Yates started selling their packets of seeds in 1893. At the time, Aotearoa was slowly becoming an urban country- while the rural sector remained the country's economic powerhouse more of the population was living in the cities and towns. People were proud of their houses, and photography of families posing outside of their homes was second only to portraits in the family albums.
This slide was made much later (probably in the 1950s) but it shows the pride people had in their garden. No garden was shown- this could be any family anywhere in the country.
The man and women in the slide grip their garden tools like rifles- and this orginally was done on purpose. With food supplies tight during the Second World War, Yates joined the Government in calling gardening a public duty. Images of gardens were displayed next to scenes from the front and the home gardener was drawn like a soldier in overalls.
This slide may have used leftover imagery from the war to encourage people to keep planting (home gardening remained popular until the rise of the supermarkets in the 1960s). It may have dated from the war itself, but usually these slides mention the war or victory in some way. The 'Reliable Seeds' slogan has been seen in New Zealand newspapers from 1906 to 1962 so doesn't narrow it down much.....
