Story: Flax and flax working

Processing flax by machine

Flax leaves are fed into a flax stripping machine. This removes the green flesh, exposing the fibre. Hanks of fibre are then fed into a scutching machine, where beaters flail the fibre to refine it further. The operator is Gordon Burr, formerly an engineer at New Zealand Woolpack and Textiles Ltd in Foxton. Gordon later became custodian of the Foxton Flax Stripping Museum, which preserves relics and stories from the days when Foxton was at the centre of a booming flax industry.

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How to cite this page:

Nancy Swarbrick, 'Flax and flax working - The flax fibre industry: 1860s–1930s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/10407/processing-flax-by-machine (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 24 Sep 2007