In the 1950s and 1960s New Zealand's home ownership rates were steadily growing. Aspiring to own your own home was a natural part of family life and this slide shows this perfectly- the young family are dreaming of a large house with a decent lawn. A house that size was a big ambition back then and even harder for most families to afford now! 

Unlike a bank, building societies are owned by their members but offer many of the same financial services. The Societies are able to offer 'ballots' where members who bought shares in a special fund were eligible to receive prizes generated from the fund's interest. Few people won prizes but those who did won more than an equal share from the interest would provide. This was like the former 'Bonus Bonds' scheme which concluded in 2020. For many Society Members the biggest financial goal was to raise enough money for a house deposit. 

This Society was based in Auckland but it appears that Maurice Mead was the local Levin agent who represented them. MAVtech cannot find any information about Mister Mead. Interestingly, despite the invitation to call him there is no phone number on the slide! Was this a mistake, or was the slide one of a pair? If it is the latter that would make it very rare! 

While this slide is for a Palmerston North business, Leader & Watt have since opened branches in both Levin and Foxton. But what makes this slide more interesting is what it says about how the Kiwi idea of 'home' was seen.

In postwar New Zealand home ownership was booming. In fact, owning a home was seen as a rite of passage and if you didn't own one by the time you were forty you were seen as rather suspect. Owning a home also meant maintaining it- the Black & Decker portable drill was invented in 1916 and has since gone through many different versions. This slide suggests that it would make a perfect gift for someone who has their own home (a young family starting out in their first home would need power tools- and fast!).

But this drill was sold to men- with the vision of the 'man of the house' being responsible for fixing and extending the home then accepted as normal. Until a couple of years ago a powertool retailer had a radio jingle saying that their stores were '...a man's world' showing that these outdated ideas have lingered.....

Pyramid Concrete Products was  granted a wholesaler's licence in 1940 and was advertising for staff in 1942, with both documents showing them as trading in Hamilton.  MAVtech cannot find any information about the 'Levin Brick & Pipe Co. Ltd' who were acting as their local agents in Levin.

It is difficult to precisely date this slide, but it may have been made during the post-war 'building boom' of the late 1940s/early 1950s'. According to BRANZ, many New Zealand houses in the 1950s/early 1960s were built using brick so this Levin company may have been very busy indeed- even if this slide is advertising concrete masonry! Still, nothing like being the most unique house on the street - especially as government loans for families building a home mandated 'state house' style designs....

G.H Weggery & Co were real estate agents based in Levin's Oxford Street. Based off New Zealand Gazette records, the company was wound up in 1980, so this slide must have been before then (similar records show it trading in 1978). The population growth of Manawatu/Horowhenua slowed after 1976 and this could have been a reason for the firm's closing.

This slide would have been screened in the cinema. By the early 1980s the average New Zealander made around five trips to the cinema each year. This was down from the peak in 1960 but still enough for cinema advertising to be a viable market.

Who are the people in this magic lantern slide? Where is this house? Why is there so much mud? And, most importantly, had anyone heard of firearms safety? The child in the picture must be hoping that the gun isn't loaded.

If anyone can answer these questions (or can decipher the writing on this slide) please let the MAVtech Museum know! In the absence of any answers we can see why this slide is important: many family photographs and postcards show groups outside of houses. With land needing to be broken in, families outside their properties were seen as a kind of colonial pride.

What they are holding also speaks volumes about how people saw themselves (or at least, how they wanted to be seen). The man is holding a gun and is seen as a powerful provider. The boy holds a hammer- has he been helping with the work? The lady holds a book (a Bible perhaps? This was common for womens' photographs in Western countries back then). And the young lady looks ready to go to school or church in her neat hat and tidy clothing. These themes were often used in professional photographs and subconsciously spilled over into many early snapshots. 

Mind you- this could also be a professional photograph.

Also, this is a lantern slide, designed to be projected onto a wall. Unlike a personal photo album, these  slides were usually viewed as a large group. Extended family? A soldier overseas in the First World War? (the Dunedin Photographic Society took photographs of families that soldier relatives could then view near the front. These were all magic lantern slides.)

Photographs are often seen as perfect windows into the past but this one holds more questions than answers! 

A.E Corley was a Foxton building firm active around the 1950s. Kete Horowhenua records show that they built Foxton's 'Podmore Flats' at the base of Seaview Gardens in the 1950s and they were also responsible for 'The Rose Bowl' dining rooms.

Cinema advertising slides were a cheap way for local businesses to advertise. Making it even cheaper were generic slides like this one- a drawing of a house represented all builders with the specific details printed on the window below. Most of these slides were shown during intermission

We boarded for about 12 months with Billie and her son and daughter in her old (100 plus years) kauri timber house.

Demolished in 1968 to make way for extensions to the legal offices of Park, Cullinane and Turnbull, this old house in Queen Street is thought to have been built in the first decade of this century.

In 1913, according to Mrs Francis Duguid, "Old Bob" a pensioner, lived in it and then about 1915, it was occupied by the McDonald family. Mr McDonald was a saddler and his only daughter, Mary, married local power board employee, Maurie Brown, who was a well-known cricketer. In the 1920s, Fred Proctor and his wife and two children lived in the house and it was then occupied for many years by the late Mrs Elizabeth Hornblow until she died there in November, 1948.

The property passed to her son, Mr S. Beetson who sold it to Otaki dental surgeon, Mr H. Jackson, in 1949. Besides Mr Jackson, Mr Boyd, the optometrist, had rooms there before moving to a property further along the street.

Ernie with his Grandfather W F Cresswell & Aunt Dorothy Cresswell. The cottage, as was all of Waitarere until late 1939, had no Electricity or Telephone.

Inscription on reverse reads: “Inside Nye Homestead.”

Interior view of Nye House in Newth Road with two women standing in doorway.

Any use of this image must be accompanied by the credit “Foxton Historical Society”

Inscription on reverse reads: “Nye homestead, Newth Rd. Foxton 1980.”

Nye homestead, Newth Road, south of Foxton, taken from the north, 1980.

Any use of this image must be accompanied by the credit “Foxton Historical Society”

Inscription on reverse of photograph reads: “Inside of ceiling at Nye house.”

Inside the ceiling of the Nye homestead, Newth Road, Foxton.

Any use of this image must be accompanied by the credit “Foxton Historical Society”

Damage from the May 20th Tornado.

On Friday May 20th 2022, a tornado ripped through Levin causing widespread damage.

Winchester Street.

Damage from the May 20th Tornado.

On Friday May 20th 2022, a tornado ripped through Levin causing widespread damage.

Winchester Street.

Damage from the May 20th Tornado.

On Friday May 20th 2022, a tornado ripped through Levin causing widespread damage.

​

Written on back with blue ballpoint pens - Jimmy Burton’s house Mangahao N. Clayton Shannon.

Jimmy Burton’s ‘house’, Mangahao 1 B&W photo print

Man stands near doorway (centre), and horse (right).

Any use of this image must be accompanied by the credit “Horowhenua Historical Society Inc.”

Penciled on back – 21/5/71 1 of many multi units sold as own your own flats. Winchester St. near Ely Place. Negative No. 28

Multi-unit ‘own-your-own’ flats, Winchester St., 1971 1 B&W photo print

Negative No. 28

Construction nearing completion.

Any use of this image must be accompanied by the credit “Horowhenua Historical Society Inc.”

This colonial-style, 4 bedroomed, rural house on 1.0513 Ha was listed for sale online in January 2014.

It was described:

• Driving up the road and seeing this home for the first time will make you appreciate the location and the ambiance this property provides.
• Views of the river and bush out one window and Tararuas out the other.
• Large home just waiting to share the spoils with a family who enjoys swimming, biking, and having room to move.
• 5 small paddocks to graze and a decent lawn to play or create more gardens.
• 1.0513ha

Located on the south west corner of Tiro Tiro and Kawiu roads.

This 4 bedroom vila on a 723m2 section was for sale on TradeMe in April 2013 for $189,000.

It was described:

Large spacious character villa with 3 or 4 bedrooms, or two living areas. *High ceiling studs with carara moulded ceilings are a feature of these villas, Plus-
*Added insulation
*9 months old large Console floor-mounted heat pump makes this home ideal for young families.
*Option for the front room being used as an office with French doors opening to the front verandah.
*Rear living room is open plan with dining and kitchen, and French doors to the back yard with BBQ and patio area.
*Spacious 18sqm.single garage is at the rear of the section.
*B & B Potential, or Home and Business Option
*Huge potential to improve the building, and landscape the grounds.
The tenant is keeping the property tidy so an investor should be quite happy with this purchase.

This 4 bedroon house on a 946m2 section was for sale on TradeMe in November 2013 for $345,000.

It was described:

• The stunning kitchen is a chef's delight with oodles of room and all the mod cons.
• Wander from your beautiful sunny lounge onto the large wrap around deck.
• You will spend many lazy hours there enjoying being at one with nature listening to the birds and admiring the established trees.
• The master bedroom has a walk-in-wardrobe and ensuite.
• Exquisite drapes, new carpeting and stunning Matai floors.
• Double garage.
• A real country feel but oh so close to Foxton township with all it has to offer.

This 3 bedroom cottage on a 1027m2 section was for sale on TradeMe in November 2013 for $159,000.

It was described:

• This three bedroom home with loft space, office with open plan living, modern kitchen with pot belly (cosy) has now come to the stage to introduce a new family.
• Many years have been spent here seeing the kids growing up in a nice country town, not far from town and close to parks and dairy.
• Shannon still has its train station which always draws attention from people passing by.
• Small town, big ideas!
• We have two really nice cafe's both with their own fleur seeing customers coming back for more, even people passing by have become local to the cafe's that's how good they are.
• Second hand stores that put a nice swing on the word second hand and the clothes shops, well we all know about them, fantastic!
• Petrol station great service and that goes for the local four square as well.
• We still have that old fashion atmosphere, local and loving it.

This 3 bedroomed cottage on a 1416m2 section was for sale on TradeMe in November 2013 for $220,000.

It was described:

• Not only a secure backyard and lots of room for kids to play and be safe but an area fenced off for their chickens!!
• A good family home with different living spaces which adds variety & choices to suit.

This3 bedroomed villa was for sale on TradeMe for $129,000 in November 2013.

It was described:

• Situated on a prime corner site this 1910 Villa awaits a new owner.
• The current owners have had a change of plans and need to sell now.
• You will benefit from their labours of new wiring, wood burner, security system and a modern roof.
• The lounge has been extended into the third bedroom but could be turned back into a bedroom with the erection of a wall.
• The well fenced rear yard with mature trees, a carport and single garage complete the package.
• This Villa is priced to sell and is great value for money.
• The privacy, warmth and family feel make this a fantastic property to own.

This 3 bedroomed house on a 1315m2 section was for sale on TradeMe in November 2013 for $130,000.

It was described:

• Located in a great location for school, kindy and shopping centre.
• Add your own charm.
• Excellent fenced section of 1315m2 for all the kids toys, boats etc.
  
  
  
  

This 3 bedroon house on a 4401m2 section was for sale on TradeMe in November 2013 for $145,000.

It was described:

• Live the lifestyle with this fabulous large character home set on over an acre of land.
• The house offers the option of 3-4 bedrooms or 2 living areas.
• Open plan kitchen dining.
• Lounge with cosy woodburner.

This 3 bedroomed cottage was listed for mortgagee auction (rateable value $115,000) on TradeMe in November.

It was described:

• Tough times still present, urgent sale required, mortgagee sale in Shannon.
• 3 bedrooms, large separate lounge with wood burner and a good size kitchen area.
• Work is required to bring this house back to its glory days.
• 758m2 section, descent size back yard plus tandem garage.

This 3 bedroomed cottage was for sale on TradeMe oin November 2013 for $195,000.

It was described:

• This is as cute as the name suggests.
• Located on a well-established corner section it has been lovingly refurbished and refreshed.
• Gardens have been cleared and reformed, yet maintaining the established specimens therefore creating a delightful environment for the new owners to enjoy and treasure.
• Even though only 80sqm the cottage offers ample space for a couple or small family, features being a new kitchen, spacious lounge and three bedrooms.
• Additional outbuildings include a large storage shed plus a double garage, plenty of room for cars and other equipment one needs to maintain a 1/4 acre section.
• Ohau is a sought after location being only a few minutes from Levin township offering great schooling, cafes and a sought after wine producing vineyard to enjoy.