Promoting the Products and Industries of New Zealand, published in 1945 by The New Zealand Map Company, is a spirited, image-rich celebration of a nation at the threshold of postwar reconstruction. A thematic, pictorial design animates the islands with vignettes of farm, field, and mine, while crisply colored symbols and captions guide the eye from paddock to port. At center stage are ingenious infographics—pie charts that quantify exports and imports by commodity and destination—translating complex trade flows into instantly legible form. Issued as New Zealand recalibrated its economy after the Second World War, the map captures both continuity and change: a dominion still anchored in wool, butter, and cheese, yet increasingly bound to global markets by ships, rails, and cables.

The cartographic skeleton is equally engaging. North and South Islands are divided by provincial boundaries that clarify administrative and economic geographies, then stitched together by railway routes, steamer lines, and marine cables. Mountains and notable bodies of water—Southern Alps cresting the South Island, the volcanic plateau of the North Island, the Tasman Sea and Pacific horizons, and the chokepoint of Cook Strait—provide the physical stage on which commerce moves. Key cities and towns are prominently placed: Auckland and Wellington as principal gateways; Christchurch and Dunedin as southern anchors; Hamilton at the dairying heart; Tauranga and Napier facing rich horticultural districts; Palmerston North, Invercargill, Nelson, New Plymouth, and Greymouth linking hinterland and harbor.

Across this framework, vignettes broadcast the country’s productive mosaic. In Canterbury and Otago, flocks mark the preeminence of wool, while creameries and churns emblemize butter and cheese—industries that transformed with refrigerated shipping. The Waikato around Hamilton bears the hallmarks of intensive dairying; the Bay of Plenty near Tauranga suggests orchards and canneries; Hawke’s Bay around Napier evokes pastoral prosperity. On the South Island’s West Coast, Greymouth stands among coal seams and timbered slopes, while Otago’s goldfields echo a mineral legacy retooled for modern industry. The graphic density is intentional: it allows the viewer to read climate, soil, and relief into commodity patterns, revealing how New Zealand’s varied terrains underwrite its export wealth.

The map’s infographics are unusually sophisticated for a mid-1940s popular production. Distinct pie charts disentangle exports and imports, not only by commodity but by destination and source, conveying at a glance where New Zealand sells its butter, wool, and cheese, and from whom it acquires machinery, fuels, and manufactured goods. The United Kingdom and Commonwealth partners clearly loom large, while trans-Pacific ties broaden the picture. These diagrams converse with the depicted steamer routes and cable lines, making explicit the infrastructure that turns provincial abundance into international trade. It is a visual argument as much as a map: data-driven, confident, and keenly attuned to the language of modern commerce.

Behind the design stands The New Zealand Map Company, a domestic cartographic firm adept at translating national identity into persuasive graphics at a critical historical moment. In 1945, such a map would have served chambers of commerce, classrooms, and boardrooms alike—part booster, part briefing, and wholly emblematic of a small nation’s global reach. Today its rarity is striking: unrecorded in standard references, with only two institutional examples traced, at UCLA and the Christchurch Library, cataloged under a variant title. That scarcity, coupled with its eloquent blend of pictorial charm and statistical clarity, makes it a singular lens on New Zealand’s postwar self-portrait—optimistic, industrious, and outward-looking.

Cities and towns on this map

• Auckland
• Wellington
• Christchurch
• Dunedin
• Hamilton
• Tauranga
• Napier
• Palmerston North
• Invercargill
• Nelson
• New Plymouth
• Greymouth

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Vignettes representing various agricultural and mineral products
• Pie charts detailing:
• Exports and their destinations
• Imports and their sources
• Commodities for both exports and imports, with significant shares of agricultural products such as butter, wool, and cheese highlighted
• Provincial boundaries outlined across both islands
• Railway routes, steamer routes, and marine cables indicated
• Mountains and notable bodies of water marked for geographical context

Historical and design context

• Map title: Promoting the Products and Industries of New Zealand
• Publication year: 1945
• Mapmaker/publisher: The New Zealand Map Company
• Design and style: Thematic, pictorial map highlighting agriculture, industry, and trade; vibrant colors depict commodities and industries
• Themes and topics: Focus on agriculture and mineral industries; trade infographics via pie charts of exports and imports
• Geographic coverage: New Zealand’s North and South Islands with provincial boundaries and regions
• Historical significance: Post–World War II economic and trade context; reliance on agricultural exports and key import sources
• Rarity: Unrecorded; two known copies at UCLA and Christchurch Library (under a different title)

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 100in (250cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.