This gang of railway-track layers (navvies) are having a smoko (break) near the track in the 1930s. Such men, with their hobnail boots and packed lunches, were typical of the unskilled manual workers who represented about a fifth of male workers at that time. The main asset they brought to their work was the strength of their arms.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Archives New Zealand – Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference:
AAVK W3493, E8341
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Tāpiritia te tākupu hou