ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a contextualisation outlining the importance of do-it-yourself (DIY) to masculinity at specific times. It looks at the development of particular ideals of masculinity in New Zealand. New Zealand presents an interesting case where imaginings of both masculinity and home have been shaped by imperialism and where the home and the physically-capable man both developed as highly-valued ideals. European settlement of New Zealand was dominated by men for more than 150 years and the rural nature and frontier character of the settler experience provided fertile growth for the development of male institutions and of particular attitudes towards work. Interviews were carried out with 30 homeowners and ten 'Hubbies' in New Zealand between 2007 and 2010 and a small amount of archival research was carried out to look at the changing discourses on home improvements during the twentieth century. The interviews were analysed using both pre-determined and emergent themes.
