The History of Ice Cream in New Zealand

By Chris Newey

1941 - 1950


Ice Cream Goes to War

With the arrival of the Second World War, both Wellington and Auckland-based chains of Tip Top milk bars began to struggle with distribution and staff problems, and the milk bar side of the business (Health Foods (NZ) Ltd) was wound down in the early 1940s.

The outbreak of war had a profound affect on the ice cream industry. Key ingredients - milkfat and sugar - were considered essential to the war effort, and supplies were severely restricted. This forced manufacturers to re-formulate, cut back on output, reduce product ranges and restrict distribution.

Robinson's Ice Cream advertisement, NZ Herald, 14 November 1941.

Wartime rationing of petrol and tyres led to enforced "zoning" for all ice cream manufacturers - Christchurch's three main manufacturers, Perfection, Apex and Top Notch, agreed to divide the city into three areas to reduce mileages.

1942 - The Rationing Controller, Mr Thomas, confirmed that 50% sugar rationing had been applied throughout the Dominion. All ice cream permits were to be issued directly from the Rationing Controller’s office.

Despite the restrictions, it was conceded that ice cream had its uses. A good serving of ice cream was said to lift a soldier's spirits and suppliers of ice cream to military camps were allowed extra sugar, for that use only, to meet a military camp standard of 3/5 lb sugar to the finished gallon of ice cream. Supply to military camps was limited to a maximum rate of 2 gallons of ice cream per man per year.

With the sugar shortage, manufacturers looked for substitute sweeteners, such as malt:

Frosty Jack advertisement, Evening Post, 2 November 1942.

Some used golden syrup, and some used honey.

But by January 1943, manufacturers were getting desperate:

The Government eventually gave in to lobbying by the industry and amended the ice cream regulations to allow the use of saccharine, although by the time the legislation was in place, the war had ended.

Sunshine Milk Bar and ice cream factory, 1941. Proprietor Ralph Thomas at rear in factory.
- The Nelson Provincial Museum, Kingsford Collection, 154357/6
- Permission of the Nelson Provincial Museum, Nelson, N.Z., must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Legend: Sunshine

Sunshine Ice Cream Co. grew out of a fruit & vegetable shop-turned milk bar in Trafalgar St, Nelson, run by Ralph and Irene Thomas. Sunshine had held the Tip Top agency for Nelson Districts since 1936, but decided to produce their own ice cream so they set up a small factory in the back of their milk bar in 1941. The ice cream churn was behind a glass wall and visible to customers. Real fruit ice cream was made with pineapple pulp from Queensland, black passion fruit from Katikati and local Nelson berries. More about Sunshine ...

Sunshine ice cream advertisement, Nelson Evening Mail, 1941

1942 - From May of this year, American forces began to arrive in New Zealand, on their way to the war in the Pacific.

The New American Ice Cream Company was established in the early 1940s by Christopher Montague Peck, a dairy farmer with a town supply contract for the South Auckland region. He had surplus milk and cream and began making ice cream, securing contracts to supply Pan American Airways, who at that time were servicing Auckland and the Pacific with flying boats, and American troops based in New Zealand.

He also established the New American Milk Bar, an American-style ice cream parlour on the corner of Teed Street and Broadway in Newmarket, Auckland, to provide the thousands of GI's stationed in the city with a taste of home.

American servicemen and women enjoying milkshakes and ice cream sundaes, 1942
- US National Archives.

December 1943 - under wartime rationing regulations, the Government reduced the minimum butterfat content required in ice cream from 10 per cent to 8.

And while you might have expected them to have more important issues to attend to, the bureaucrats had time to clamp down on pricing and serving sizes:

American servicemen ordering sodas and sundaes at the American Red Cross Cecil Club
in Wellington.
- US National Archives.


Lancaster's Store, Silverstream, 1943.
- Kawerau Museum via Upper Hutt City Library Recollections. Ref. 19163.

Production grew from 4 to 10 million litres per year during the 1940s, due to the demands of US servicemen stationed in the country, and the growing availability of refrigerators and commercial deep freezers.

4 July 1944 - The Auckland Star reported on the Peters Ice Cream AGM:

And ice cream wasn't only being supplied for the home front.

In September 1941, it was reported in the press that the National Patriotic Fund Board was due to take delivery of an ice cream manufacturing plant which had been constructed at General Motors' works in Petone, to be shipped overseas for the use of New Zealand Forces in the Middle East.

It's success was reported in the Evening Post in December 1943:

Jim Winstanley had been captured by the Italians in Benghazi in November 1941, spent 6 weeks as a Prisoner Of War, and was then liberated. After a period convalescing, he was seconded to run the new ice cream factory that had been installed at Maadi Camp - he had worked for Frozen Products (Frosty Jack) before the war. The factory started manufacturing on 3 July 1942, producing around 7000 gallons a month.

Photo: Sgt Jim Winstanley at the Maadi Camp ice cream factory (inset), 1943
- Frostee Digest.

In 1943 a "mini ice cream factory" was manufactured by H. W. Clarke, refrigeration engineers in Wellington, for shipping with American forces to Guadalcanal, and another went to New Zealand forces in New Caledonia.

Wellingtonian J. McDonald at the churn,  NZEF ice cream plant, New Caledonia, 1943.
- Frostee Digest.

In 1944, as the war advanced in Europe, a New Zealand Patriotic Fund ice cream plant was set up in Italy.

And in November 1944, Tip Top ice cream mix was supplied to the Tui Club, a beach rest and recreation centre on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, where an ice cream plant had been installed for the use of RNZAF (air force) servicemen on leave from the fighting.

Tui Club, Guadalcanal
- Arthur Manz Collection, via Jenny Scott.

1945 - A pint (600ml) carton of ice cream sold for 1/4 ½ (one shilling, fourpence ha'penny), and a quart for 2/9.

Regulating & Controlling the Industry

1945 - On the recommendation of the Wellington Medical Officer of Health, the Petone Borough Council resolved to ask all municipal bodies to prohibit the sale of ice cream in cinemas throughout the country. The problem was that ice creams in cones were being scooped and handled by cinema staff at the same time as they handled packaged items, confectionery, money, etc..

The debate over hygiene standards covering the sale of un-packaged ice cream in cinemas and "composite shops" continued for several years, highlighting different approaches by central authorities (the Health Dept.), and local body health inspectors.

The NZICMA argued that such sales should be permitted provided there were hygienic conditions at the point of sale and adequate facilities for washing hands.

1946 - The Food and Drug Regulations 1946 was published, with definitions for Ice Cream, Milk Ices / Milk Blocks, and Ices.

Ice cream shippers, advertised by A.C. Taylor & Co. Ltd., Christchurch, 1947.
- The Frostee Digest, NZICA archives.

1947 - Apex Ice Cream set up an 80-quart Vogt ice cream churn on their stand at the New Zealand Industries Fair held in Christchurch, and wowed the crowds by producing ice cream for four hours a day, filling sixpenny cartons at the rate of 1800/hr.

Apex Ice Cream, NZ Industries Fair, Christchurch, 1947.
- Frostee Digest.

1948 - Sugar rationing ended.

After the war, manufacturers were torn - they wanted to maintain the quality of ice cream but there were concerns that, if the standard was raised to 10% milk fat again, the Government's price control system would not allow them to recover the true costs of the additional 2% butterfat.

Much of the 1950s was taken up with negotiating various issues under the proposed new Food and Drug Regulations and it wasn't until 1961 that the minimum fat content was increased back to 10%.

New Zealand's iconic Joy Bar was invented in 1948 by the clever people at the Perfection Ice Cream Company, Christchurch.

Read the Joy Bar story here ...

J. H. Brown 'The Silver Bell' - Music & Radio Dealer & Confectionery, advertising Clarke's Ice Cream,"Bombs", "Slices", "Cartons", "Cones". Main St, Upper Hutt, January 1948. Photographer: Leo Morel.
- Upper Hutt City Library Heritage Collections. Ref. P2-164-276.

November 1948 - For the first time, Massey Agricultural College included a section on ice cream manufacture in its ten day Market Milk technical course.

"Bye Bye Byers!". Byers Ice Cream refrigerated delivery truck (Ford), 1948. Byers Ice Cream Co., Linton St, Palmerston North. Refrigeration by McAlpine. Sparrow Industrial Pictures Ltd.
- Auckland War Memorial Museum neg. 4350B.

1949 - Ice cream was added to the NZ consumers price index (CPI) basket of goods and services. A 'slice' of ice cream was priced around 3 pence (85 cents in today's terms).

Frozen Products Limited, Wellington applied for a Trade Mark for the term "Ripple Ice Cream".

1949 - Tip Top (Wellington)'s Len Malaghan was behind the company's first refrigerated trucking operation which became Refrigerated Freight Lines Ltd.

Alpine Ice Cream branded novelty bars, made under licence by Levin Ice Cream Company, Levin
- Cinema Advertising Slide, ca. 1950.
- Kete Horowhenua.

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