This bush shirt, or Swanndri, in striking orange and brown tartan, and displaying some 20 badges, belonged to a New Plymouth woman. It is a favourite item at Puke Ariki Museum.
The “Swanni” was worn by Dorene Robinson on many tramps, usually with the New Plymouth Women’s Institute, in the 1990s. This distinctive shirt points to the transformation in the meaning of the great outdoors as New Zealand became a predominantly urban society.
Throughout the 19th century, New Zealand had been mostly a country of farms and small towns. But in 1911, the census announced there were more New Zealanders living in “urban places” (locations of over 2500 people) than in rural areas. By 1926, urban numbers were two-thirds of the population; by 1971, over four-fifths.
City life brought excitement such as movies, cafes and
