Page 16 Advertisements Column 1

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20510, 1 April 1932, Page 16

"We talk about bad times now," remarked the great-grandson of one of Nelson's earliest settlers. It was well known that the first cloth manufactured in New Zealand was made at Nelson as long ago as 184 G. A piomar named Thomas Blick, who knew something of hand-weaving in the Old Country, constructed a cloth-weaving loom of wood and bamboo, and set to work to make cloth, which proved to be of'excellent quality. A year later a number of German, settlers arrived whose wives were skilled at vara spinning, being able to produce by hard work about lib of yarn a day. So bad were the times and so scarce was money that they accepted Is per day for their work. The industry grew, and Mr Blick took in a Mr Webley as partner, and quite a good business was built up. The people were wearing clothes made from cloth spun in their own district. It was many years before cloth was made in. any other part of New Zealand. Mr Blick reared a very large family, whose descendants are scattered afl over the Dominion, quite a number being in Auckland. It was Mr Blick's- boast .that when machinery for making cloth c.iise into vogue, it could not produce the quality he produced in his hand loom with yrirn made by Germnn women, .which enabled them to live till times got bettor, and they prospered.