Broadwood Four Square

Broadwood Four Square is situated on the road which winds through the western side of Northland from Kaitaia to link up with the ferry crossing the Hokianga Harbour to Rawene.

The town was established in the late 1880’s and was originally named Mangonui-o-Wae but this was often confused with Mangonui on the opposite coast. The postal authorities renamed the town Broadwood after a local resident in the 1890’s and it has the distinction of being the only town in the Hokianga district with a European name.

Originally the town was established to mill kauri trees and later service the farming community that followed. There is little evidence today of a previously thriving township. There were two general stores, a baker, garage, blacksmith, butcher and a transport company.

The store was built in 1922 and operated as a general country store of that era trading in groceries, hardware and farm machinery as well as being the local post office. Later, petrol was also sold, and the present owners elected to invest in their own in- ground petrol tanks when the corporate supplier would not replace the existing aging tanks. The store is the only supplier of petrol between Kaitaia and Rawene on the western route.

Many relics of the past adorn the shelves and counters of the store. A set of scales and weights previously used to weigh postal items sits on the counter at the rear of the shop reminding of an era long gone. The Post Office has been downgraded to a local postal delivery centre.

The present owners, Cecil and Maureen Baine, purchased the store in 1975. They have seen many changes in the town since then. A reminder of the many years they have served the local community is a calendar hanging on the storeroom door. Its date - 1975.

The household name Four Square emerged in the 1920s out of the Foodstuffs grocery buying co-operative. Foodstuffs’ founder, Mr J Heaton Barker, became concerned at the activities of the grocery chain stores of the day that were making life very difficult for independent grocers in Auckland. On 6th July 1922, Heaton Barker called together members of the Auckland Master Grocers Association to discuss plans for the formation of a co-operative buying group of independent grocers.

On 1st April 1925, this buying group registered a company, Foodstuffs Ltd [later Foodstuffs (Auckland) Ltd], the first of three regional co-operatives based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, which now form the Foodstuffs group of co-operatives.
The name Four Square emerged when Mr Barker, while talking on the telephone to one of the buying group members on 4th July 1924, drew a square around the 4 of the date on his calendar. He immediately realised he had a suitable name for the buying group, stating that “they would stand ’Four Square’ to all the winds that blew”.

By the end of 1924 products were appearing under the Four Square name, and by 1929, discussions were underway on the use of a common branding on stores. Early versions of the Four Square sign were produced in the form of red and gold hand painted glass panels for display in members’ stores.

In February 1948, New Zealand’s first self-service grocery store was opened in Onehunga by Phil Barker (the son of the founder of the group) and Ray McGregor. This soon became the norm for grocery retailing.

During the 1950’s the Foodstuffs advertising department designed the famous Four Square man who initially appeared only in newspaper advertising and posters, but was developed to become part of the Four Square identity, appearing in every Four Square store and eventually becoming a nationally recognised icon in New Zealand, remaining famous to this day.

Four Square stores continue to serve local communities and towns throughout New Zealand.