What is more Kiwi than the Swandri bush shirt bro? They’ve been keeping rural New Zealanders warm and dry for nearly 100 years.
At the Puke Ariki (te reo Maori for ‘hill of chiefs’) Museum in New Plymouth there is a little exhibit tracing the history of Swanndri clothing. Clearing up the heritage of the company, the information states:
‘While South Islanders attempt to “do an Aussie” on the swannie and claim this clothing icon as their own, the Swanndri story begins in Taranaki and continues here until the 1990s.‘
Whilst I’m well aware of Australia’s penchant for annexing choice New Zealand individuals and culture, I didn’t realise the Kiwis actually had a phrase for it. I suppose they needed one as we’ve been at it since Phar Lap.
For more about the history of Swanndri, click here
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