There are actually not that many products or services marketed within New Zealand that show a mill of any type as part of their branding, with local products that use such a device being very few and far between. (As you might expect, if you expand the remit to include imported products, then mills are more common on those - with plenty of windmills illustrated on imported Dutch products, and hand querns and the like on some Indian products).
However, stretching the definition of mill to include modern wind turbines does bring in a few more examples - especially the wind turbine found in the Brooklyn suburb of Wellington, and the wind farms that surround Palmerston North, with both places being fiercely proud of their local wind turbines.
Back in 1879, the council in the town of Ashburton had a seal designed, that had the job of representing the agricultural significance of the area. The design that was arrived at shows a threshing mill, a cabbage tree, a steam locomotive, a bale of wool, a windmill, and a sheaf of wheat. This was despite the fact that no such windmill existed in the vicinity! That design was used for 87 years, until a new coat of arms was designed for the town in 1966. However the old design, showing the windmill, still lives on in a number of places, such as on the local cenotaph, and on the tapestry chair representing the town to be found at Government House, Wellington.
[photo] [info] [photo]There are a number of places in New Zealand that specialize in imported Dutch products, many of which products show a windmill on their packaging. In addition many supermarkets have specialist imported footstuffs aisles, which can carry a more restricted range of products.
The specialist outlets include:
Perhaps the most widespread windmill logo'd product in New Zealand, the Freya's brand of breads which are styled after European bread varieties includes a Dutch type wholemeal bread, that shows a Dutch windmill on its packaging.
[homepage] [photo]Note that the "gas station" shown as being in the Texas countryside is of course the Aro Valley former petrol station where the Garage Project beer is brewed.
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Launched September 2019, a bottled pale ale, celebrating the tie up between The Garage Project, and the renewable energy supplier Meriden. The turbine of the name is the Brooklyn wind turbine which appears on the Wellington skyline. Brewed with: Malt, Hops, Yeast and Wind.
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Hutchinsons are a long established NZ firm of cheese importers and packagers. In a recent redesign of their packaging, their range of Dutch cheeses (Edam, Gouda, Maasdam) were restyled to add a windmill to the label.
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I can see no mention of a particular reason for the company name, except that they are associated with the Millwater development at Silverdale, nr Auckland, and many such firms have "mill" as part of their name.
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Special miniature sheet issues to mark the Palmpex stamp exhibition in Palmerston North.
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The New Zealand Post set of postage stamps on the subject of renewable energy, issued in 2006, includes a stamp showing the Tararua wind farm near Palmerston North.
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The Park Life Brewery which (until put up for sale in early 2018) was based in Nelson's Founders Heritage Park, and took its cue from the park's replica windmill.
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Around 2008 this cake shop operated in Porirua, from a shop front that featured a number of windmills on its facia. There doesn't appear to have been a particular reason behind the business name, except for the general association of milling with baking. Interestingly one of the illustrated windmills appears to be a sawmill.
The business was passed on to the next generation of the Thomas Thomas family, who for a while operated under the same business name in Paraparaumu, before renaming to Kapiti Cakes and Bakery. The new concern still has windmill links - they were runner's up in New Zealand's bakery of the year 2012, with a gingerbread windmill as one of their prize winning creations.
For a while in 2018, there was another cake shop operating from the Porirua location, but it was not using the windmill name.
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A record containing New Zealand country music, by Garner Wayne and The Saddle Pals. Issued in New Zealand by Viking Record Company. Cover shows an imported Flint & Walling Back Geared Steel Star, with 'BOOTH' written on the tail as Booth, MacDonald & Co. were NZ agents for them.
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Compilation Album of Kiwi country songs by various artists, called Maple on the Hill from the first track. Released by Ktel Apr 2013. Cover shows a Titan windmill, manufactured by Booth, MacDonald & Co. mill at their Christchurch factory.
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River Mill Bakeries used to be an independant bakery, but in 2007 was swallowed up by Goodman Fielder who own many of the other brands of bread produced in New Zealand. However there is no mention of this brand on the Goodman Fielder website, so I'm unsure whether they didn't go ahead with the acquisition, or later sold off the brand.
The products are most easily available at The Warehouse. Since they are sold very much on price (for a long time they were exactly $1 a loaf), the range was changed in 2018, and the most flavoursome, and no doubt most expensive to produce, multigrain loaf is no longer available (and the price of all loaves has now climbed to $1.30 anyway).
[photo] [photo] [photo] [info] [info] [info] [info] [info]A 1925 advertising poster for this ice cream showed a Dutch man and woman, by a canal, with a faint windmill outline as part of the background.
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This is the parent grouping that includes Left Field wines (who also riff on the theme of wind engines).
[homepage] [photo]The Windmill Post was a monthly newspaper, published from 1969, ostensibly by the Auckland Netherlands Society Oranje Inc, though later subject to a lawsuit and continued commercially by Louis Kuys.
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The Waitoa packaging was redesigned in 2019, and the wind engine is no longer part of the scene.
[homepage] [photo]A covered glass walkway erected in 2018, showing many local landmarks, including the Brooklyn wind turbine.
The so called Convict's Wall in the grounds of Government House is a remnant of the Mt View Lunatic Asylum which was previously on the site. Amongst the 19th century graffiti there is the image of a windmill carved into one of the bricks.
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A very well regarded small French bakery.
[photo] [info] [info]The outside of this supermarket has a series of illustrations on it, depicting Wellington scenes, including the Brooklyn wind turbine.
[homepage]Although it's not reflected in their online branding, Wellington's Sustainability Trust eco centre includes wind turbine silhouettes on their kerbside direction board which directs people to the centre.
[homepage]A coffee lounge, which was on the corner of Wakefield St in the 60's, managed by Suzy Van Der Kwast.
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The median of the urban motorway in Wellington has a picture engraved in it every 50 metres, showing The Beehive, the War Memorial Carillon, the Brooklyn wind turbine, and St Gerard’s Monastery.
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The Wellington Architectural Medley range from 2018 consists of a number of products featuring a set of Wellington iconic buildings, including The Bond Store, Whare Waka, Beehive, Monastery, Cable Car, Space Place, Zealandia, and the Brooklyn wind turbine. The range included a poster, various chocolates, notepad, luggage tag, and magnet.
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A limited edition bar of chocolate, produced for a short time in 2017 showing the Brooklyn wind turbine.
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| Last updated 27/07/2020 | Text and images © Mark Berry, 1997-2020 - |
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