AUCKLAND BAKERS’ STRIKE: PROCESSION OF CHINESE BAKERS IN NEW ZEALAND

“AUCKLAND BAKERS’ STRIKE. Procession of Chinese Bakers in New Zealand”

Crowds watch as brass bands, decorated horse-drawn floats and bakers, dressed in white aprons and hats, parade down Auckland’s Queen St. The floats depict manufactured goods, a cake and a factory.

Although titled as such, there is no air of a strike about this film. It is more likely to be a Trade Union occasion, perhaps connected to the Unity Congress. An authority on Chinese history at the Alexander Turnbull Library has found that contemporary census records revealed no evidence of Chinese being bakers in this period, and indeed he does not think the participants appear Chinese. Further research by David Verran (Family History Centre, Akld. Public Library) suggests it is actually an early Labour Day parade. The Bakers’ Union records at the University of Auckland Library show a still photo of one of the floats in this film taking part in a Labour Day parade ca.1910.

How the film received its title is still a matter of speculation.