28 Feb. 1890
Additional Makers
Eugene Grivaz (1852-1915)
Description
The flax mill, Lower Parihaka Road, run by James, and later by George, Rutherford, father and brother of Ernest Rutherford (1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson). Shows workmen at a swamp's edge in front of the mill buildings, to the right, with a steamer at sea behind. The soaking ponds and mills are surrounded by flax, and two poles with processed flax are in the water. The mill comprises two low wooden buildings with a separate tank in front, in which a man is standing, possibly pounding flax in water. Another man stands by a tall structure in front of the left-hand building.
On the verso is a chromolithograph signed E. Grivaz, titled 'Dont' touch', showing a servant girl in a kitchen, shaking her finger at a cat on a chair. Beyond the cat is a table with milk and cake or cheese. Eugene Grivaz (1852-1915) was a French genre painter, active from the 1880s. The young woman's clothing suggests a late nineteenth century scene.
Ernest Rutherford, in his school holidays, helped to lay out the levels for the ponds, which were used for soaking flax. They stored water from the creek, which came in from the right of the drawing.
Image Licence
All Rights Reserved
Image Credit
Alexander Turnbull Library
Location
Lower Parihaka Road, Pungarehu, Taranaki, New Zealand
Country
New Zealand
Tags
Category
Landscapes & Seascapes
