Auckland City Drill Hall

Auckland’s foot specials were enrolled in the Drill Hall on Rutland Street in November 1913. Largely recruited from Auckland’s middle class, they included businessmen, professionals and students, along with clerks and shopworkers. About 300 foot specials stayed in the Drill Hall on the night of 7 November before descending on the wharves the following morning. The hall became the base for around 700 foot specials during the strike. This photo shows a demonstration outside the Hall 10 years earlier by Auckland’s friendly societies.

See more images of Auckland during the 1913 strike here (Flickr)