New Zealand flax is a tough plant from the lily family. It is completely unrelated to true flax, Linum usitatissimum, from which linen is made, but the plants, unique to Aotearoa New Zealand and, it is said, Norfolk Island, yield tough fibres that resemble linen flax, hence the sobriquet.
The NZ plant has an astonishingly diverse set of uses. It is food for birds and people, and medicine, can be used to make clothing, kete (bags) and pākē (rain capes), floor coverings and cordage, and today is used in art. It has become a recognisable symbol of the country, as you can see in this print by Tim Main of harakeke for a Sharon Ng dress.
In the 19th Century, flax from New Zealand was a major export. Flax mills sprung up across the country and the preparation of flax became a booming industry. In 1882 James Rutherford, a Scottish immigrant to the South Island, opened his flax mill at Ruapaka and his son, Ernest, attended school in nearby Havelock. The family’s original farm, though, was in Brightwater in Nelson and it is here that a memorial to Ernest stands for he was the “father of nuclear physics”.
Lord Rutherford of Nelson is probably Aotearoa’s most well-known scientist and one of most familiar names in science in the world. His pioneering work on radioactivity and the atom paved the way for modern physicists and nuclear science. We owe flax a debt of gratitude for it was this industry that provided a good start to life for the family in New Zealand.
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