Riding upon the sheep's back : a business and social history of the Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company Limited 1878-1978.

摘要

This thesis considers various aspects of both the business and social history of theKaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company Limited. The history of the companyalong with its original mill in Kaiapoi, not only offers insight into one of NewZealand's most respected and successful woollen manufacturers, but also reveals itsimportance to the local, regional and national community. The main body is dividedinto two relevant sections: business and social. Section 1 presents an examination ofthe Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company's business practise while elements ofenterprise history allow the company's management structure to be represented. Thecontext in which woollen manufacturing was placed in New Zealand and how thecompany was situated within manufacturing associations is also studied. Section ITraises issues not examined within many business histories. Aspects of social historyallow for the analysis of the company's gendered labour and recruitment policies.Indeed, within many manufacturing histories representations of the female workforceand the conditions in which they worked has been given little attention. Nonetheless,the discipline of family history has allowed the opportunity to examine the effects ofcompany paternalism on mill town families. The practise of benevolent control wasfollowed vigorously by company management in order to maintain a secure labourforce. Paternalistic policies such as pension schemes, welfare funds and mill hostels,reinforced worker allegiance to the company. The fact that many families remainedworking at the Kaiapoi mill for generations suggests that these paternal policies weresuccessful. Indeed, oral interviews indicate that employee loyalty is still strongly feltdespite the company's demise in 1978.