MAVtech Museum

14/06/2026

For many years the Foxton Town Hall has been at the centre of community life- and not just for movies! The stage, seating and adjoining ‘Supper Room’ have been used for auctions, galas and meetings of all kinds over the years. This excerpt from the Manawatu Herald’s 10th December, 1932 edition is a glimpse into the Hall’s past….

(image courtesy of Papers Past)

12/06/2026

Foxton Springfling. It seems like a lone way off but before you know it , it well be here . Look Out Winter , Spring will be here soon !!

03/06/2026

Here’s a random bit of history connecting some of Kodak’s British-made cameras with New Zealand.
In the late 1920s, Kodak began making a range of cameras in England- mostly simple snapshot models. Some of them ended up exported to New Zealand, but in a roundabout sort of a way they started in New Zealand as well.

In 1924, the ‘British Empire Exhibition’ was held in Wembley, UK. It showcased the culture and industry of British colonies and dominions. Each place had its own pavilion building- New Zealand’s is pictured.

After the exhibition closed in 1925 Kodak bought the New Zealand Pavillion, relocated it and turned it into a camera factory in Harrow (a move of about six kilometers!) Also pictured are the range of No.2 Portrait Brownie cameras from 1929- one of the first from the new factory.

Quite a few of MAVtech's cameras were made in the old New Zealand Pavilion!

01/06/2026

Much of the technology in MAVtech’s exhibits was designed to be shared. The family would crowd around the radio (or TV), share the camera- or would go out to the cinema together. But one piece of technology changed all of this- the 1979 Sony Walkman.

The Walkman was personal technology- usually just one person listened to it at a time. The first Walkmans had two headphone jacks and a ‘hotline switch’ which lowered the volume so people could have a conversation with their headphones on. But consumers didn’t like this idea, and they were soon removed.

In 1984, Professor Shuhei Hosokawa coined the term ‘Walkman Effect’ to describe how navigating the world in your own bubble of sound made everyday experiences more pleasurable (during the Walkman’s heyday 30% more people walked for exercise). However, other commentators thought that it was isolating the listener, cutting off shared public experiences. Fears of distracted Walkman wearers stepping into traffic led some US Mayors to ban them in public places!

One look at groups of waiting people reveal eyes fixed on personal screens. The headphones may have disappeared, but the ‘Walkman Effect’ carries on!

MAVtech’s Walkman is a c.1986 model with an inbuilt radio.

21/05/2026

Get ready for the MAVtech Museum's May events!

16/05/2026

Did you know that in the 1950s many people thought their dreams were black and white? They believed that since movies and newspapers were monochrome, dreams must be too. But products like Dufaycolor brought colour into people’s lives!

Introduced in 1932, this film had a tiny mosaic of red, blue and green lines (one million per square inch) which preserved each relevant colour. Viewed from afar, it looked natural.

Dufaycolor was easily seen only through a projector, so black and white stayed popular until easier systems arrived which were quite literally a dream to use….

Dufaycolour ended production in the 1950s-This packet of Dufaycolor is in MAVtech’s collection.

02/05/2026

https://www.museumswellington.org.nz/cinerama-and-the-lost-movie-theatres-of-wellington/

02/05/2026

Well done Foxton Historical Society . Saving history for future generations to enjoy .

01/05/2026

MAVtech appludes your efforts and wishes you good luck.

23/04/2026

In the smartphone age it is easy to think the 'all-in-one' piece of technology is something new- but MAVtech has surprising technological combinations dating back almost a century.

Take the 'Campro' for instance. It combined a home movie camera and projector in one affordable unit. Why didn't it take off? Find out on our collection blog.....

From radios to record players get the details on some of MAVtech's treasures.