Pastures Past: Remembering the milkman, his horse and milk cans

At the Cambridge Co-operative Dairy Company in 1940, transporting milk could still be a horse-and-cart affair. Photo / Beattie / NZH

Kem Ormond takes a look at the world of farming back in the day.

Watered-down milk - sad to say, but it was something that happened way back in the past.

Reading papers from the early 1900s, it was a crime that resulted in a fine for some milkmen, but in Paris, I read about a milkman who watered down the milk that he supplied to a local hospital and was given 18 months in prison.

On a more positive note, in the 1930s a milkman’s horse was needed to help pull someone’s yacht to shore and sometimes the local milkman became an agony aunt, with notes containing questions left in milk bottles.

Oh, the life of the milkman.

And talking of watered-down milk — did you know this milkman in Waipawa in the late 1890s — well, maybe your grandparents did!

Waipawa Mail, November 1896

The other day a Waipawa milkman (who is a well-known prohibitionist) stopped a young member of the legal profession, and after the manner of most prohibitionists, began to abuse the man of law for having moved a certain resolution at a recent public meeting held in Waipawa.

After a torrent of other abuse, the milkman concluded by saying “Of course being a lawyer you are only too glad to mix up with anything dirty.”

The budding Attorney General quietly replied “of course you being a milkman would prefer to mix up with water — which is certainly cleansing.”

Then the milkman went his way!

Yacht salvaged

Use of milkman’s horse

Resourcefulness of crew

Mishap at Narrow Neck

New Zealand Herald, December 27, 1938

Great resourcefulness was shown by the crew of the 16ft. Auckland yacht Huia, which was washed ashore at Narrow Neck early on Sunday morning, when they stopped a passing milkman, borrowed his horse, and used the animal to help drag the boat to the shore through the breakers.

The Huia left Auckland for Brown’s Bay on Saturday night, and when off Narrow Neck encountered bad weather.

The anchor was dropped but was dragged by the yacht, which, in spite of desperate efforts by the crew, finally grounded at Narrow Neck beach.

As the yacht, which swamped, showed signs of breaking up in the waves, the crew borrowed a horse from a milkman who happened to be passing on his daily round.

Securing the animal to the yacht with a long length of rope, they succeeded in dragging the boat much nearer the beach.

However, the milkman had to be on his way, and the horse was returned.

With the assistance of several residents, the crew stuck to their task, and were rewarded when the yacht was finally beached.

The vessel was considerably damaged, having a large hole in one side.

The Milkman's role as agony aunt, as seen in the Wanganui Chronicle, Febraury 27, 1939. Image / Papers Past

“Dear Mr. Milkman”

Wanganui Chronicle, February 27, 1939

“One of the most amusing aspects of the milkman’s job is the matter of notes in bottles!

Many a housewife writes almost a daily note to the milkman.

Nothing very intimate or revealing, as a rule, but through these notes, none the less, the milkman gains knowledge of his customers, their habits and their eccentricities,” writes Robert W. Desmond in the Christian Science Monitor.

“Usually, the notes are pretty matter-of-fact.

‘No milk Wednesday,’ ‘Please leave half a pint of heavy cream. Thanks,’ ‘1 qt. B and 1/2 pt. light cream,’ ‘1/2 lb. butter’ — that sort of thing.

But some are more amusing, or draft the milkman into some other role, occasionally.

He may be asked to knock on the door to awaken someone who has an early appointment, or doesn’t want to risk oversleeping.

He may be asked to let the cat in, or keep the cat out.

“Customers are polite and considerate of the milkman’s feelings.

One housewife informed him, with obvious regret, ‘I do not want any more milk delivered to my house beginning with Tuesday, until further notice.

I hope there is no hard feeling. Thank you for past favours, I am, yours truly.’

“Another explains, ‘Please do not leave milk until further notice as I eat out so much I cannot use it.’

“A man with ability, patience, faithfulness, and stamina — that is the milkman — your milkman.

He is also a diplomat, a man of friendly temperament, polite, considerate, because he must be all of these to deal successfully with men, women, and children, and to represent his company in a way that will win it respect as well as patronage.”

- Source: Papers Past