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.

Horowhenua locals will be familiar with the sound of RNZAF aircraft thundering overhead thanks to the Ohakia airbase in nearby Manawatu. Ossie Tong, a barber and businessman from Bulls, knew an opportunity when we saw one and offered special 'parade ground haircuts' at his barbershop!

His other advertising was brilliant as well- this cinema advertising slide would have caught lots of attention.

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.

A delicious intermission treat awaited Levin cinema patrons with the tasty sounding 'Bonza Bars' stocked in the theatre milk bar! There were many local ice cream companies in New Zealand in the 1920s-1960s and cinemas were among their biggest customers.

The use of the term 'milk bar' places this slide around the 1950s- the 'milk bars' predated today's cafes and were popular places for a chat and a snack. Many companies used the name 'Alpine' for their chilly snacks and it is unclear if the Levin Ice Cream Company had any link with other manufacturers.

The slide itself would have been shown during intermission- just enough time to nip to the concession counter or work up an appetite for when an usher arrived with a tray of treats for sale.

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....

Loading full honey boxes. Field's Apiaries 1967-68

Russell Field  removing honey from  hive. 

Honey removal using the brushing method 1967 - 68 season. 

Field 's  Apiaries, Foxton

1967 - 68 season at Field 's Apiaries. Bee boxes repaired then soaked in used car engine oil. Then left outside for 6 months to weather. Unacceptable practice today using old car engine oil

Honey removal using the bee brushing method. 

Infuriated the bees and this is when we got most stings! 

The 1967 - 68 season. These bee hives were harvesting Manuka honey in the Wanganui Valley. At that time it was regarded as poor quality honey and only used to supplement feed bee hives in winter, sold to bakers or used to blend with clover honey

Using a steam heated honey uncapping knife in the extracting shed at Field's Apiaries 1967-68 season. Foxton

Honey extracting shed on  the left and packing shed on the right. This was the new shed completed in time for the 1967-68 season. 

Two eight frame honey extractors in the foreground and hand held uncapping unit at rear. 

Note: there are no safety cages on the extractor fly wheels but we never had an accident. 1967-68 season at Field's Apiaries,  Foxton

(boxes) loaded onto rear of the truck by hand. Each weighs about 25kg. We had no mechanical lifters, all manual lifting.

1967-68 season, Foxton area.

(boxes) loaded onto rear of the truck by hand. Each weighs about 25kg. We had no mechanical lifters, all manual lifting. (boxes) loaded onto rear of the truck by hand. Each weighs about 25kg. We had no mechanical lifters, all manual lifting.

Rear storage sheds at Field's Apiaries, Foxton 1967-68 season.

Field's Apiaries wax shed, 1967-68 season using a wood burning steam boiler.

Field's Apiaries honey shed completed in 1967, Norbiton Road, Foxton.

Two 8 frame honey extractors and the honey then drained to a lower storage tank first passing through a mesh filter. Honey storage tins on right foreground.

Beeswax storage area at Field's Apiaries, Norbiton Road, Foxton

A slide depicting a traditional farming scene from New Zealand made in around the 1920s. Agriculture was a popular theme in New Zealand painting, photography and literature at the time. The fact that it formed the biggest part of our economy no doubt had something to do with this.

This slide was designed to be projected onto a wall using a 'magic lantern' projector. 

View from the rear of the beeswax shed in foreground and the new honey extracting and packing shed at rear. This was completed in 1967. The roof of the Field's family home seen at the rear on the left side. At this time they had about 1300 hives.

Russel Field (foreground) of Field's Apiaries and employee "Brownie" 1967-68 season.

When working bees in the Wanganui Valley for Manuka Honey we sometimes stayed overnight in a caravan.

Field's Apiaries 1967-68 Honey Crop stored in kerosene tins as was the usual practice then. About 32 tons here whatever that is in Kilos?

We had no truck mounted mechanical lifter and had to manually lift the full honey supers (boxes) onto the back of the Ford truck, Each box weighed about 25kg

"Brownie" showing a frame containing bee larvae (brood) and some honey.  Brownie took over as head beekeeper from Norman Keane who had left to work as his own beekeeper business.

Most of Field's apiaries were scattered through the Manawatu area and were usually around 20 hives in each apiary. When I worked there in the 1967-68 season they had about 1300 hives in total. They were all standard 10 frame Langstroth hives. We didn't use queen exluders in any of them and neither did we have a mechanical loader. All hives and full honey boxes were manually lifted onto the flat tray Ford truck seen here.

Employee "Brownie" using a steam heated honey uncapping knife in the new honey shed of Field's Apiaries, Norbiton Road, Foxton.

This was very hard work on the wrist. We didn't have an automatic uncapping machine.

Black and white photograph.

Fire at the New Zealand Shipping Company Ltd on 16 November 1933. Bystanders are watching smoke billow out of the building, while a man has climbed to the top of the pole on the left hand side of the photograph.

Black and white photograph.

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

Loading up time at Tegel Foods.

​

4.01am

Detail of the interior of the replica Poroutawhao Flour Mill, located at the Horowhenua Vintage Car Club. The black metal parts are the salvaged pieces of the original 1850's mill. The black metal parts are the salvaged pieces of the original 1850's mill.

The original mill was built by the Roman Catholic Missionary Fr. Jean Baptise Comte in 1850, for Ngāti Huia. Surviving pieces of the original Poroutawhao Flour Mill located on the northern side of Paeroa Road, were salvaged by the late J.O. Stewart in the early 1980s. The pieces were donated to the Horowhenua Vintage Car Club in 2008, to restore and house. The restoration was completed in 2013 and opened by Mrs. Gae Stewart on 26 January 2014. Images were taken for the 'Timber, Flax, Flour: The History of Mills in the Horowhenua' exhibition, August 2022 at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō Gallery Space.