THE 'SWAGGERS' HUT
There were many times that were tough for unskilled workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Men went ‘on the road’ and were usually referred to as ‘swaggers’. At Rakaia Terrace Station, they were called ‘travellers’. In 1885
a purpose-built hut was erected to accommodate them. It was situated not far from the farm yard and cookhouse, close to a stream which provided water. It was a 4m x 6m, unlined building with bunks for ten men and an open fireplace.
The travellers would arrive late in the day and if it was harvest time there might be work. There was a code to mark whether the property was good to call at – stones placed in a certain way at the gate.
From Papers Past, The Press, vol XLVIL, issue 7725, 3 December 1890, in a letter to the editor, a correspondent had this to say:
There is a class of laborers who ought to be thankful to Sir John’s generosity. I allude to swaggers. From ten to twenty may be
seen almost any night making their way to the station, where they are certain to obtain at least two good substantial meals
before going further, and I have never heard of any being refused.
Alec Matheson was the manager at Terrace station from 1912 to 1922. In the 1970s his daughter Ada Schumaker visited. She recounted her memories of the swaggers calling at Terrace Station during her childhood:
The travellers – we weren’t allowed to call them swaggers. No, Dad wouldn’t allow that; they were travellers. I think it was
because Dad had been on the road himself. Once upon a time there were blankets and everything but they pinched them. In
my day there weren’t any blankets. But they’d come and there was a hot dinner at night, and plenty of wood, all the wood for
fires at night, and they’d get a hot breakfast in the morning and a cut lunch to take away with them.
By 2018 the building was in a sad state of repair. The chimney had fallen down in the 2010 earthquake and not been rebuilt. Most of the studs were rotted at ground level as were wooden corner piles. The floor had slumped, lower weatherboards on the south side had rotted. However, the roof had remained sound and that had been a great advantage.
The remains were moved to a site on the charitable trust land and restoration began. Four bunk beds are now in place and two other free-standing beds that came from the single men's whare. The chimney was rebuilt and there are a few displays and information panels inside. Many of the swaggers left a record of their visit on the walls, some of which have survived.
There were many times that were tough for unskilled workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Men went ‘on the road’ and were usually referred to as ‘swaggers’. At Rakaia Terrace Station, they were called ‘travellers’. In 1885
a purpose-built hut was erected to accommodate them. It was situated not far from the farm yard and cookhouse, close to a stream which provided water. It was a 4m x 6m, unlined building with bunks for ten men and an open fireplace.
The travellers would arrive late in the day and if it was harvest time there might be work. There was a code to mark whether the property was good to call at – stones placed in a certain way at the gate.
From Papers Past, The Press, vol XLVIL, issue 7725, 3 December 1890, in a letter to the editor, a correspondent had this to say:
There is a class of laborers who ought to be thankful to Sir John’s generosity. I allude to swaggers. From ten to twenty may be
seen almost any night making their way to the station, where they are certain to obtain at least two good substantial meals
before going further, and I have never heard of any being refused.
Alec Matheson was the manager at Terrace station from 1912 to 1922. In the 1970s his daughter Ada Schumaker visited. She recounted her memories of the swaggers calling at Terrace Station during her childhood:
The travellers – we weren’t allowed to call them swaggers. No, Dad wouldn’t allow that; they were travellers. I think it was
because Dad had been on the road himself. Once upon a time there were blankets and everything but they pinched them. In
my day there weren’t any blankets. But they’d come and there was a hot dinner at night, and plenty of wood, all the wood for
fires at night, and they’d get a hot breakfast in the morning and a cut lunch to take away with them.
By 2018 the building was in a sad state of repair. The chimney had fallen down in the 2010 earthquake and not been rebuilt. Most of the studs were rotted at ground level as were wooden corner piles. The floor had slumped, lower weatherboards on the south side had rotted. However, the roof had remained sound and that had been a great advantage.
The remains were moved to a site on the charitable trust land and restoration began. Four bunk beds are now in place and two other free-standing beds that came from the single men's whare. The chimney was rebuilt and there are a few displays and information panels inside. Many of the swaggers left a record of their visit on the walls, some of which have survived.
Before restoration
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The restored hut
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