item details
NameMilk bottle carrier
ProductionUnknown; 1950s
Classificationcontainers, holders
Materialsmetal, wood, paint
DimensionsOverall: 310mm (width), 276mm (height), 198mm (depth)
Registration NumberGH026541
Credit lineGift of Margaret Gordon and Elizabeth Gordon Heij, 2023
Overview
This painted green milk bottle carrier, made from wood and tin cans, is associated with the home delivery of milk in bottles, a practice that was gradually phased out towards the end of the twentieth century. Bottle carriers would have been found outside almost every urban household from the 1950s to the 1980s, so were a significant and ubiquitous part of New Zealanders’ daily lives.
Enterprising vendors began delivering dairy products directly to customers in the early twentieth century. As the consumption of milk increased – largely because pasteurisation made it safer to consume – delivery became more common, although the supply of milk varied greatly depending on which part of the country you were in.
Initially, many milkmen would do their rounds with a horse and cart, distributing milk from a large vat into household billies. The switch to glass bottles took place in the 1950s, and bottles were replaced by cartons in the 1980s.
Milk regulations were introduced in 1944 to ensure a consistent, hygienic milk supply at a set price was available across the country. In 1986, the government began to deregulate the industry so that supermarkets and other vendors could sell milk, and in 1993 it was fully deregulated. The home delivery system died out as a result.
Margaret Gordon, whose family used the carrier daily throughout the 1950s, recalls that ‘we consumed a fair amount of milk per day as a family of four at home: 2 glasses of milk (one per child), about 12 teas with milk, milk with 4 cereals, 4 pours of cream or creamy milk on dessert, and a further pint on days when a milky dessert was made. All in all for a family of four we put out 4-6 bottles per day. I recall that my Dad made a big flip top milk box for the milk delivery and used the carrier twice daily to carry the empties to the box and the full bottles into the house.’
The carrier was painted sage green to match other items in the family kitchen. Margaret’s sister Elizabeth believes their father made the carrier himself, as he loved small workbench projects. Soft yellows, pinks and greens were popular colour choices for kitchen appliances and accessories in the 1950s, and Margaret’s mother chose a colour scheme of sage green and primrose yellow.
References:
Gordon, Margaret. 2022. Personal communication with curator.
McCloy, Nicola. 2014. Dairy Nation: The Story of dairy farming in New Zealand. Auckland: Random House New Zealand.
Tolerton, Jane. 2010. 'Household services - Home deliveries'. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/household-services/page-5
Enterprising vendors began delivering dairy products directly to customers in the early twentieth century. As the consumption of milk increased – largely because pasteurisation made it safer to consume – delivery became more common, although the supply of milk varied greatly depending on which part of the country you were in.
Initially, many milkmen would do their rounds with a horse and cart, distributing milk from a large vat into household billies. The switch to glass bottles took place in the 1950s, and bottles were replaced by cartons in the 1980s.
Milk regulations were introduced in 1944 to ensure a consistent, hygienic milk supply at a set price was available across the country. In 1986, the government began to deregulate the industry so that supermarkets and other vendors could sell milk, and in 1993 it was fully deregulated. The home delivery system died out as a result.
Margaret Gordon, whose family used the carrier daily throughout the 1950s, recalls that ‘we consumed a fair amount of milk per day as a family of four at home: 2 glasses of milk (one per child), about 12 teas with milk, milk with 4 cereals, 4 pours of cream or creamy milk on dessert, and a further pint on days when a milky dessert was made. All in all for a family of four we put out 4-6 bottles per day. I recall that my Dad made a big flip top milk box for the milk delivery and used the carrier twice daily to carry the empties to the box and the full bottles into the house.’
The carrier was painted sage green to match other items in the family kitchen. Margaret’s sister Elizabeth believes their father made the carrier himself, as he loved small workbench projects. Soft yellows, pinks and greens were popular colour choices for kitchen appliances and accessories in the 1950s, and Margaret’s mother chose a colour scheme of sage green and primrose yellow.
References:
Gordon, Margaret. 2022. Personal communication with curator.
McCloy, Nicola. 2014. Dairy Nation: The Story of dairy farming in New Zealand. Auckland: Random House New Zealand.
Tolerton, Jane. 2010. 'Household services - Home deliveries'. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/household-services/page-5