Helmet, miner's

This helmet was worn by miner Donald Ross (1923-2015) in the Strongman Mine near Greymouth in the 1950s.

Donald was an avid workers’ rights advocate. He led his first protest march at Whangarei Boys High when he was 16 years old when he objected to the school master burning pupils' belongings found out of place. He studied law at university in New Zealand after he left school but his education was cut short by World War II, when he joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Even though Don studied law, he spent most of his working life as an industrial worker. He was a miner between 1955–64, and also worked in forestry.

The Ross family remember Don as a person who led from behind and didn't like the spotlight. He was a 'subtle persuader' who always advocated for equality and justice. He was the New Zealand Trade Union Secretary between 1948–54, a member of the New Zealand Workers Union, and a writer, editor and publisher for 'Struggle' magazine.

Manufacture of helmet

The helmet was made by the Thetford Patent Pulp Manufacturing Company in Norfolk, England. Founded in 1879, the company produced pulpware until the 1950s when production shifted to modern plastics. Thetford pulpware was a distinctive patented papier-mache-like product formed from recycled paper, rags (such as jute bagging) and/or wood pulp.

During its heyday in the 1930s, the Patent Pulp Manufacturing Company produced more than 150 different items, ranging from kitchen basins, baby baths, flower troughs, miner's helmets, aircraft fuel tanks, to powder puff bowls and pin boxes. Pulpware was water resistant and considered unbreakable, used for domestic items and safety helmets which could withstand heavy blows. Cheap, waterproof, durable, and light, it was a perfect product for wartime Britain and was well suited to families with young children because it was perceived to be unbreakable.

Raw materials (paper, rags and wood pulp) were blended with lime and then shredded in 'rag engines' before being placed in 'formers' which would give the object shape. Water was squeezed out using a hydraulic press and items were left to dry in an oven, before receiving its smooth surface from a stamping machine. Items were then soaked in linseed oil and resin, painted and varnished before being sent across the world.