When flax was king.

A documentary on the Manawatu flax industry and the men connected with the early days of milling around the Foxton area.

Includes recordings made at New Zealand's largest flax mill at Foxton. Manager W.E. Hale talks about the industry and the advantages of flax over wool. His is the only mill operating in the Manawatu region today.

Mr Herbert Seifert of Palmerston North talks about the extent of flax swamps in the region around the time of World War I. About 30 mills worked these swamps including the Miranui mill near Shannon which was the largest in the world at the time.

Ted Sutton talks about working at Miranui around 1907. Mr Seifert is the son of one of Miranui's owners. He says it employed about 300 people at its peak in 1926, and describes the roles he had at the mill.

He talks about the financial losses caused by fire in the flax swamp, and the steps his father took to organise a fire-fighting association among flax mill owners.

Many of the mills had Māori names associated with the industry 'Mukapai" - good flax, "Miranui"- big mill etc. Mr Seifert talks about the financial benefit the workers brought to towns such as Foxton and Palmerston North.

85 year old Mark Perreau of Foxton recalls the town at the height of the flax industry and the many ships which used to work the river.

William Dalzell [?] of Levin describes working and living conditions at the mills from the 1890s. Mr Seifert says the Miranui Mill had remarkable facilities for its day, including a large dining room, hot showers and billard and card rooms for the workers.

The stages in processing flax are described by Ted Sutton and other former mill workers.

The decline of the industry in the Depression of the 1930s is described and Mark Perreau describes its impact on Foxton. He was mayor of the town at the time and helped start a scheme to produce flax wool packs for the New Zealand wool industry, which keeps the mill working today.

Manager Mr Hale explains the current operations.