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Tuesday, 3 January 2023

Rainster House

From Tauranga City Library’s archives
A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection

You wouldn’t know it, looking at the Target Furniture building there now, but at 683 Cameron Road opposite Tauranga Boys’ College, there used to be a rather distinctive building with a somewhat austere façade of darkly coloured walls, called Rainster House.

Rainster House 1945 - Tauranga City Libraries Ams 308/1

Rainster began production in the 1930s in Auckland and garments were manufactured by Harris Langton Limited. They opened their Tauranga factory on Cameron Road in 1946 (Don Stewart Builder) to manufacture raincoats and other garments. Their specialisation was plastic and garbadine raincoats, such as this example held by Tauranga Heritage Collection:

Man's Jacket made by Rainster - Tauranga Heritage Collection

They started with a staff of 30 and when it closed in 1972, they had over 100 employees, mostly women, and girls starting their first jobs straight from school.  They sewed raincoats, car coats, ladies and men’s leisure jackets, children’s coats and beach wear.  Garments were sent from Auckland already cut out, and were assembled and rough pressed here, then returned to Auckland for final pressing and packing.

Rainster workers - Tauranga City Libraries Photo gcc-7877

By all accounts it was a fantastic place to work and everyone got on well. Teams were formed for sports such as basketball and marching and the staff end-of-year parties were held at the nearby Hayman’s Hall (where the Tauranga Citizen’s Club is today). 

Staff party at Hayman's Hall - Tauranga City Libraries Ams 308/2

Such was the camaraderie between employees, they formed long-lasting relationships and continued to organise get-togethers long after Rainster House closed in 1972. As recently as 2000, former staff were meeting for reunion luncheons and documenting these occasions with plenty of photographs.

Tauranga City Libraries has an archive collection - Ams 308 - of Rainster House memorabilia, including reunion photograph albums, marching team photographs, newspaper articles, scrapbooks and a list of former employees.  This collection gives us an overview of a workplace that was a significant part of the lives of many families who lived and worked in Tauranga at that time (1940s to 1970s).

Staff in front of building - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 08-074

The chairman of directors of the company, Sir Jack Harris, said the main reasons for the closure were the big increases in wages and freight rates between Auckland and Tauranga. Closed in July 1972, Rainster House was sold to Bay of Plenty Trading Society trading as T.T.S.  It was then sold to Foodtown in 1982 and the building was demolished.  

If you like a good “Now” and “Then” comparison, this is what the site looks like today (right):

683 Cameron Road, Tauranga in 1945 (L) and 2021(R) - Tauranga City Libraries Ams 308/1 - Image Capture Jul 2021 Copyright 2022 Google 

Sources:


Some of these archival items have been digitised and added to Pae Korokī. For more information about other items in our collection, visit Pae Korokī or email the Heritage & Research Team: research@tauranga.govt.nz

Written by Jody Smart, Heritage Specialist at Tauranga City Library.



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