton is it was probably assumed that everyone knew anyway!

At the end of intermission, just as cinema patrons were settling into their seats, the advertising slides were screened. The job of preparing, screening and storing these slides was usually the job of the apprentice projectionist. During the 'Carbon Arc' projector era (lasting until the 1960s) it took over four years to become a fully qualified projectionist so this was a job you got used to!

Each slide was only shown for a few seconds to avoid the glass cracking from the projector lamp's heat. This meant that audiences never got to ask- why does that man have so many chickens on the BBQ? Should he buy a bigger one? How many people does has he invited? Will the meat cook evenly or will everyone get food poisoning? Whatever the answers were he looks very pleased with himself....

With the rise of the supermarket the local butcheries often closed down. We have slides from Foxton and Foxton Beach butchers but neither trade in the towns today.

Companies records show that this business was registered on the 20th of June 1975 and was removed from the register on the 15th of June 1993. 

R.N Spiers, who feature in other MAVtech cinema slides as a timber merchant, have been recorded on Foxton's Main Street as far back as 1905 and as recently as the early 1960s. It seems that they also sold ovens as well!

The 'Champion Commodore' was named after a senior navy rank (the former Holden car having the same background). A navy officer is seen, slightly out of focus, behind the women in this slide. 

'Radiation (N.Z.) Ltd' made whiteware goods  and a 'Champion' range of kitchen appliances  was in stores from the 1920s up until the 1970s according to online records. A price list for Champion stoves from 1961 has been recorded. 

The allure of automatic cooking was front and centre with this ad- 'just set it and forget it!'

Before most families had a motor vehicle, getting around by bicycle was as much for transport as it was for exercise. Cochran's Cycles is advertising the Raleigh series of bikes in this slide. Raleigh was formed in 1885 and still makes bicycles today- making it one of the oldest surviving brands in the bike business.

Cochran's Cycles had a float in the 1955 Foxton Centennial Parade and this slide would date to around this era.

R.N Speirs had a big presence in Foxton and MAVtech has a range of cinema advertising slides showing them advertising timber and cooking appliances! This particular slide is advertising an infra-red electric heater.

Foxton has plenty of late 19th/early 20th century villas and Foxton Beach is famous for it's batches. Both have plenty of character and charm but not a lot of insulation! A heater would be just the thing during a cold, wintery day.  This slide would date from the 1960s (approximately).

Whites Radio Service was trading on Foxton's Main Street in 1960 and stayed in it's site as late as 1987 (and possibly later) according to Kete Horowhenua's Foxton Historical Society posts. 

There was an earlier radio shop, owned by a Mister R.Cull, on the same site in 1941. 

In 1960 there were just over 577,000 New Zealand radio licences in 1960 and this number was just under 700,000 a decade later so Foxton's radio shop must have been very busy indeed! Even when television arrived it was not portable so radio remained competitive. 

But this slide, played during cinema intermissions, was not advertising radios. Instead it was advertising records. With the very conservative stewardship of the New Zealand Broadcasting Service (later the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation) Kiwi airwaves didn't feature many of the most daring rock and pop tracks and none of the protest songs sung on university campuses. If you wanted to hear them you needed to buy a copy of your own!

Note the 'Disneyland' name on one of the pictured labels. Who said Foxton was missing out on overseas trends in music!

MAVtech, the keeper of this slide, is home to Radio Foxton which broadcasts on 105.4FM- FM radio wasn't an option in the 1960s.

Note: This slide has some damage- especially to it's top left hand corner.

Most cinema advertising slides were examples of local advertising- but few were as local as this one. There has been a Manawatu Hotel on Foxton's Avenue Road since the late 1890s and when this slide was made (probably in the 1950s) the hotel was only a few houses away from the Coronation Hall cinema where this slide was likely screened!

How many cinema patrons stopped by the bar on the way home to talk about the film? Or had some dinner at the Hotel before taking their seats? 

'Beer gardens' only appeared in New Zealand from the late 1940s so Foxton was part of a trend and trying to keep 'good taste'. The term 'Mine Host' is a jovial expression for a bar landlord/manager and is an old term for 'my host' which survived in popular culture.

Ernie Head is 'mine host' when this slide was shown- replacing the former host whose name was covered over. 

After closing for a time the Manawatu Hotel reopened in 2013 is still trading as of 2023. Coronation Hall is now home to the MAVtech Museum but still has its projectors and 200 seats- perfect for the monthly movie night! 

In the middle of the 20th century the high streets of small town New Zealand were full of specialized businesses and crafts which today are only found in the main centres. Take D.A. Blackburn- a repairer of watches located on Foxton's Main Street. 

Before the arrival of cheaper watches which are easier to replace than repair, there were many such craftspeople in business. However- maybe Blackburn was too specialized for a town of Foxton's size. Kete records show him in business in 1960 but not in 1955 or 1965, so his shop didn't last as long as many others who took out cinema advertising in Foxton.

Blackburn also sold watches and clocks- all tested and guaranteed! 

Foxton Fizz has been part of Horowhenua since 1918 and is one of the last small town soda companies left. In over a century of bottling flavours have come and gone and so have different label designs on the bottle.

This 1970s cinema slide would have been shown during intermission along with other advertising slides and slides showcasing upcoming films. The 'Tropic' slide is an unusual mixture of a local brand advertising using the far-away tropics as a selling point. The drink would be more likely to be consumed at the Manawatu Heads than the white sands of Hawaii! The 'Thirst Quencher' by-line probably meant that this slide screened during Summer.

However, with overseas brands like Coca-Cola moving in on the local market, familiar names had to appear to be a bit exotic to compete. It must have worked- Foxton Fizz is still with us today!

R.N Speirs had a long history in Foxton- Kete Horowhenua records show them on the town's Main Street as far back as 1905. They were still in Main Street in 1960 with their premises between Cook and Union Streets. Records do not show them there in 1965 so this cinema slide must have been made before then.

R.N Speirs were timber merchants and this slide was made in the middle of the 1950s/1960s building boom. Advertising Pinex (made in New Zealand since 1941) would have been important in the 1950s- exotic pine was replacing native timbers as the preferred building material of choice due to pine being fast growing. Native forests were becoming depleted and pines were being planted in more accessible areas. 

This cinema slide showed the new wood as safe, cheap and easy to build with. This slide was shown locally but similar slides wouldn't have been shown down South- amble supplies of native timber there meant that the pine did not take over until the 1960s.

On a community Facebook page in 2020 many Foxton locals fondly remember this business which was said to have traded from 1955-1969. It was at the heart of many memories of ice creams, chocolates and tasty treats delivered for weddings and parties. 

But before Facebook advertising became a boom for local businesses, cinema advertising was the way to get the word out locally. The late 1950s/early 1960s was the high point for cinema admissions in New Zealand and these easy to make slides could be selectively screened in local cinemas to get to the right audience.

In fact, one local remembers going to the cinema right after visiting Lanes. 

Did they see this slide? 

The words on this slide would have been written locally. Unlike today's slick advertising firms where everything is carefully checked and rechecked, a spelling error ('Partys') got through on this slide.

Back when Foxton Beach had fewer residents (and far fewer phone numbers) it was possible to sell fruit and vegetables street by street twice a week. At least, that's what Mister Hitchings did! His cinema advertising slide would have been shown at local theatres for a few seconds at a time- otherwise the heat from the projector arc would crack the slide. 

Given that each slide was shown for such a short time, the best of them used eye-catching, simple designs like this one. 

However, MAVtech cannot find any references to Hitching's business in Kete or in other records, so it may not have survived in Main Street for long. Cinema advertising slides were a great source of promotion for local businesses due to their low cost and (in a time when going to the cinema was sometimes a weekly pleasure) a high reach. Today they are often the only trace of historical businesses which survive. 

Four generations of the Roache family have worked at Roaches Concrete products. Founded in the mid 1950s, it has been a continuous presence in Foxton ever since. In 1971 David Roache and his wife Pauline bought the firm from David's father and it became a limited liability company (so this slide was made before that year). In 1994 the company moved to its current (as of 2023) Foxton location off State Highway One so it had room to grow. 

Roaches Concrete is still trading but many of MAVtech's cinema advertising slides are from business which closed long ago. Unlike a costly national campaign, cinema slides could be shown in a select group of local theatres which meant they could be targeted to the local audience. Slides were generally shown during intermission and for a couple of seconds at a time- otherwise the heat from the projector would crack them!

This slide probably would have been shown in Foxton and Levin cinemas only.

In the 1950s cinema advertising was extremely popular for small New Zealand businesses. The average New Zealander made seventeen trips to the cinema by the end of the decade. Forty million cinema tickets were sold in 1960 alone! 

Cinema slides were inexpensive to make so local businesses could afford to advertise in a handful of local cinemas. This ad would probably cause a stir if screened today- corporal punishment was outlawed in schools in 1990!

In 1950 Johnson's Bakery was on Main Street, between the intersections of Whyte Street and Clyde Street. More information can be found on the following Kete page

https://horowhenua.kete.net.nz/item/3f2158a5-57a3-4441-8486-116931202d7c

Foxton Fizz has been a Horowhenua icon since 1918. Founded at a time when many New Zealand towns had their own soda drink, it is now one of the last brands surviving. 

Keeping local support would have been crucial, and this slide was shown around the Foxton cinemas in the 1950s/1960s. 

Cinema slides were only shown for a few seconds- otherwise the heat from the projector lamp would crack the glass! The photograph was hand coloured and may have been a stock  photo- 'Foxton Fizz' does not appear on the bottle the model is holding....

Records on Kete Horowhenua show the Foxton Shoe Company located on Main Street in 1950 and 1955 (but it may have existed before and after those dates). They were located just to the right of the Whyte Street intersection (from the perspective of Whyte Street).

In a time when many jobs required a suit, having a fine pair of shoes like this was a must. This slide would have been shown in Foxton cinemas in the 1950s (most likely during intermission). Cinema advertising was popular with local businesses due to it's low cost and with around forty million cinema tickets being sold per year at the time these ads had reach! 

MAVtech's collection of advertising slides provide a glimpse into many businesses which have long disappeared. How many small towns today have a specialist shoe shop?