Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis.  Permission is given for 
a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and 
private study only.  The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without 
the permission of the Author. 
 



Wool Bale Stencils: A Design History of 
New Zealand Branding and Visual Identity 

1850–2019

A thesis presented in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the 

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 
Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.

Annette O’Sullivan
2019



ii

Abstract

Wool bale stencils have had a ubiquitous presence in New Zealand culture for 

over 150 years. Originating from sheep brands, marks of station identity were

stencilled on bales of wool for export to overseas markets. In time, stencilled marks

represented the quality of wool and reputation of the station, and became the visual

identity for the station. Following discontinuation in the wool industry, at the

beginning of the 1990s stencil plates and derivative stencil letters were used for new

forms of visual identity in New Zealand design.

This material culture study combines historical contextualisation with close reading

of objects, and observes their social life or how they have been used by people 

over time. It draws on object and visual evidence found on field trips to historic 

New Zealand sheep stations, and examples of how stencils have been used in

contemporary culture. The thesis is structured through the life stages of a designed

object: design and making; using, consuming, and distributing; and discarding 

and recycling. This maps the transformations of the wool bale stencil from 

an everyday utilitarian object to new forms of expression and representation in 

New Zealand design. Within the overarching theme of branding and identity of

people, products, and places, this study of design history reflects on the meaning 

and significance of wool bale stencils in New Zealand.  



iii

Acknowledgements

I would like to sincerely thank my supervisors Dr Vicki Karaminas and Dr Claire

Robinson for their support and guidance during this research. Dr Bronwyn Labrum

was influential during the initial stages and helped to establish the foundations of 

the project. I would like to acknowledge the financial support for the research from

the School of Design, College of Creative Arts. To colleagues and friends I am

grateful for their interest and support, particularly Lynne Ciochetto, John Clemens,

Fay McAlpine, Jacquie Naismith, Patricia Thomas, Kingsley Baird, Karen Curley,

Gareth Gowan, Luiz dos Santos, Paul Orsman and Craig Cherrie. 

Carroll Simcox, and Geoff and Lorraine Taylor were enthusiastic companions on

high country trips and from the beginning were dedicated supporters of the project.

They were generous with their time, and knowledge of South Island stations and

took me to places I probably would never have found. I am especially indebted to

station owners who gave me their time, showed me their shearing sheds and allowed

me to photograph their objects. It has been a privilege to meet them, visit their

properties and document their historical objects. They are: Stu and Phyllida Gibson,

Carola and Michael Hudson (Gwavas Station), Angus Gordon (Clifton Station), 

Ed Beetham (Brancepeth Station), Andrew Russell (Tuna Nui Station), Andrew

Richmond (Richmond Brook Station), Bill Thomas (Longbeach Station), Michael

Studholme (Te Waimate Station), Alistair Studholme (Coldstream Station), John

Acland (Mt Peel Station), Robert Peacock (Orari Gorge Station), David Sutton

(Waitangi Station), Will Murray (Glenmore Station), Hugh Cameron (Otematata

Station), and Richard Subtil (Omarama Station).

There have been a number of people who have recognised the value of the research

and have contributed in various ways, in particular Mark Farnham, Ruth Low,

Lindsey Hargreaves, Sarah Lowell-Smith, John Elliot, Ian and Louise Trass, Claire

Bibby, Gerrie Soanes, Chris Gardiner, John Dangerfield, Robert Peden, Bill Carter,

Gavin McLean, Gareth Winter (Wairarapa Archives), Vicky Holmes (Port of London

Archives), Cathy Dunn (MTG Hawke’s Bay), and Gordon Walters (Pamu). I wish 

to acknowledge the editorial work of Dr Melinda Johnston, Dr Ben Booker and Lois

Burn, research assistance from Megs Russell, Nicki Stevens, and photography 

by John O’Sullivan. 

My special thanks is to my family for their inspiration, advice and encouragement.

In particular, I want to acknowledge the legacy of those of us who have gone before. 

To the type family of the International Society of Typographic Designers, thank you,

especially Becky Chilcott, Euan Black, Belinda Magee and Sally Hope, and my

typographic parents David Dabner and Eugiene Dodd.  



iv

Table of Contents

Abstract                                                                                                         ii
Acknowledgements                                                                                       iii
List of Images                                                                                                v
Glossary                                                                                                         ix

Introduction                                                                                                   2
What is a Wool Bale Stencil?                                                                          10
The Material Culture Study of Objects                                                           13
Object Life Stages                                                                                           17
Wool Bale Stencils as Object and Visual Forms                                             18
Scope of the Research                                                                                     19
Chapter Outline                                                                                               19
                                                                                                                        
Chapter 1. Methodology                                                                              23
Primary Data Sources                                                                                     23
The Experience of Site Visits                                                                          30
Archival and Historical Research                                                                   33
International Context                                                                                       34
Data Analysis                                                                                                  35

Chapter 2. Historical Background and Contextualisation                        39
Development of the London Market                                                               42
Exporting Wool from the Colonies                                                                 47
Preparation of Wool for Export                                                                       50
Marks on Wool Bales                                                                                      52
Regulations for Marking Wool Bales                                                             53
The Sheep and Station Brand                                                                          55
The Introduction of Wool Bale Stencilling                                                     58

Chapter 3. Life Stages of Design and Making                                           68
Station Stencils                                                                                                68
Wool Description Stencils                                                                               72
Number Stencils                                                                                              76

Chapter 4. Life Stages of Using, Consuming and Distributing                93
Station Stencils and Branding Irons                                                                93

Chapter 5. Life Stages of Discarding and Recycling                                 117
Stencil Plates and Stencil Letters                                                                    117
Contemporary Visual Representations                                                            123

Conclusion                                                                                                     137
Methodological Contribution                                                                          137
Results of Analysis                                                                                          138
Contribution of the Thesis                                                                               139

Bibliography                                                                                                  141
Appendix                                                                                                       167
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        



v

Figure 2.3. St Katherine’s Dock, British History 48
Online, date unknown. 
 

Figure 2.4. Wapping Great Wool Floor                    48
at London Docks, Illustrated 
London News, 1850.                                  
 

Figure 2.5. Buyers sampling wool at London,         49
Mary Evans Picture Library, 1900.            

Figure 2.6. Bales of wool packed inside a ship, 51
location unknown. Alexander 
Turnbull Library, 1925.                             

Figure 2.7. Wool leaving Brancepeth Station           53
woolshed. Wairarapa Archive, 
date unknown.                                            

                    
Figure 2.8. Baling the season’s clip at Old-Bury, 54

Auckland Libraries, 1904.                         

Figure 2.9. Sewing up a bale in a wool press,          55
location unknown, Alexander 
Turnbull Library, circa 1931.                     

Figure 2.10. Stencilling shipping marks on              58
wool bales, National Publicity 
Studios, date unknown.                              

Figure 2.11. Sheep branding, Grasmere Station, 59
Canterbury, Alexander 
Turnbull Library, 1944.                             

Figure 2.12. Wool Clip, Howick. South                   62
Auckland Research Centre, 1930.             

Figure 2.13. Synthetic wool bale with felt pen         66
marking, Waitangi Station, 
North Otago, 2015.                                     

Chapter 3 

Figure 3.1. Stencilling brush and ink, Gwavas         71
Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2014.                      

Figure 3.2. Hand made station stencil, Gwavas       74
Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2014.                      

Figure 3.3. Hand made station stencil, Gwavas       74
Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2014.                      

Figure 3.4. Machine made station stencil,                74
Gwavas Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2014.        
                                                                   

Figure 3.5. Machine made station stencil,                74
Gwavas Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2014.        

Figure 3.6. Machine made station stencil,                74
Gwavas Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2014.        

List of Images

Introduction

Figure 0.1. Number stencil, Snowdon Station,           1
Canterbury, 2015.                                      

Figure 0.2. Longbeach Station sheep brand,              3
Brand Book of Canterbury, 1874.              

Figure 0.3. Sheep branding iron, Longbeach             3
Station, Canterbury, 2015.                         

Figure 0.4. Station stencil, Longbeach Station, 4
Canterbury, 2015.                                      

Figure 0.5.  Station brand mark, Longbeach               4
Station website, http://www.
longbeachestate.co.nz, 2019.
                                                                  

Figure 0.6.  Station stencil, Snowdon Station, 4
Canterbury, 2010.                                      

Figure 0.7.  Stencil plates as interior decoration,        5
New Zealand House and Garden 
Magazine 238, June 2014.                          

Figure 0.8. Station stencil and stencilled marks       12
on hemp bale, Otematata Station, 
North Otago, 2015.                                    

Figure 0.9. Stencilling detail on a wool bale,           13
White Rock Station, Wairarapa. 
Archives New Zealand, 
date unknown.                                            

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1. Stencil plates and branding irons,           23
Clifton Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2015.         

Figure 1.2. Map of New Zealand showing               27
sheep stations visited in the thesis.            

Figure 1.3. Stencil plates hanging on nails,              31
Longbeach Station, Canterbury, 2015. 

Figure 1.4. Graffiti on shed doors, Clifton               32
Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2015.                      

Figure 1.5. The Country Café, Geraldine, 2010.      33

Figure 1.6. Stencilled post box, Mt Algidus             33
Station, Canterbury, 2010.                         

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1. Rupert Morrison with a bale of wool     41
on his back, Wairarapa Arts Centre, 
circa 1910.                                                 
 

Figure 2.2. South Island high country, Glenmore 45
Station, Mackenzie Country, 2015.            



vi

Figure 3.7. Tin station stencil, Coldstream               75
Station, Canterbury, 2015.                         

Figure 3.8. Copper station stencil, Coldstream        75
Station, Canterbury, 2015.                         

Figure 3.9. Aluminium station stencil,                     75
Coldstream Station, 2015.                         

Figure 3.10. Plastic station stencil, Coldstream       75
Station, Canterbury, 2015.                         

Figure 3.11. Detail of cut marks on stencil plate, 76
Gwavas Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2014.        

Figure 3.12. Detail of chisel marks on stencil          76
plate, Te Waimate Station, 
South Canterbury, 2015.                             

Figure 3.13. Detail of knife marks on                      76
stencil plate, Clifton Station, 
Hawke’s Bay, 2015.                                   

Figure 3.14. Station stencil, Orari Gorge                 76
Station, South Canterbury, 2015.               

Figure 3.15. Handle detail on station stencil,           77
Tuna Nui Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2015.
 

Figure 3.16. Detail of repair to plate with wires,     77
Tuna Nui Station, Hawke’s Bay, 2015.     
                                                                   

Figure 3.17. Detail of repair to plate by welding, 77
Brancepeth Station, Wairarapa, 2015.       

Figure 3.18. Detail of repair to plate with rivets,      77
Longbeach Station, Canterbury, 2015.      

Figure 3.19. Stencil plate made from piece of tin,    78
Otematata Station, North Otago, 2015.     
                                                                   

Figure 3.20. Lettering on wool description              78
stencil, Otematata Station, 
North Otago, 2015.                                    

Figure 3.21. Design of layout on wool                     79
description stencil, Gwavas Station, 
Hawke’s Bay, 2014.                                   

Figure 3.22. Detail of letter proportions on wool 79
description stencil, Otematata 
Station, North Otago 2015.                        

Figure 3.23. Detail of letters on wool description 79
stencil, Te Waimate Station, 
South Canterbury, 2015.                            

Figure 3.24. St Helens Wool Pressing, St Helens     79
Station, Hurunui District Library, 
date unknown.                                            
 

Figure 3.25. Design of stencil ties on wool              80
description stencil, Gwavas Station, 
Hawke’s Bay, 2014. 
 

Figure 3.26. Design of stencil ties on wool              80
description stencil, Te Waimate 
Station, South Canterbury, 2015.               

Figure 3.27. Design of letters on wool                     80
description stencil, Gwavas Station, 
Hawke’s Bay, 2014.                                   

Figure 3.28. Slab serif number on machine              81
made plate, Gwavas Station, 
Hawke’s Bay, 2014.                                    

Figure 3.29. Hand-made number stencils,                81
Te Waimate Station shed, 
South Canterbury, 2015.                            

Figure 3.30. Stencilling wool bales at Richmond 81
Brook Station, Marlborough.    
Archway Item, date unknown.                   

Figure 3.31. Number stencil with metal handle, 82
Snowdon Station, Canterbury, 2010.         

Figure 3.32. Number stencil with wooden               82
handle, Otematata Station, 
North Otago, 2015.                                    

Figure 3.33. Number stencil with rubber handle,     82
Snowdon Station, Canterbury, 2010.         

Figure 3.34. Number stencil with riveted metal       82
handle, Glenmore Station, 
Mackenzie Country, 2015.                         

Figure 3.35. Numbers carved into the ends              83
of wood, date unknown.                            

Figure 3.36. Carved leather of station name,           83
Loudon Farm, Banks Peninsula, 
date unknown.                                            

Figure 3.37. Branding pad, Omarama Station,         83
North Otago, 2015.                                    

Figure 3.38. Early branding irons, Omarama           86
Station, North Otago, 2015.                       

Figure 3.39. Sheep branding iron, Waitangi             86
Station, North Otago, 2015.                       

Figure 3.40. Bucket for sheep branding,                  86
Waitangi Station, North Otago, 2015.        

Figure 3.41. F. J. Lake Tinsmith, Dunedin, ANL     87
Clark Collection, date unknown.               

Figure 3.42. Template for one-to-one copying of 88
circular stencil, Parkin & Payne Ltd., 
Auckland, 2012.                                         

Figure 3.43. Template for one-to-one copying         88
of single number stencils, Parkin 
& Payne Ltd., Auckland, 2012.                  



vii

Figure 3.44. Detail of build-up of paint on     90
stencil plate, Glenmore Station, 
Mackenzie Country, 2015.                         

Chapter 4 

Figure 4.1. Stencilled signage, Brancepeth           97
Station, Wairarapa, 2015.                          

Figure 4.2. Sheep branding irons, Otematata         100
Station, North Otago, 2015.                       

Figure 4.3. Branding irons, Longbeach Station, 100
Canterbury, 2015.                                       

Figure 4.4. Station stencil, Clifton Station,            101
Hawke’s Bay, 2015.                                   

Figure 4.5. Mt Peel brand mark, Brand Book        101
for Canterbury, Alexander Turnbull 
Library, 1861.                                             

Figure 4.6. Station stencil, Richmond Brook         102
Station, Marlborough, 2015.                      

Figure 4.7. Branding irons, Richmond Brook        102
Station, Marlborough, 2015.                      

Figure 4.8. The Brancepeth Woolshed,                  104
Wairarapa. Wairarapa Archive, 
prior to 1908.                                             
 

Figure 4.9. Hot metal branding irons,                    105
Te Waimate Station, South 
Canterbury, 2015.                                       
 

Figure 4.10. Branding iron for marking sheep,      105
Te Waimate Station, 
South Canterbury, 2015.                            

Figure 4.11. Station stencil, Te Waimate Station,   105
South Canterbury, 2015.                             

Figure 4.12. Topiary bushes, Te Waimate Station, 106
South Canterbury, 2015.                            

Figure 4.13. Brand marks for Beetham brothers,   106
Brancepeth Station, Wairarapa 
Archives, circa 1900.                                

Figure 4.14. Coat of arms on the front of the 106
homestead, Brancepeth Station, 
Wairarapa, 2015.                                        

Figure 4.15. Detail of carpet, Brancepeth              106
Station, Wairarapa, 2015. 
 

Figure 4.16. Sheep brand iron, Brancepeth            107
Station, Wairarapa, 2015.                           

Figure 4.17. Rams horn branding iron,                  107
Brancepeth Station, 
Wairarapa, 2015. 
 

Figure 4.18. Detail of cricket bat, Brancepeth       107
Station, Wairarapa, 2015.                          

Figure 4.19. Detail of shovel handle,                     107 
Brancepeth Station, Wairarapa, 2015.       

Figure 4.20. Station stencil, Brancepeth Station, 107
Wairarapa, 2015.                                        
 

Figure 4.21. Station stencil, Gwavas Station,         108
Hawke’s Bay, 2015.                                   

Figure 4.22. Stained glass window, Gwavas          108
Station homestead, Hawke’s 
Bay, 2018.                                                  
 

Figure 4.23. Detail on Tuna Nui shearing shed,     108
Tuna Nui Station, Hawke’s Bay,
2015.                                                          
                                                                   

Figure 4.24. Station stencil, Tuna Nui Station, 108
Hawke’s Bay, 2015.                                   

Figure 4.25. Homestead, Brancepeth Station,         113
Wairarapa, 2015.                                        
 

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1. Café table number, Paper Mulberry   123
Café, Otane, Hawke’s Bay, 2015.              

Figure 5.2. Stencilled beams, Richmond Brook 125
Station, Marlborough, 2015.                      

Figure 5.3. Contemporary branding, Clifton          126
Station website, 2019.                                

Figure 5.4. Contemporary branding,                      126
Mesopotamia Station website, 2019.         

Figure 5.5. Stencil plate for sale, Trade Me           127
auction website, 2018.                               

Figure 5.6. Number stencilled on table, Kia Ora    127
Air New Zealand Inflight Magazine, 
July 2014.                                                   

Figure 5.7. Table mats printed with stencil,           127
New Zealand House and Garden
Magazine, June 2014.                                 

Figure 5.8. Museum sign, Fairley Heritage            128
Museum, Fairley, Canterbury, 2010.         

Figure 5.9. Wool bale display, The Wool Shed 129
Museum, Masterton, 2014. 
 

Figure 5.10. Stencilled wall, Glenorchy Hotel,      129
Glenorchy, Otago, 2015.                            

Figure 5.11. Signage, Glenorchy General Store,    129
Glenorchy, Otago, 2015.                            

Figure 5.12. Gate sign, Crown Range Road,          130
near Cardrona, Otago, 2018.                      

Figure 5.13. Rural post box, Taihape Road,           130
Hawke’s Bay, 2015.                                   



viii

Appendix

Appendix 1. Questions for semi structured            175
interviews on field trips to 
sheep stations.                                            
 

Appendix 2. Introduction letter given to                176
station owners.                                            
 

Appendix 3. Notification of low risk ethics           177
approval, Massey University, 
7 August 2014.                                           
 

Figure 5.14. The Shearing Shed, Palmerston         130
North, 2012.                                               
 

Figure 5.15. Signage, Woolstore Design Centre,    131
Wellington, 2017.                                      

Figure 5.16. Lamb Country sign, State                  132
Highway 50, Hawke’s Bay, 2015.             

Figure 5.17. Point of sale. Gift shop, Snowdon     133
Road, Canterbury, 2010.                            

Figure 5.18. Brand mark, Banks Peninsula Farm   133
identity, Strategy Design, 2017.                

Figure 5.19. Information booklet, Banks               133
Peninsula Farm identity, Strategy 
Design, 2017. 
                                                                   

Figure 5.20. Wine label, Mount Maude                  134
Winery, Central Otago, 2019.                    

Figure 5.21. Wine box, Mount Maude                   134
Winery, Central Otago, 2015.

Figure 5.22. Wool classers’ stencil, Te Waimate     137
Station, South Canterbury, 2015.               

Figure 5.23. New Zealand Made label, 137
Wellington, 2019.                                      



ix

Glossary

Artefact
An object made by a human being, usually one 
with cultural and historical interest. 

Back Country
Land extending beyond and including the foothills
where remote stations are located. 

Bale 
A parcel of wool packaged in a wool pack.

Bellies 
Wool taken from the under belly of the sheep. It is a
lower grade of wool, often contaminated with twigs
and stains. 

Brands 
Refers to either brand marks placed on sheep to
identify the owner, or to the place name or initials
branded on bales of wool. 

Brand Mark 
A visual image, element or symbol used 
to identify a brand.

Clarendon
A form of slab serif letter. Square in proportion, even
character width and contrasting thick and thin strokes.
First appeared in the early nineteenth century. 

Class
The category of a fleece.

Classing
The preparation of the wool clip for market, grading
the wool into even lines according to type, micron and
yield. Bellies, necks, pieces and locks are separated
from fleece wool, as are broken fleeces, burry or seedy
wool. Discoloured, dingy, cotted, and double fleeces
are placed by themselves. Fine wool is kept separate 
from coarse and bellies, necks, pieces, and locks are
baled separately.

Clip
The wool shorn on a station each season. 

Clothing Wool
Shorter, weaker and dense fibred wool with good
felting properties. Not long or strong enough for
combing processes. 

Combing Wool
Wool with a fibre long and strong enough to stand the
tension of a combing machine. Two inches or more in
length, sound in staple and not likely to break.

Cotted
Wool that is matted. Sand, twigs, shingle, grit and
thorns are worked into a mat in the fleece. 

Counter 
The internal space of a letter.

Crimp
The natural wave formation in wool. The closer 
the crimp the finer the wool. 

Crossbred
The progeny of two different breeds of sheep.

Culture
Ideas, customs and social behaviour of a 
group of people. 

Dags
Wool from the area of the sheep around the hind legs
and under the tail contaminated with sheep dung.

Dingy 
Discoloured wool through effects of climate, log stain 
or parasites. Dull in appearance and below the average
brightness of wool.

Double Fleece 
A fleece of two years or more growth.

Egyptian 
A slab serif letter with unbracketed serifs. Square 
in proportion with even character width and line. 
Appeared in the early nineteenth century, 

Ewe
A female sheep. 

Fadge
A light weight bale, half or three quarter size usually
from small holdings weighing under 100 kgs. 

Fleece 
The main part of the sheep’s wool picked up in 
one piece and taken to the wool table where it is 
skirted and classed. 

Fellmonger
A dealer in hides and skins particularly sheepskins.

Get Up of Wool
Preparation of wool.

Gothic
An alternative early name for a sans serif typeface.

Half Breed
A sheep developed from a Merino and one of the long-
woolled breeds—Leicester, Lincoln or Romney. Dual
purpose meat/wool sheep. 

Hemp 
Natural plant fibre grown in India. Hemp is similar to
jute but has a softer tensile. Both fibres were used to
make New Zealand wool packs. 



x

Hogget
Wool shorn from a sheep that has never been shorn,
usually a one year old of either sex.

Kiwiana
Certain items produced in New Zealand commonly
seen as representing iconic Kiwi elements. Symbols 
of identity that are said to contribute to a sense of
national identity.

Lamb
A young sheep up until the age of 12 months. 

Locks 
Second cuts of wool or small portions stuck together
from the lower parts of the legs and edges of the fleece
swept up from the floor and under the wool table.

Man Cave 
A space where a man can retreat such as a garage,
spare bedroom, media room, den, or basement.

Material Culture
Physical objects in a society that define culture.

Merino
A fine-wool breed of sheep originating from 
the mountains of Spain and well suited to 
mountainous conditions. 

Myth 
A widely held belief or idea. 

Necks
Wool from around the neck of a sheep. 

Number 8 Wire
A common gauge of wire (4.0 mm) used for fencing 
on sheep farms that was often used for other purposes.
Later the term came to represent New Zealand
ingenuity and resourcefulness.

Object
A material thing with a physical existence that 
can be seen and touched.  

Pieces 
Inferior shorter pieces of wool removed from the
edges of the fleece during skirting. These are broken
pieces of wool of varying quality usually swept up
from the floor. 

Presser 
A person who presses wool into bales using 
a wool press. 

Quarter Bred 
The offspring of a merino and half bred sheep. 

Raddle 
A powdery chalk in a greasy crayon.

Ram 
A male sheep.

Rouseabout or Rousie
Unskilled worker or shed hand.

Run 
The land held by a particular lease or 
pastoral licence. 

Runholder
Station owner. 

Sandy 
Fleeces that have sand through them.
Sandy, earthy and discoloured fleeces are 
baled together. 

Sans Serif
A letter without serifs or other terminal strokes.

Scab 
Highly infectious disease of the sheep’s skin caused by
mites. Produces large scaly crusted lesions causing
severe irritation and debilitation. Eventually the fleece
detaches from the skin. 

Scouring 
The process of removal of the natural lanolin 
content of the wool. 

Shearer
Person who shears sheep. 

Shearing 
Removal of wool from a sheep. A properly shorn
fleece leaves the fleece from the back of a 
sheep whole and intact. Belly wool is separated, neck,
stained and dag wool is removed. Small bits and
pieces cut off separately by the shearer are the locks,
bellies and pieces of wool. 

Sheep Brand
Identification mark applied to the body of a sheep 
with a branding iron dipped in paint. 

Skirting 
Removal of all daggy and faulty wool from 
the main fleece.

Skirtings 
The portions of inferior quality and value wool
removed from the fleece while on the wool table. 

Slab Serif 
Heavy rectangular serif letterforms. The terminals can
be bracketed to the main stem of the letter (Clarendon)
or unbracketed (Egyptian).

Stained
Wool stained with urine or excreta baled together.

Station
A large farm or property carrying more than 2000
sheep. The word originated from Australia.  



xi

Stencil
A thin sheet of metal, card or plastic with cut out 
text or design through which a printable substance 
is transferred on to another surface. Letters 
created by this method are made up of a series 
of disconnected sections.

Stencil Plate
The thin sheet of metal, card or plastic holding 
the cut out stencil text or design. 

Symbol 
A thing that represents or stands for something else. 

Tally
Number of sheep shorn by a shearer in one day. 

Tops 
Wool that has undergone the process of combing 
and scouring during manufacturing.

Vernacular
Traditions of regional and untutored practice. 
Related to the ordinary. 

Wether
A castrated male sheep, usually for the 
production of wool. 

Whare
House where station hands or shearers live. 

Wool Bale 
A sack for containing wool made from jute, hemp or
flax and later changed to synthetic material. Also
called a wool pack. 

Wool Bins
Open compartments in the woolshed where the classed
wool is held before it is baled and pressed. 

Wool Brand
The identity of a station (station name and mark)
branded on a full bale of wool.

Wool Shed or Shearing Shed
A large building where all shearing activities take
place. The inside is divided into pens where unshorn
sheep are held, the board where shearers work, and the
wool room where wool is classed, pressed and stored.  

Wool Table  
A slatted table where the fleeces are spread out 
by the classer for sorting into the appropriate bin. 

Abbreviations

BLS Bellies
CMB Combing 
CLT Clothing
CRT Crutchings
FLC Fleece
HGT Hogget
LKS Locks
LMB Lamb
NKS Necks
PCS Pieces
STN Stained
X BRED Crossbred



Fig. 0.1

Figure 0.1. Number stencil, 
Snowdon Station shearing shed,
Canterbury. Photographed by 
Annette O’Sullivan, 2010.



2

Introduction

New Zealand was a perfect habitat for sheep, and no country in either hemisphere

was more superior.1 That was the opinion of public works surveyor Charles

Hursthouse in New Zealand: The Britain of the South (1861). Writing as an untiring

advocate of New Zealand immigration, he appealed to those with “pluck, bottom,

energy, [and] enterprise”, and claimed “it is the strong and the bold who go forth to

subdue the wilderness and conquer new lands”.2 Cornish immigrant John Grigg

demonstrated all the virtues described by Hursthouse. His biography points out that

“his forthright nature and ability to foresee and adapt to change were qualities well

suited to the role of a pioneer”.3 In 1864 Grigg purchased Longbeach Station, a

property consisting of 32,000 acres (12,950 hectares) of “impenetrable bog” on the

east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Grigg drained and developed the

land, built up his livestock and established what became regarded as a model 

New Zealand sheep station. The Cyclopaedia of New Zealand (1909) claimed it 

to be “the finest farm in the world”.4 So exemplary was Grigg’s pioneering farming

success, that the Queen and Prince Philip stayed at Longbeach Station on their

arrival to New Zealand during the Royal Tour in 1953–54.5

When setting up the station, Grigg imported Southdown sheep from the royal flock

at the Sandringham Estate in England,6 and as a result was given permission by the

estate to use the royal symbol of the Prince of Wales’ feathers.7 Grigg combined the

symbol with a letter G from his surname to create a unique registered mark of

station identity designed for branding sheep. This was listed in the Canterbury 

Sheep Brand Register in 1874 (fig. 0.2).8 The brand mark was applied to sheep after

shearing by dipping a branding iron with the mark into paint, pitch, or another

marking substance and pressing on the body of the animal, identifying ownership of

strayed or stolen sheep and helping to monitor the spread of disease threatening the

wool industry at the time (fig. 0.3). The Longbeach brand mark was redesigned as a

Fig. 0.2

Fig. 0.3

Figure 0.2. Longbeach Station 
sheep brand, in Brand Book of 
Canterbury: Compiled from the 
Official Records to the 31 March 
1874 (Christchurch: s.n., 1874), 50.

Figure 0.3. Sheep branding iron, 
Longbeach Station blacksmiths’ 
forge, Canterbury. Photographed 
by Annette O’Sullivan, 2015.



3

stencil for marking bales of wool for export (fig. 0.4) and was made in a range of

branding irons for marking other produce to leave the station, such as sacks of wheat

and oats. Today, the station is owned by a descendent of John Grigg who continues

to use a mark closely resembling the original stencilled brand on the station website,

to market an events venue in the original brick cookshop,9 and to promote

Longbeach Foods, a company selling premium beef from the station (fig. 0.5).10

The provenance of the station is preserved through the continuing use of a letter

mark from the name of the original owner and a symbol of the heritage of his sheep

and their connection to the British royal family. I visited Longbeach Station in 

2015 and documented branding irons in the original blacksmiths’ forge along with

wool bale stencils still hanging on nails in the shearing shed.11

This thesis has its origins in my personal collection of historical printing types for

use in hand printing. These are predominantly letters made from wood and lead but

include other typographic objects such as letter punches, rubber stamps, and

branding irons. The online purchase of single letter and number stencil plates in

2009 prompted me to investigate their origin to determine how and why they had

been used in the past. A background in typographic design had introduced me to

traditional methods of letterpress printing and inspired me to experiment with hand

printing in contemporary creative practice. Exploring the intersections between

modern media and traditional methods of printing extended to the study of local

lettering histories and to investigating their current application. For me, the allure 

of wool bale stencils lay in the hand-made letters, unconventional stencil styles, 

tool marks left on plates, and the residual layers of tar, paint, ink, and wool 

that gave clues to their previous life (fig. 0.6). The visual and material histories 

that appeared to be embedded in the plates prompted further investigation.

My earliest inquiry into the research potential of the subject was discouraging. A

station-owner acquaintance advised me that there would be no notable history to be

discovered. He described stencilling as an outdated method of marking wool bales

for export—a redundant shearing-shed practice that had been discontinued towards

the end of the last century. The stencils belonging to his station, he informed me, 

had been discarded when the original shed was replaced. My proposed study was

Fig. 0.4

Fig. 0.5

Fig. 0.6

Figure 0.4. Station stencil, 
Longbeach Station shearing shed, 
Canterbury. Photographed by 
Annette O’Sullivan, 2015.

Figure 0.5. Station brand mark
Longbeach Station website. 
Accessed 6 April 2019, 
http://www.longbeachestate.co.nz/
index.htm.

Figure 0.6. Station stencil, 
Snowdon Station shearing shed, 
Canterbury. Photographed by 
Annette O’Sullivan, 2010.



4

subsequently met with varying responses from farmers who struggled to understand

how wool bale stencils could be a valid subject for research. In material culture

terms, the stencils appeared to be mundane, everyday objects of little cultural value

or significance.12 An initial research trip to the South Island in 2010 seemed to

contradict this, however, as historic stencil plates could still be found on stations,

and stencilling was seen on station properties, in the countryside, and in rural towns.

There was also evidence of new uses of stencil plates and recent designs with 

stencil letters that had a connection to their original use. 

In later field trips to selected sheep stations I found that many stencil plates

remained in shearing sheds: hanging on nails, stored on shelves, or stacked in

cupboards. At times they were displayed as part of the history of the station, along

with shearing histories of names and dates graffitied with stencils on shed walls.

There were also new forms of station identity that referenced brand marks on station

stencils applied to wool bales in the past. Historic use of stencilling on stations 

was seen on signs, post boxes, rubbish bins, and farm equipment. In rural towns,

original stencil plates, stencilled letters, and other sheep-farming memorabilia, such

as branding irons, photographs, and wool presses, were used to decorate themed

interiors. There were new stencil signs for farms, businesses, shops, cafés and pubs,

and stencil type was found on packaging and promotional materials for wool and

sheep-related products. 

I began to look for links between the historic use of stencilling on wool bales and 

the use of stencil letters in design, and was interested in whether the contemporary

use of stencils was a conscious reference to traditional uses on wool bales or a

subliminal acknowledgement of stencils as part of the typographic visual language

of New Zealand. Despite no longer being used in the wool industry, I observed 

the popularity of original stencil plates bought through online auctions, which

continues to the present day. Comments from sellers served as prompts for 

the stencils’ possible uses in interior decoration, printing, or collecting. The reuse 

of stencil plates as art objects was affirmed through interior design magazines, 

such as New Zealand House and Garden Magazine, which showcased 

stencil plates on walls in feature houses (fig. 0.7). This appeared to confirm the 

value of originality, materiality, and authenticity, and introduced issues of 

nostalgia, collecting, and personal identity through objects. 

In addition to an increasing awareness of the extent and diversity of stencil use, 

I developed a growing sense that stencilling in New Zealand could have deeper

significance than my original study of a local letter style. Alongside questions about

where stencils had originated and how they had become so widely used in the wool

industry, were questions about why stencils continue to be popular, despite not being

Fig. 0.7

Figure 0.7. Stencil plates 
as interior decoration.
New Zealand House and Garden 
Magazine 238, June 2014, 90–98.



5

used in the industry for over thirty years. Was there deeper meaning for the use 

of stencil letters apart from offering a convenient way of applying text to an 

object or surface?

Seeking to discover where wool bale stencils originated, how and why were they

used, when they were introduced and by whom, I found that very little had been

written about them in New Zealand. Anthropologist Daniel Miller states there is a

point at which an object becomes “blindingly obvious”.13 In other words, it is so

common it becomes overlooked. To a New Zealander familiar with the legacy of

sheep farming, wool bale stencils were likely to be one of those objects. Although

they were well-recognised symbols of rural heritage, there was very little known

about them. 

A literature search revealed there had been much written about the history of 

New Zealand sheep farming and sheep station histories: (Carter and MacGibbon,

2003); (Riseborough, 2010); (Wolfe, 2006); (McIntyre, 2008); (Vance, 1980);

(Crawford, 1949); (Acland, 1975); (Macgregor, 1970), however, this material

contained few references to wool bale stencils. There were minor mentions in

personal accounts of life on high country sheep stations as told by station owners,

shepherds, musterers, and shearers: (Newton, 1947, 1949, 1964, 1966, 1972, 1973,

1975); (McLeod,1951); (Burton, 1938); and (Anderson, 1963, 1965, 1966). The

earliest detailed description of shearing, classing, pressing, and marking bales of

wool was found in letters by Lady Elizabeth Barker, wife of pioneer North

Canterbury station owner Fredrick Broome, written to her sister in Britain during the

1860s and later published in a series of books, including Station Life in New Zealand

(2000). As well as describing shearing and wool pressing, she documented the type

of marks applied to wool bales at that time and described how they were applied

before the use of stencils. 

A much later history of building and plumbing materials imported into the country

and used in buildings on sheep stations was offered by Geoffrey Thornton’s The

New Zealand Heritage of Farm Buildings (1986). In this history Thornton outlined

possible materials available for making wool bale stencil plates and provided a rare

description of the process of stencilling. In recent publications, such as High

Country Woman: My Life on Rees Valley Station (2012), High Country Stations of

the Mackenzie (2015), and Puketiti Station: The Story of an East Cape Sheep Station

and the 180 Year-Old Williams Family Legacy (2013), photographs of stencilling

and stencil plates featured as historical memorabilia, a material reminder of the

longevity of the station and remnants of past farming practices. 



6

I then wondered if more had been written about the wool bale stencil in Australian

historical accounts. Australian wool history was based on an older and larger

industry than in New Zealand. Australian records show the earliest exports of wool

date from around 1800, but it was not until 1821 that the first Australian wool was

sold by auction in London. Aspects of packing, transporting, and exporting wool

were trialled in Australia before sheep farming in New Zealand was established.

Other colonies exporting wool to Britain—including South Africa, Canada, and

Argentina—had similar requirements for the preparation of their wool for export 

and sale in Britain. However, Australia and New Zealand were connected through

proximity and isolation, shared shipping services, transfer of livestock, and 

common farming practices. The Australian-designed wool pack and wool press 

were introduced to New Zealand to regulate the size, shape, and weight of bales 

for shipping and changed the way wool was prepared for export, for example.

Immigrants and seasonal workers commonly travelled between the two countries,

strengthening ties and fostering cross pollination of ideas. Despite this longer

history, I found little specific information on wool bale stencilling in Australia

except for Christopher Fyfe’s The Bale Fillers: Western Australian Wool 

1826–1916 (1983). Fyfe’s text included a brief history of sheep branding and 

wool bale stencilling that confirmed and added to evidence found in New Zealand 

and reflected changes in British requirements for marking bales. 

Was there anything written about wool bale stencils in New Zealand’s design history

literature? Again, direct references to the subject were difficult to find. The field of

design history is relatively new in New Zealand and the contribution of typographic

researchers and scholars to this field is only a recent phenomenon. Patricia Thomas’s

study of letterpress printed emigration advertising posters from the colonial era 

in her thesis “‘Large Lettr’d as with Thundering Shout’: An Analysis of Typographic

Posters Advertising Emigration to New Zealand 1839–1875” (2014) is one of the

few academic examinations of historic typographic forms.

A publishing and printing history in Book and Print in New Zealand: A Guide 

to Print Culture in Aotearoa (1997) documented the history of production and

distribution of books and other forms of printed literature. Although it did 

not include stencilling, it compiled a history of communication and distribution 

of information in the colony. It wrote of the crucial role played by provincial

newspapers and trade journals in disseminating information to farming communities,

conveying feedback and instructions from importers, fostering local discussion, and

advertising goods and services. Hamish Thompson’s research on design histories of

posters and book covers has been documented in two recent publications: Paste Up:

A Century of New Zealand Poster Art (2003), which documents one hundred years

of poster design, and Cover Up: The Art of the Book Cover in New Zealand (2007),



7

a visual history of book cover design during the twentieth century. Both were 

visual catalogues of typography and lettering histories in New Zealand. Although

they presented a wide range of hand lettering, stencil letters appeared only twice—

in posters for army recruitment in 1944 and 1965—and were not used on covers of

books on sheep farming. 

In Printing Types: New Zealand Type Design Since 1870 (2009), Jonty Valentine

reflects “the history of type design in this country is hardly known, even to its

creators”.14 He documented work by twenty-four type designers, none of which 

were stencil types. He states, “we need new local heroes, but by placing them in the

context of a larger story with alternative mythologies, their work may potentially

gain much more interesting layers of meaning”.15 Among his selection was

McCahon, a typeface based on the handwriting of artist Colin McCahon seen in

many of his paintings. “McCahon had been interested in the shape of words and

letters in art since his early childhood, when he recalls being fascinated by a sign-

writer painting HAIRDRESSER AND TOBACCONIST’ on a shop-front window”.16

The lettering style in works by artist Dick Frizzell (2009) was similarly inspired by

vernacular hand lettering seen on road-side fruit and vegetable stalls. Both 

artists credited their work to lettering seen in everyday life in New Zealand and 

their lettering styles have subsequently been used to represent popular culture in

branding locally made products.

I found a lot more had been written about stencils in international literature, but 

not specifically about wool bale stencils. Most recently, the stencil was celebrated 

in a publication titled Stencil Type (2015), an illustrated resource book of stencil 

use written and compiled by design writers Steven Heller and Louise Fili. 

They documented a diverse range of stencils and stencilling dating from the late

nineteenth and twentieth century. Although it did not include stencilling in

agriculture, shipping, or trade, the book did acknowledge the long history of

stencilling in the British shipping industry.17 Previously the stencil had been

included within the discussion of other typefaces. Simon Loxley, for example, listed

the stencil in his selection of fifty remarkable fonts in a book titled Type is Beautiful

(2016), and John Walters named Stencil-Gothic, designed in 1885, as one of The

Fifty Typefaces that Changed the World (2013). Stencils also had a minor mention 

in literature on lettering on buildings, including in Alan Bartram’s Typeforms: 

A History (1986), and environmental typography, as in Phil Baines and Catherine

Dixon’s Signs: Letter in the Environment (2003). Recently, stencils have been

popularised through graffiti and stencil street art, where they have become known 

as the fastest, easiest, and cheapest method of applying an image or text on a wall,

footpath, or almost any other object or surface.18 In this context they have formed

part of a wider discourse on graffiti as a legitimate artform. 



8

British scholar Eric Kindel’s research on the stencil is the most significant

contribution to the field internationally to date. He has explored the stencil in various

forms and at different times and locations in history. This spans seventeenth-and

eighteenth-century European stencil use in liturgical works (2003), the use of

stencils by architects and surveyors (2010), adjustable stencil sets (2006), stencil

machines (2001), and stencil typefaces (2013). As well as specific stencil

investigations within historical contexts, Kindel provides an overview of the history

and use of the stencil (2003). He gives detailed analysis of form and function,

outlines their history and explains basic principles of stencilling. His research draws

from a large collection of stencil plates and ephemera held at Reading University,

and his work includes collaborative projects to replicate early stencil plates 

to demonstrate how they were made and used in the past (2013). Kindel’s body 

of work has increased the awareness and understanding of the stencil in the

international design community and has promoted the stencil through public

exhibition (2012). Although his work set a precedent for this project and Kindel 

has acknowledged stencilling in agriculture, shipping, and trade, these are not 

areas he has explored in detail. 

Lastly, I turned to the literature on New Zealand identity to see whether it covered

stencils and stencilling as material objects or visual forms. New Zealand identity is 

a subject that tends to be discussed by historians, sociologists, anthropologists, 

and writers, more than by design historians. However, I found reference to a century 

of registered commercial trade-marks in writer Richard Wolfe’s visual catalogue

Well Made New Zealand: A Century of Trademarks (1987).As with the design of

early sheep brands, the trademarks represented a mix of symbols derived from

British and local references. Among the 1,560 marks there were few that resembled

the design of brand marks on sheep or station stencils, but many used symbols

derived from local landscapes, native plants, animals, and bird species. 

Consistent with this, I found that most of the literature on New Zealand’s visual

identity was concerned with the use of flora, fauna, and elements of landscape.

Historian Ron Palenski has reflected on the unifying role of symbols, whereby

“groups of people become nations by identifying with common symbols, 

and individuals become aware of their membership in the nation as they become

conscious that they share their attachment to certain symbols with others”.19

He observed that in New Zealand, symbols of a nation such as anthems, flags, 

and stamps were supplemented by natural symbols of flora, fauna, rivers, mountains,

thermal areas, and lakes, which he writes were promoted to tourists and local

residents as emblems of New Zealand.20



9

In writing about the development of colonial identity from an Australian point of

view in Illusions of Identity: The Art of Nation (1993), Australian design theorist

Anne-Marie Willis explained that “in a colonial context visual and word images of

landscape have had powerful psychological appeal in which the depiction of

distinctive characteristics has been conflated with the discovery of an identity for 

the nation”.21 She maintains constant repetition of images derived from nature (bird,

animal, flower, or tree) can in time become signs of a nation.22 Repeated examples of

New Zealand symbols seen in early trademarks depicting the kiwi,23 silver fern,24

and koru25 dominated the national debate in 2016 as the preferred symbols to

represent the country in the proposed redesign of a national flag. Their prominent

use in representing the country through sports teams (silver fern), the national airline

(koru), and New Zealand made goods (kiwi) continue to endorse them as dominant

symbols of identity for the nation. In Inventing New Zealand: Everyday Myths of

Pakeha Identity (1996) sociologist Claudia Bell writes, “the invention of the local 

is also an invention of the national. The sophisticated image-making industry at 

a national level steals local successful events and symbols, assembles these into a

montage, then claims them as national”.26

Alongside symbols derived from the natural landscape, flora, and fauna, however, 

I found a growing sense of nostalgia for New Zealand rural identity. As early as

1907, the contribution of sheep farming to the national economy was recognised by

the symbol of a sheep in the national coat of arms.27 Bell explains that adoption 

of environmentally based constructs of national identity was the result of an early

connection with the land by pioneers. This replaced and redefined traditional

concepts of place left behind in Britain.28 She describes how some symbols continue

to foster a sense of rural nostalgia through New Zealand advertising, such as “the

rugged outdoor type (male!) in swanndri [jacket],29 gumboots, and a stockman’s hat,

out with his dog, mustering. The backdrop of the high country suggests that this is

his land.”30 According to Bell, rural iconography recreates a sense of identity with

reference to the rural past. She observes how “signage in the store continues the

mock-rural ambience. Numbers and letters are printed in text matching wool bale

brands, on rough hardboard.”31 Despite this observation, Bell did not delve further

into the typographic form or object as a marker of national identity.

Writing about identity on high-country sheep stations in Calling the Station Home:

Place and Identity in New Zealand’s High Country (2001), anthropologist Michèle

Dominy states the Southern Alps are a powerful symbol of national identity,

particularly in the South Island.32 This was echoed by historian Roberta McIntyre,

who writes about the histories and mythologies of the high country and high-country

sheep stations in Whose High Country? A History of the South Island High Country

of New Zealand (2008). Historian Jock Phillips explored New Zealand identity from



10

a male perspective in A Man’s Country? The Image of the Pakeha Male, a History

(1996), in which he states that the characteristics of courage, strength, and adaptive

skills demonstrated in the achievements of pioneers were aspirational symbols 

of national identity for generations of New Zealand men.33 He believes versatility,

innovation, and improvisation defined early pioneers, were desirable traits of the

New Zealand character, and were reflected in the objects they made.

‘Kiwiana’ has become a term used for selected objects widely recognised as 

symbols of New Zealand identity and representing what are perceived to be the

iconic characteristics of New Zealanders. Bell explains, “Kiwiana provides a steady

catalogue of symbols of nation; locally manufactured items, therefore confidently

authentic, and accommodating a conception of a distinctive national cultural

identity”.34 Objects of Kiwiana were formally identified and promoted through the

work of Stephen Barnett and Richard Wolfe in New Zealand! New Zealand! In

Praise of Kiwiana (1989) and Kiwiana! The Sequel (2007). The range of objects is

said to capture the essence of what is perceived to represent the can-do-attitude,

resourcefulness, and ingenuity that typify the national character of New Zealanders.

The ongoing value of these objects as symbols of national identity continue to be

reinforced through marketing and product development for tourists and local buyers

of contemporary New Zealand design, and as objects of nostalgia. Whether nostalgia

for an imagined past, a romantic aspiration for the values and achievements of

pioneers, or recognition of admirable character traits, these concepts are reflected

through familiar locally made New Zealand objects. 

The literature search revealed a sufficiently distinct gap in the contribution of

typographic objects and forms, and specifically wool bale stencils, to the brand

identity of New Zealand sheep stations and New Zealand’s visual identity 

more broadly, for me to want to investigate it more deeply. Not only was this a gap

in New Zealand’s sheep-farming and design histories, but my personal interest 

as a collector of stencils had alerted me to a historical preservation imperative.

Stencilling on wool bales was discontinued in the 1990s following a change to

synthetic bale material to mitigate the contamination of wool with loose fibres from

traditional hemp bales. With wool bale stencils no longer being made, there is a very

real danger that stencil plates, along with their related histories, may soon be lost.35

This thesis traces my journey to fill the gap in literature on the history and use of

wool bale stencils, and seeks to preserve their memory.

What is a Wool Bale Stencil?

Broadly speaking, a stencil plate is a sheet of metal, card, or plastic with letters cut

out of it. It is a portable template used for the duplication of text onto a wide range

of surfaces, structures, and materials through direct transfer onto the surface below



11

(fig. 0.8). To create a mark, the right-reading stencil plate is held firmly against the

printing surface and a printable substance such as paint, ink, or pigment is passed

through the negative letter shape to form a positive printed impression. Unlike the

solid letter shapes of letterpress printing, stencil letters are defined by their unique

letter structure, which is made up of a series of disconnected sections. The 

internal shapes of stencil letters—known as ‘counters’—in the letters A, B, D, O, P,

Q and R, are secured to the outer body of the plate by connecting ties or bridges. 

These connections attach isolated letter parts to the plate but result in a series of

interruptions across the stroke or line of the letter when printed. In other words, 

the positive three-dimensional ties that lie across letters on a plate appear as two-

dimensional negative spaces when printed and create the distinctive stencil letter

style. The stencil is compared to a trellis, lattice, or fret, all of which are a structure

that is tied together by itself.36 The structural ties that secure isolated letter parts are

designed to be large enough to give cut-out letters and parts of letters strength,

stability, and durability, but not so large as to compromise readability when the letter

is printed. The aesthetic of the printed stencil letter is a combination of the textural

qualities of the material or surface it is printed on, the viscosity of the substance

used to apply the mark, and the skills of the practitioner. 

As a specific stencil form, wool bale stencil plates were typically made from thin but

strong sheets of metal (tin, zinc, copper, aluminium) containing cut-out stencil

letters, marks, or numbers held within a larger solid metal plate. The letters on wool

bale stencil plates were either hand drawn, copied and hand cut, or designed as an

alphabet and reproduced by machine. In the shearing shed, stencilling marks on a

completed wool bale was the final stage in processing wool in preparation for export

and sale. Marks were usually applied to the bale by wool pressers in a one-or two-

Fig. 0.8

Figure 0.8. Station stencil and 
stencilled marks on hemp bale, 
Otematata Station shearing shed, 
North Otago. Photographed
by Annette O’Sullivan, 2015.



12

person process as soon as the bale was pressed full of wool and the top or cap was

sewn on (fig. 0.9). Plates were required to withstand the rigours of shearing-shed

activity, undergo multiple applications onto coarse hemp or jute bale material, and

last a number of shearing seasons. Plates were rigid for durability and to provide a

flat surface for printing, with a degree of flexibility to mould to the shape of the bale,

but were thin enough to achieve close contact with the material during printing. 

This aimed to prevent bleeding of ink or paint beneath the plate and blotching and

disfiguring stencilled marks. The end result was ideally a clearly defined mark 

that would firstly adhere to the material but not penetrate and damage the wool

beneath, secondly, last for the duration of the journey from New Zealand to Britain

by ship, and finally remain readable until the bale reached the final manufacturing

destination after sale. 

What makes the stencil such an interesting form to study is its complexity and

diversity. Heller and Fili describe stencilling as a form of typesetting that is both

movable and immovable.37 It sits, as the title of a 2012 exhibition co-curated by

Kindel and Smeijers suggests, Between Writing and Type. Kindel writes, “while

stencil letters are clearly neither writing nor type, their origins, configurations and

uses are usually located somewhere in between, and may reach a considerable

distance in either direction”.38 Aspects of wool bale stencils and stencil lettering 

lie between and within a number of definitions such as typography, type design, and

lettering. Traditionally, typography referred to the design and production of text, the

composition (setting of single letters or metal sorts in page layouts), and the

duplication of multiple pages of text through letterpress printing. More recently and

in response to changes in technology, this has been revised to cover the arrangement

of any written material using letterforms in any media and could include the layout

Fig. 0.9

Figure 0.9. Stencilling detail on a 
bale of wool at White Rock 
Station, Wairarapa. Photographed 
by Mr Anderson, date unknown. 
Archives New Zealand: Archway 
Item ID R24808597, Series 
Number 6539. 



13

on a stencil plate. Type design is closely related and sometimes considered to be part

of typography but specifically refers to the design of individual letters as members

of an alphabet as opposed to the design of typographic layouts using words and

letters. The designer of a typeface aims to produce a consistent familial aesthetic

across the design of all letters and numbers of an alphabet. 

Baines and Dixon differentiate between type and lettering as follows: “put very

simply, type is an industrial product capable of duplication and automation, while

lettering is a one-off, created for a specific purpose and capable of responding to 

the demands of scale, material and surroundings in quite a different way”.39

Letters created by hand have an organic character that reflects the individual style 

of the creator, whereas letters of a designed typeface are considered, ordered, and

consistent in style. The design of stencil letters could therefore be described 

as type design or lettering depending on the origin of the design of letters and the

method of manufacture, which could be hand, machine, or digitally produced. 

Kindel describes the form of the stencil letter as follows: “when a two-dimensional

letter without a specific context is cut from some material, the letter becomes space

defined by the edge of the material; or rather it pleasantly alternates between space

with a material boundary, and material whose edge creates the letter”.40 Adding to

the complexity, when a stencil letter is applied to a surface it transforms from a

three-dimensional object to a two-dimensional printed impression. Recently, the

form of the stencil has been extended by the popularity of designed digital stencil

typefaces. However, despite the apparent complexities in defining stencils and

stencilling, the simple and practical processes involved in making stencil plates and

applying stencil letters have made them accessible to the general public as an easy

way of applying text to objects, materials, and surfaces, as evidenced in their use 

by graffiti artists. In comparison to traditional forms of printing where trade

professionals were in control of all aspects of the design and production of text,

stencilling has remained in the public domain as, in the words of British wool

importers, it “ought to commend itself to any practical man”.41

The Material Culture Study of Objects

To study a complex form that transitions between definitions, dimensions and time

calls for a more detailed appreciation of objects. The field of material culture studies

offers a way of understanding such objects.

Material culture is a study of objects, or artefacts, that people design, make, use,

throw away, or reuse. As a field of research, it explores how objects are created by

humans and observes the effects of these ‘things’ on people. The terms object and



14

artefact refer to any physical entity made by people. However, an artefact tends 

to refer to material culture from earlier times, whereas an object connotes something

more recent.42 Anthropologist Arjun Appadurai refers to ‘things’ as the physical

objects that form the material culture of everyday life, the ordinary objects people

use that tend to go unnoticed.43 Everyday things are described as humble,

unobtrusive, and escaping attention; yet they have the ability to form connections

with people, create meaning, acquire new meanings, and form identity.44 Many

aspects of daily life are said to lie hidden within the design of ordinary everyday

objects that are often overlooked and considered to be unimportant.45 Wool bales

stencils are such things—they could be termed artefacts or objects as they are both

historic and contemporary. However, because of their complexities and current

significance, in this thesis they are referred to as objects. 

Jules David Prown defines material culture as “both the subject matter of the study,

[the] material, and to its purpose, the understanding of culture”. He posits, “the basic

premise is that every effect observable in or induced by the object has a cause.

Therefore, the way to understand the cause (some aspect of culture) is the careful

and imaginative study of the effect (the object)”.46 The word ‘material’ encompasses

a wide range of objects made by people and can be divided into categories: art,

diversions, adornment, modifications of the landscape, applied arts, and devices.47

Wool bale stencils were designed as devices—implements or tools that were made 

to perform a particular utilitarian function. In the past, scholarship in this area has 

been largely taxonomic; rather than through cultural analysis of objects and

interpretation of their meaning.48

Traditionally, material culture has been studied through an anthropological lens, 

with an emphasis on the relationship between people and objects. In recent decades,

increasing attention has been given to the physical object although there has been

less research on their design and style.49 Judy Attfield’s Wild Things: The Material

Culture of Everyday Life (2000) begins to address the gap. She emphasises the

importance of the design of an object and promotes the study of everyday designed

objects in order to gain greater understanding of the material world and the lives 

of ordinary people. She writes from both a design history and anthropological 

point of view to address issues of design, production, human engagement, culture,

and identity. 

Attfield believes that embedded within the material form of an object is a cultural

memory, which she describes as “the physical embodiment of culture”.50 Attfield’s

premise is that close reading of the physical and material form of an object,

combined with contextual exploration of how it fits in time and place, provides

insight into the people who made it and the culture in which it belonged. In so doing,

objects are able to illustrate, represent, and symbolise aspects of the culture they



15

inhabit and are therefore capable of reflecting and defining who we are.51 Cultural

knowledge can be gained through analysis of how objects were designed and made

within broader investigations of why, where, and when they were made and used. 

Attfield refers to the interactions between objects and people as the object-subject

relationship.52 The design process begins when an object is conceived and made and

results in an aesthetic and functional solution.53 However, the material culture study

of a designed object extends beyond aesthetics and functionality to the interpretation

of meaning through observation of the object as a participant within physical, social,

and cultural settings. Attfield points out, “material culture while focusing on the

material object also has broader interpretative connotations beyond the object itself,

homing-in much more acutely on less stable territory—on things and places where

the interrelationship between people and the physical world at large is played out”.54

In The Look of the Past: Visual and Material Evidence in Historical Practice (2012),

Ludmilla Jordanova further emphasised the importance of exploring the contexts in

which objects exist. She maintains that; 

“the characteristics that are analysed are to be found initially in 

artefacts themselves, followed by features of their contexts; 

for example, the lives of those who made, commissioned and 

owned them, their location and forms of display. As such, the 

visual skills of close ‘reading’ are integral to the historical skills 

of understanding the range of settings in which artefacts live, 

move and have their being.”55

From a background in folklife, Henry Glassie writes, “all objects exist in a context.

There is no such thing as an object out of context. But contexts differ greatly in their

ability to help us understand the artefact at question.”56 He points out that “a second

kind of context is conceptual. In it, the object exists within the sets of associations

that constitutes the minds of its creators and users. This context could be called

cultural, for it holds the meanings shared, if incompletely, by the people who made

the thing and those who put it to use.”57 Social scientist Rom Harré highlights the

importance of context in attributing meaning. He writes, “an object is transformed

from a piece of stuff definable independently of any story-line into a social object 

by its embedment in a narrative. Material things have magic powers only in the

contexts of the narratives in which they are embedded.”58

In addition to context, the study of objects is also a study of identity. Through

people, the identity of an object is created, and the identity of the designer and

maker is inscribed in the physical and material form of an object. Moreover, by



16

owning and collecting material things individuals and groups of people gain a sense

of their own identity.59 People invest in objects for practical reasons—for their

aesthetic qualities, their emotional associations, and for their monetary value—and

in doing so they become part of the biography of their owners themselves.60

Archaeologist and anthropologist Christopher Tilley observes, “personal, social and

cultural identity is embodied in our persons and objectified in our things. Through

the things we can understand ourselves and others, not because they are

externalizations of ourselves or others, reflecting something prior and more basic in

our consciousness or social relations but because these things are the very medium

through which we make and know ourselves.”61 Objects function at a personal and

collective level through fads and fashions. They also have deeper cultural

significance in evoking nostalgia for the past through the display and use of

historical objects. Moreover, selected objects that are widely recognised by society

as containing iconic characteristics of a culture can become symbols of national

identity. To illustrate this, wool bale stencils were designed to identify the ownership

and origin of wool in a bale and within time marks became a brand identity for 

the station. More recently, stencil plates have become symbols for rural nostalgia 

and as collectables they contribute to the identity of their owners. Furthermore,

when representing character traits of early pioneers they become symbolic of 

New Zealand identity. 

When it comes to the study of objects, context and identity is never static. During

their life, objects have the capacity to undergo physical and conceptual change

through interactions with people and places in different time periods. While

undergoing transformational changes in physical, material, and visual appearance,

an object can accumulate culturally constructed meanings and acquire a cultural

value, defined by Appadurai as “a bounded and localized system of meanings”.62

Therefore, by observing evolutionary changes in object form and use, it is possible

to speculate on the inherent and cultural meanings. At varying points during its

existence, an object can accumulate culturally constructed meanings that give it

cultural weight and significance. Anthropologist Annette Weiner explains that by

acquiring cultural meaning an object is protected from exclusion and extinction.

This could be gained through “a name associated with it, by the aesthetic value of it,

by the people who have owned it before, what its history is and its accumulation”.63

Transformations in the use and status of an object can result in shifts in monetary

and cultural value, resulting in either an increase or decrease in metaphorical weight

and significance. However, values are never set in a fixed or permanent state but are

constantly challenged by changes in physical, technological, economic, and social

contexts.64 Alterations in the meaning of objects are recognised by Appadurai as

“regimes of value”,65 and by Miller as “recontextualizations”.66 This ongoing process

helps to define, redefine, construct, and reconstruct cultural meanings in society and

is a way of understanding aspects of the culture in which we belong.



17

Object Life Stages

A range of methodologies have been offered for the study of objects over time and 

a common approach is by comparing the life of an object to the life of a person.

Anthropologist Igor Kopytoff promotes the concept of a biography, which is derived

from anthropology and has an emphasis on the consumption of things rather than

their production.67 A biography is defined by design historian John Walker as the

account of a life (person or object).68 Any object, even one that is mundane and

insignificant, can have a biography, which can increase in value and significance as

it progresses through life.69 When comparing the biography of an object with the

biography of a person, Kopytoff suggests the same questions can be asked of both: 

“what, sociologically are the biographical possibilities inherent 

in its ‘status’ and in the period and culture, and how are those 

possibilities realised? Where does the thing come from and who 

made it? What has been its career so far, and what do people 

consider to be an ideal career for such things? What are the 

recognised ‘ages’ or periods in the thing’s ‘life’, and what are 

the cultural markers for them? How does the things use change 

with its age, and what happens to it when it reaches the end 

of its usefulness?”.70

The life of an object can be made up of various biographies, which could be

physical, technical, economic, or social, and may or may not be culturally

informed.71 The biographical possibilities in the life of wool bale stencils, for

example, could be physical (object), technical (hand-made, machine made),

economic (trade, shipping), social (art, design), or cultural (symbolic). Another

anthropological approach is proposed by Appadurai in The Social Life of Things

(1986). He describes the relationship between people and objects as a “social life”.72

He believes things on their own have no meaning; rather, this is gained through

socialisation with people. He states, “we have to follow the things themselves, 

for their meanings are inscribed in their forms, their uses, their trajectories. It is 

only through the analysis of these trajectories that we can interpret the human

transactions that enliven things.”73 In other words, by engaging with people, 

objects become active, responsive, and autonomous and are not simply passive 

and reflective.74

Another metaphor for the study of objects is through the concept of life stages. Both

objects and people are said to share parallel life stages—they undergo a period of

development and acquire unique skills and abilities to enable them to carry out



18

various tasks during their working life. They adjust to changes in circumstances and

alterations in how and why they are used. As an object and person progress towards

the end of their working lives they may experience death or extinction but could be

subject to change in status and increase in economic value. The life-stages concept

offers a structural framework for examining an object through time and space. 

Attfield promotes a design-oriented approach to the study of objects through the life

stages of a designed object, which she identifies as design, making, distributing,

consuming, using, discarding, and recycling.75 Through this structure, a design

history can be built to include early development of form and function, investigation

of materials and production processes, and observation of objects throughout their

working and end life stages. She brings together ideas already discussed and

combines an object-focused historical design study with observation of meaning

through the study of forms, uses, and trajectories. This includes Appadurai’s concept

of a social life and Kopytoff’s ideas on the development of biographies over time.

Glassie believes a life study has the potential to be more inclusive and complete. 

He states, “meaning is the sum of relations between objects and people. Accounts of

meaning can begin anywhere in the object’s history, though I think they are best

begun in creation. From its place of beginning, the quest for completeness will

assemble associations around the acts of creation, communication, and consumption,

and then slide past every limit as the imagination plays tricks in the memory and the

object becomes all it can be”.76

Wool Bale Stencils as Object and Visual Forms

What, then, does this mean for this study of wool bale stencils? As this thesis will

demonstrate, the collective life of wool bale stencils is long and has spanned a

significant period in the development of New Zealand as a nation, beginning with

colonial settlement and progressing to independence from Britain. Over that time,

wool bale stencils have undergone significant physical and conceptual changes,

beginning with their utilitarian use in marking wool bales for sale at international

markets to branding other identities and forming culturally constructed meanings

through a common understanding of their traditional use. Attfield’s life-stages

framework appears to be the most appropriate approach for this study. A design

historical study structured through a life-stage framework enables us to follow the

development and use of wool bale stencils within international, colonial, local, and

personal contexts. It provides a way of analysing and comparing objects in stages 

of design and making. It also provides an opportunity to observe changes in 

form, function, and meaning over time; how they were used by people during their

working life, and throughout the end stages of discarding and recycling. 

Wool bale stencils are not simply objects, however, as there are overlaps in the

material and visual aspects of stencil plates. For instance, texts and brand marks are

formed from material objects, therefore the contents of the plate can be classified as



19

either material or visual. In addition, stencilled marks created by plates are visual

representations and have communicative activities with their own complex set of

explicit and implicit meanings. This is a condition described by Attfield as hovering

“somewhere between the physical presence and the visual image, between the reality

of the inherent properties of materials and the myth of fantasy, and between

empirical materiality and theoretical representation.”77 Prown supports this idea by

arguing that “objects are signs that convey meaning, a mode of communication, 

a form of language. The object may, like words, communicate a specific meaning

outside of itself”.78

This thesis takes the position that although wool bale stencils straddle the material

and the visual, all representations are derived from the object as the originator,

creator, and activator of the visual during their working and social life. Accordingly,

this thesis approaches the study of identity primarily through a material culture

perspective with meaning revealed through stencil design, materiality, production

processes, narrative contexts, transactions, and how they are displayed and used.79

Scope of the Research

The literature search revealed a gap in the contribution of typographic objects and

forms in general, and wool bale stencils in particular, to New Zealand’s sheep-

farming and design histories. This thesis asks what wool bale stencils can contribute

to the history of brand identity on New Zealand sheep stations and to New Zealand’s

visual identity more broadly. It begins in 1850, a period when most sheep stations

were established and when brand marks originated. It ends in the present day,

enabling an up-to-date review of the current use and meaning of stencil plates and

stencil letters in New Zealand society. The research question will be answered

through a material culture approach, structured through the life stages of a designed

object by analysing wool bale stencils within historical and contemporary contexts,

and by observing changes in their form, use, and meaning. The importance of such

an approach becomes even more urgent when considering the history of an object

potentially nearing the end of its life; a life that has so far been largely disregarded,

but one that deserves to be acknowledged and preserved. 

Chapter Outline

Chapter one describes the methods of data collection and analysis used in the

research. The second chapter establishes the historical and contextual background

and in doing so compiles the early stages in the development of the wool bale

stencil. Chapter three engages the first life stages of design and making wool 

bale stencils and draws on evidence from stencil plates found on sheep stations 

for object analysis. The fourth chapter is the stages of using, consuming and

distributing. It explores the meaning, use and significance of brand marks on 



20

station stencils during their working life in marking wool bales for export.

Chapter five comprises the final life stages of discarding and recycling wool bale

stencils. The time period is after stencilling on wool bales was discontinued and

therefore investigates the ongoing use of plates and representation through 

stencil letters. The concluding chapter summarizes the findings of the thesis and

evaluates the contribution of the study. 

1 Charles Hursthouse, New Zealand: The Britain of the South (London: Stanford, 1861), 216.
2 Hursthouse, New Zealand: The Britain of the South, 404.
3 Te Ara, s.v. “Grigg, John. Biography”, accessed 14 December 2017,
https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2g20/grigg-john.
4 Cyclopedia Publishing Company, The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial
District]. (Christchurch: Cyclopaedia Company, 1903), 855. 
5 Ministry for Culture and Heritage, “The 1953–4 Royal tour of NZ–Canterbury to Bluff”, 
accessed 12 October 2017, https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/video/1953-4-royal-tour-nz-
canterbury-bluff. 
6 England is used in reference to a specific place. Britain is used elsewhere in the thesis when
referring to Great Britain or the United Kingdom.  
7 P. G. Stevens, John Grigg of Longbeach (Christchurch: Whitcombe & Tombs, 1952), 73;
The Prince of Wales’ Feathers is the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales and consists of
three ostrich feathers. 
8 Anonymous, Brand Book of Canterbury: Compiled from the Official Records to the 
31 March 1874 (Christchurch: handwritten, 1874), 50.
9 Cookshop was a farm building with cooking, eating, and sleeping facilities for 
workers on rural estates.
10 “The Longbeach Cookshop”, accessed 15 December 2017,
http://www.longbeachestate.co.nz/index_files/history.htm.
11 Shearing shed and wool shed can be used interchangeably to denote a large shed 
where all shearing activities take place. Sheep are shorn, wool is sorted, packed, pressed,
marked, and stored till it is ready to be transported. 
12 Judy Attfield, Wild Things: The Material Culture of Everyday Life (Oxford: Berg, 2000), 5.
13 Daniel Miller, Stuff (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2012), 51.
14 Jonty Valentine, Printing Types: New Zealand Type Design Since 1870 (Auckland: 
Objectspace, 2009), 5.
15 Ibid., 10. 
16 Paul Ward, “Colin McCahon. The Lumnary”, NZEDGE.COM, (1 August 2009), 
accessed 19 April 2019, https://www.nzedge.com/legends/colin-mccahon.
17 Steven Heller and Louise Fili, Stencil Type (London: Thames & Hudson), 2015.
18 Russell Howze, Stencil Nation: Graffiti, Community, and Art (San Francisco: 
Manic D Press, 2008), 142.
19 Ron Palenski, The Making of New Zealanders (Auckland: Auckland University Press,
2012), 90.
20 Ibid., 125.
21 Anne-Marie Willis, Illusions of Identity: The Art of Nation (Sydney: Hale and Iremonger,
1993), 62.
22 Ibid., 16.
23Kiwi is a flightless native New Zealand bird.
24 Silver fern is a native New Zealand tree fern.
25Koru is a stylised fern leaf.
26 Claudia Bell, Inventing New Zealand: Everyday Myths of Pakeha Identity (Auckland: 
Penguin Books, 1996), 124.
27 Wolfe, A Short History of Sheep,145.
28 Bell, Inventing New Zealand, 5.
29 Swanndri is a rugged outdoor woollen garment. 
30 Bell, Inventing New Zealand, 164.
31 Ibid., 173.
32 Michèle D. Dominy, Calling the Station Home: Place and Identity in New Zealand’s 
High Country (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2001), 44.
33 Jock Phillips, A Man’s Country? The Image of the Pakeha Male, a History (Auckland: 



21

Penguin Books, 1996), 39.
34 Claudia Bell, “Collectors as Guardians of National Artefacts”, Journal of Home Cultures 10,
no. 1 (January 2013): 57.
35 “Tourism could be an option at Mt Cook Station, buyers may sue”, Stuff, 5 October 2016,
accessed 5 February 2017, http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/84947582/tourism-options-
will-be-explored-for-mt-cook-station-buyers-may-sue.
36 Maxwell Armfield, Stencil Printing (Leicester: Dryad Handcrafts, 1927), 11.
37 Heller and Fili, 7.
38 Eric Kindel, “Type Tuesday: Between Writing and Type”, Eye Magazine (15 May 2012),
accessed 13 January 2019, http://www.eyemagazine.com/blog/post/type-tuesday-between-
writing-type.
39 Phil Baines and Catherine Dixon, Signs: Lettering in the Environment (London: 
Laurence King, 2003), 8.
40 Eric Kindel, “Recollecting Stencil Letters”, Typography Papers 5 (2003): 67.
41 Anonymous, “The Branding of Wool Bales”, Tuapeka Times, 1 September 1897: 3.
42 Arthur A. Berger, What Objects Mean: An Introduction to Material Culture
(Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2009), 16. 
43Arjun Appadurai, ed., The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective 
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 5.
44 Karen Harvey, ed., History and Material Culture: A Student’s Guide to Approaching 
Alternative Sources (London: Routledge, 2009) 126; Attfield, Wild Things, 9.
45 Ben Highmore, ed., The Everyday Life Reader (London: Routledge, 2002), 1.
46 Jules David Prown, “Mind in Matter: An Introduction to Material Culture Theory 
and Method”, Winterthur Portfolio 17, no. 1 (Spring, 1982): 6.
47 Ibid., 3–4.
48 Ibid., 14.
49 Christopher Tilley et al., eds., Handbook of Material Culture (London: Sage 
Publications, 2005), 354.  
50 Attfield, Wild Things, 16.
51 Ian Woodward, Understanding Material Culture (London: Sage Publication, 2007), 28.
52 Attfield, Wild Things, 16.
53 Ibid., 4.
54 Ibid., 40.
55 Ludmilla J. Jordanova, The Look of the Past: Visual and Material in Historical Practice
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 225.
56 Henry H. Glassie, Material Culture (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999), 59.
57 Ibid., 60.
58 Rom Harré, “Material Objects in Social Worlds”, Theory, Culture & Society 19, nos. 5–6
(December 2002): 125.
59 Attfield, Wild Things, xiii.
60 John A. Walker, Design History and the History of Design (London: Pluto Press, 1989), 192.
61 Tilley et al., Handbook, 61.
62 Appadurai, The Social Life of Things, 14–15.
63 Fred R. Myers, ed., The Empire of Things: Regimes of Value and Material Culture
(Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press, 2001), 289. 
64 Ibid., 70. 
65 Appadurai, Social Life of Things, 14–15.
66 Daniel Miller, Material Culture and Mass Consumption (Oxford: Blackwell, 1987), 175.
67 Kopytoff, Igor, “The Cultural Biography of Things: Commoditization as Process” in 
The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective, ed. Arjun Appadurai 
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 64–91. 
68 Walker, Design History, 45.
69 Miller, Material Culture, 126.
70 Kopytoff, Social Life of Things, 66.
71 Ibid., 68.
72 Ibid., 13.
73 Ibid., 5.
74 Harvey, History and Material Culture, 3.
75 Attfield, Wild Things, 3.
76 Glassie, Material Culture, 59.
77 Attfield, Wild Things, 11.
78 Prown, “Mind in Matter”, 16.
79 Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright, Practices of Looking: An Introduction to 
Visual Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 5.



Figure 1.1. Stencil plates and 
branding irons, Clifton Station 
shearing shed, Hawke’s Bay. 
Photographed by 
John O’Sullivan, 2015.

Fig. 1.1



23

Chapter 1. Methodology

This chapter outlines the methods used to collect, select, analyse, and interpret

primary and secondary material. It sets out the criteria for identifying and

documenting objects, representations, and other information and introduces a

structural method for organising content into chapters as parts of a narrative 

along with tools used for their analysis.

Primary Data Sources

Most of the wool bale stencils studied in this thesis were sourced during six 

field trips to New Zealand sheep stations undertaken between February 2014 

and November 2017. In total I visited fourteen sheep stations over that time. 

The criteria for station selection was that they were still under original family

ownership. These long histories spanned generations of the same family and at times

date from the middle of the nineteenth century, from the early development of land

for sheep farming, the establishment of sheep stations, and the beginning of wool

exports to London. I anticipated this criteria would offer the best opportunity for

locating stencil plates and branding irons, if they existed, as they were more 

likely to be retained along with other objects, material evidence, and supporting

documentation. Many New Zealand sheep stations have undergone changes in

ownership, boundaries, buildings, and names with inevitable loss of connection to

their roots, their history, and to historical objects. A long and uninterrupted history 

of a well-established station offered continuity of knowledge, name, and brand, 

and the possibility that historical objects were retained. Moreover, early iconic sheep

stations had been well represented in historical and contemporary New Zealand

literature with the publication of many sheep station histories. 

Identifying historic stations in original ownership was nonetheless difficult and a list

of possibilities was compiled through sheep-station histories and by word of mouth.

Although there were sheep farms with long histories of family ownership, the search

eventually focused on large and historic sheep stations in the North and South

Island. As major exporters of wool to Britain, I judged them more likely to be well

represented in historic and archival documentation of photographs, shipping lists,

wool sales reports, and catalogues. Three books published by Colin Wheeler 

(1971, 1973, 1989) on historic stations of the North and South Island were a guide 

to possible stations and gave a history of their ownership. As an artist, Wheeler

acknowledged his selection was influenced by aesthetic considerations.

Nevertheless, his books represented some of the earliest, biggest, and most

significant sheep stations in the history of New Zealand. Wheeler recorded his visits

in paintings, and pen-and-ink drawings accompanied by short histories of each



24

station. Other information on ownership of stations and their potential to fit the

criteria for the study came from station owners with local knowledge, workers, stock

and station agents, archivists, and historians. Robert Peden, a former musterer, 

South Island high country station manager, and historian, had first-hand knowledge

of South Island stations still in original family ownership and offered a list of

possibilities. As the research progressed, some properties that fitted the criteria were

sold, others had not kept their stencils, and some owners were not interested in

taking part in the study. 

Ten sheep stations that fit the criteria were located in the South Island and four in 

the North Island—all had remained in the same family for a number of generations,

dating from as early as 1848. Some were related to the first colonial owners and

developers of the land, while others had bought their property from the original

owner. Although the selection did not represent the entire country, the properties are

all located within the most important areas of sheep-farming development during

the nineteenth century.1 In the South Island this included Otago, the east coast,

Canterbury, and Marlborough, and in the North Island the Wairarapa and Hawke’s

Bay regions. In many cases the size of the original property and stock numbers has

been considerably reduced since the decline of the wool and sheep industry. Despite

this, their reputation and historical significance has remained intact, along with

grand houses, landscaped gardens, farm buildings, and original shearing sheds. 

The following brief introduction to the case studies of fourteen sheep stations visited

on field trips begins with the lower South Island and continues to stations visited in

the North Island, with more detailed discussion in later chapters. A map of New

Zealand shows their geographic location (fig. 1.2).

Otematata Station is a high-country station in the Waitaki Valley, North Otago, and

is reputed to be one of the largest operating high-country stations today. The station

was bought by the Cameron brothers in 1908 and they inherited the brand mark from

the previous owner. A large selection of branding irons and examples of stencil

plates were stored in the shearing shed. The nearby property of Omarama Station is

situated in the foothills of the Southern Alps of the Mackenzie Country. When it was

first settled in 1858 it was made up of 181,400 acres (73,410 hectares). In 1919 it

was subdivided and 29,000 acres (11,736 hectares) were bought by Cecil and

Wilfred Wardell, from whom the current owner is descended. Their historic branding

irons demonstrate early approaches to making objects on the station. Similarly,

Waitangi Station is located in the high country of North Otago and has been owned

by the Sutton family since 1887. The stone and wooden shearing shed built in 1851

is still operational and displays an assortment of stencil plates and branding irons.

Another high altitude station is Glenmore Station, situated in the Mackenzie Country

it stretches from the western side of Lake Tekapo and up to the boundary of Mt



25

Figure 1.2. Map of New Zealand
showing locations of sheep stations
visited in the thesis. 
Accessed 25 April 2019, 
https://simplemaps.com/
resources/svg-nz. 

•••
•

• ••

•

•
• ••

•• Longbeach Station

Tuna Nui Station

Clifton Station

Gwavas Station

Brancepeth Station

Richmond Brook Station

Coldstream Station

Glenmore Station

Waitangi Station

Omarama Station

Otematata Station

Mt Peel Station

Te Waimate Station

Orari Gorge Station



26

Cook National Park. It has been in the Murray family for over one hundred years.

The Glenmore contribution to the study comprises stencilling material, stencil

plates, and branding irons. Other high-country sheep stations are Mt Peel Station and

Orari Gorge Station which are located in the South Canterbury Rangitata River

Valley and together originally comprised 100,000 acres (40,470 hectares). The

original property was purchased in 1856 and was jointly owned by John Acland and

Charles Tripp until they subdivided the land in 1861. Acland took Mt Peel and Tripp

took ownership of Orari Gorge Station. Their brand was designed to represent the

names of the two owners but was later changed when the property was subdivided.

On lower regions in the South Island, Coldstream Station lies on the Canterbury

plains on the east coast. The 80,000-acre (32,375 hectare) property was bought by

two brothers, John and Michael Studholme in 1867. They decided to dissolve their

joint ownership of Coldstream Station and Te Waimate Station in 1878—John stayed

at Coldstream and Michael Studholme took up Te Waimate, which is also part of 

this study. Both stations have a large number of stencil plates and branding irons and

continued to share the same brand mark. Further south, Te Waimate Station is forty-

five kilometres south west of Timaru and was bought by the Studholme brothers 

in 1854. The shearing shed, which is still operational, was built in 1855 and at one

stage 100,000 sheep were shorn there annually. To accommodate the increase in

stock, the land was increased to 100,000