Story: Whitebait and whitebaiting

Holding tanks and horseback

Up until the 1950s South Westland had few roads, and transporting whitebait to market from isolated rivers was difficult. In some places live whitebait were kept in boxes in the river, and pack horses were sometimes used to get them out to a road end, cannery, airstrip or boat.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference: New Zealand Mirror 7. National Film Unit, 1950

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How to cite this page:

Carl Walrond, 'Whitebait and whitebaiting - Nets, screens and canneries', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/11709/holding-tanks-and-horseback (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Carl Walrond, published 24 Sep 2007, reviewed & revised 23 Jun 2023