The graph below shows that the majority of men were labourers, working in employment that reflected the mostly rural nature of the community. Some worked in family firms and farms, and a few worked in occupations employing evolving forms of technology, such as electricians or gas fitters. Few of the men were able to acquire a secondary education and fewer still had attended university. This is reflected in the low figures for Professional occupational class. The figures for the Papanui men (in blue) are compared with a survey of occupational backgrounds of a sample of New Zealand soldiers undertaken in 1917.