Story: Dalmatians

Gum diggers pose in front of their homes as a sea breeze flutters the Croatian flag. This camp, photographed in 1901, was at Waipapakauri near Ninety Mile Beach in Northland. In open areas such as this, sod and sack dwellings were common. The chimney and lower walls of the cottage shown here were built with sods cut and squared with a gum spade. In hilly, forested areas, the roofs were often high-pitched and thatched with nīkau fronds.