The Handweavers Guild held its first meeting and exhibition in the Auckland Art Gallery in July 1954. Many people, both men and women, enjoyed handweaving, spinning and exploring plant dyes. Several had expressed their need to meet others with similar interests and a small group, meeting in December 1953, decided to re-form a Guild. This was the first organised group after WWII. There had been a New Zealand Guild founded in 1936 that had gone into permanent recess because of the war. Nevertheless spinners and knitters met in groups and spun wool and knitted for the armed forces.

The Guild had fifty members from many parts of the country and catered for three groups: spinners, weavers and dyers. The first project was for everyone to weave a man's tie, a type of weaving that required a high degree of uniformity but it should be noted that not all members approved of this choice.

There were other groups meeting around the country but it was the 'Three Crafts Journal' started by the Guild in 1958 that kept weavers and spinners all over the country in touch. The 'Flying Shuttle', started in 1964, was a round-robin sent from country member to country member: each adding a little bit of news, patterns or samples and was a wonderful way to help isolated members learn.

Over the past fifty years the Guild has held many exhibitions in Auckland at the Art Gallery, the War Memorial Museum and at Easter Agricultural & Pastoral shows, to display our work and demonstrate our skills. Even back in 1963, a reviewer, Professor John Read, "noted with interest the advance towards professionalism in many branches of artistic activity, showing the progress from the older exhibits of handcrafts." Galleries in the suburbs have also hosted our exhibitions so that more of Auckland's expanding population can view our work.

The Guild became an Incorporated Society in 1964 enabling it to be eligible for grants and the number of weavers and spinners began to show a marked increase. This was the heyday of the New Zealand craft movement.

It was decided that the Guild would not become the national body despite its nation-wide membership. In April 1969 the Guild handed over its magazine, renamed 'The Web', to the new organisation, and the New Zealand Spinning, Weaving and Woolcrafts Society (NZSWWS) was formed. The current Guild logo was first introduced around this time and is still in use on our notepaper and on the monthly newsletter, which in recent years has been emailed or posted directly to each member before the monthly meeting.

For the twentieth anniversary in 1974 twelve Handweavers were invited to submit works for an exhibition at the War Memorial Museum. This drew attention to what had been a surprisingly neglected field of craft in a land famous for its wool production. As a result of the success of this exhibition specific contracts for work were forthcoming from local architects to provide a foil for the stark finishes of many new office blocks.

Early in 1977 the Guild leased a building in Hillsborough Road, Mt. Roskill that was 12 times the size of the previous premises and contained two large rooms, a reception area and several small rooms. Various looms, gifts from members, filled corners of the workshop. Equipment was and still is loaned to members. Here our stocks of fleece and yarn grew to fill the space and our library, started in 1955, continued to grow into the large and varied selection of books and magazines that we have today. Later we went on to own the building and many members were involved in its re-decoration. Unfortunately progress overtook us and the Guild rooms were demolished in September 2002 to make way for a motorway. After moving into temporary accommodation in the Aberfoyle Street Scout Hall in Epsom for a couple of years, the Guild was able to move into its current premises, the Textile Arts Centre in Nicholson Park, Mt Eden in August 2004, with the official opening being held in February 2005. The new building is bright and sunny, with room for the library, yarn room and equipment.

In the mid nineteen eighties the Guild name was expanded to The Handweavers and Spinners Guild, Auckland Inc. to acknowledge the numbers of spinners and knitters who were long-standing members. Nowadays the Guild includes knitters, felters, dyers and embellishers and many members are actively involved in other crafts outside the Guild as well.

Education of our members is our greatest interest and new topics for classes are always welcomed. The Guild has been involved in summer schools and many overseas tutors run workshops for our members. New Zealand tutors too, enjoy the space and the sunny outlook. Group visits to and from other Guilds  are often undertaken and exhibitions are held every two years.

In addition to educating our own members the Guild has been active in interesting others in the crafts used to convert wool from fleece to finished articles of clothing, home furnishings, etc. Public demonstrations of all aspects of our craft skills have been held in libraries, shopping malls, in parks, museums and galleries. School holiday classes were undertaken to teach the children various aspects of wool crafts. Open Days give us yet another way to show off!

The Guild has traditionally celebrated important dates in style. Our tenth birthday was celebrated in Blockhouse Bay with a social meeting and a birthday cake.

1979 was our Silver Jubilee Year with membership up to 250, mainly from the Auckland area. The Jubilee dinner was held at the Sorrento Reception Rooms with Hamish Keith, Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council chairman, as guest speaker. The anniversary cake was cut by Jenny Poore, a former president of the Guild and then president of the NZSWWS. The exhibition that was held in the city so impressed the Building Centre management that the Guild was immediately invited to exhibit the following year.

For the 40th anniversary of the Guild in July 1994 the keynote speaker at our in-house dinner was Adele Brandt, an early member, who traced her beginnings as a spinner and weaver and described the early venues of the Guild.

And so to 2004, our Golden Jubilee Year. An Open Day was held at the Weavers Workshop in Aberfoyle St, Epsom and a highlight of the afternoon was a fashion parade of selected items, including weaving, knitting, felting, embroidery and patchwork, compèred by Aillie Snow. This was followed by afternoon tea and the cutting of the birthday cake. A celebration lunch was held in July at Ferndale House, Mt Albert. Our biennial exhibition ran for a month at Corban's Estate Art Centre, Henderson. Also on show was the work of the late Zena Abbott, who was a teacher, exhibitor and member of the Guild from 1955.

The move into the current premises in Mt Eden, known as the Textile Arts Centre created a new surge of interest in the Guild, and membership is again on the increase. This year our exhibition 'An Arable Tale' will be held at the the newly opened Franklin Arts Centre in Pukekohe in August 2008, The theme is a reflection of the predominantly agricultural nature of the area.