Lance Hill - Rotary Clothesline Designer
The Hills Hoist was developed in a backyard in Glenunga,
Adelaide, by Lance Hill in 1945. It is a rotary clothesline that can be raised
and lowered by a winding mechanism. This feature, in addition to the rotating
square frame, allows the washing to dry more effectively in the breeze. The
Hills Hoist also makes the most of limited space in suburban backyards.
Hill's original clotheslines were made from scrap metal. By
1946 the clothesline had proven to be a huge hit with friends and family, so
Hill and his brother-in-law, Harold Ling, established a business, Hills, to
keep up with the demand. They purchased surplus army trucks to make deliveries
and a plant to manufacture the metal tubing from which the frame of the
clothesline is made. By 1948 Hills had expanded its operation to include the
manufacture of other laundry products. In 1959 the company offered a hoist as a
gift to the Queen and Queen Mother, but Australia's Governor-General, Field
Marshal Sir William Joseph Slim, did not think the offer suitable to pass on to
the Palace.
Hills Industries celebrated the sale of the five millionth
Hills Hoist in 1994 and now exports the clothes line around the world. The
Hills Hoist has become an Australian cultural icon and was featured as the
emblem of the 1996 Adelaide Festival of Arts and in the closing ceremony of the
Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
Even though the Hills Hoist was the most successful, it was
not the first rotary clothes hoist to be produced. Gilbert Toyne had patented
four significant designs for rotary clothes hoists between 1911 and 1946. In
fact Toyne was living and manufacturing his rotary clothes hoists several
streets away from Lance Hill's Glenunga home in 1926. By the 1930s the Toyne
rotary clothes hoist was available for purchase across Australia and New
Zealand, with manufacturing bases established in Adelaide, Melbourne and
Sydney. For further information about Gilbert Toyne and his business see
further reading below.
No comments:
Post a Comment