Cleaning out a coal-burning stove was a dirty but regular task before the days of cooking with gas and electricity. This woman’s uniform shows that she was a paid domestic servant. Overall, this was never a large occupational category in New Zealand, but was the most common women’s occupation until about the 1930s. It practically disappeared after the Second World War.
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Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira
Reference:
C9423
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