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Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

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Re: Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

#11

Post by blackguardx »

Theodores wrote: post #3

Over engineered? Precisely zero of these clothes lines made it to the UK - you never see them - so there must be a reason for that. In the UK they may have failed compared to the more modern rotary design because that uses far less metal and does not have the heavy and unnecessary handle. In the UK portability probably matters more due to the rain.

I've seen them in the US, even though it is hard to find any clotheslines here. They were ostracized as being "unsightly" and even banned in many home owners associations.

Re: Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

#12

Post by Avernar »

angry_octet wrote: post #2

Just as iconic is the Montreal clothesline, strung on 3 levels along the length of terrace houses. They are like conveyor belts for clothes, and fantastically efficient. https://www.flickr.com/groups/cordes-a-linge-mtl/ It is sad that so many areas in North America banned the clothes line, a massive impact on the environment and incredibly expensive.

I remember those back when I lived in Montreal when I was a kid. We were on the top floor and I would attach an action figure with parachute to it. I'd send him out over the yard and use a string to release him.

Back then we figured out ways to keeps ourselves entertained. No computers or tablets so it was either be bored or figure something out that was fun and wouldn't get you into trouble.... much.

Re: Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

#13

Post by disordinary »

These used to be ubiquitous in New Zealand backyards as well, although now everyone has the variety that extends or folds out from the side of the house.

The only people I can think of that has one now are my Grandparents, and they have a farm with plenty of space. I'm sure there's still plenty of concrete pads that formerly held one of these lying around though.

Rather than being a toy as a kid (I don't know why we didn't hang off them much, maybe we weren't allowed) they were an annoying metal obstacle smack bang right in the middle of the lawn, the concrete pads and metal sides intent to injure during a game of backyard cricket or bullrush.

They were solid though, we've broken two of the extendible ones from hanging heavy waterlogged blankets, would never happen with a rotary line.

Re: Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

#14

Post by Spooky23 »

cknight wrote: post #4
Theodores wrote: post #3

Over engineered? Precisely zero of these clothes lines made it to the UK - you never see them - so there must be a reason for that. In the UK they may have failed compared to the more modern rotary design because that uses far less metal and does not have the heavy and unnecessary handle. In the UK portability probably matters more due to the rain.

These are not designed to be portable, though demountable/removable ones certainly exist nowadays. At both of my houses in Sydney when growing up, they were set in the ground in concrete. So, I am not surprised you'd never see these anywhere outside of a generally sunny climate. Space is also a factor - the average yard size in Australia is far larger than that of the UK, though it is shrinking in the major cities. T…

My mom used to use something like this in Upstate NY. If t wasn't below freezing, it would work just fine.

Typically if the weather was nice we would hang the clothes before school/work, and they'd be done at the end of the day. Some years we would go as late as Thanksgiving before taking it down for the winter.

Re: Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

#15

Post by a3n »

Avernar wrote: post #12
angry_octet wrote: post #2

Just as iconic is the Montreal clothesline, strung on 3 levels along the length of terrace houses. They are like conveyor belts for clothes, and fantastically efficient. https://www.flickr.com/groups/cordes-a-linge-mtl/ It is sad that so many areas in North America banned the clothes line, a massive impact on the environment and incredibly expensive.

I remember those back when I lived in Montreal when I was a kid. We were on the top floor and I would attach an action figure with parachute to it. I'd send him out over the yard and use a string to release him. Back then we figured out ways to keeps ourselves entertained. No computers or tablets so it was either be bored or figure something out that was fun and wouldn't get you into trouble.... much.

Did you wear onions on your belts?

Re: Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

#18

Post by tikwidd »

disordinary wrote: post #13

These used to be ubiquitous in New Zealand backyards as well, although now everyone has the variety that extends or folds out from the side of the house. The only people I can think of that has one now are my Grandparents, and they have a farm with plenty of space. I'm sure there's still plenty of concrete pads that formerly held one of these lying around though. Rather than being a toy as a kid (I don't know why we…

They're still super common in NZ, a lot of older suburban houses have them, particularly outside of Auckland. We have one at home but it's not the folding down type. I never thought of them as being an Aus/NZ thing.

I like the idea of using it for an outdoor shade structure (vintage ad in the OP), will have to try that this summer..

Re: Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

#19

Post by disordinary »

Animats wrote: post #16

The price on that thing is insane. $349 for the small model, $1,198 for the big one.[1] A cheap aluminum one is only $49 on Amazon. [1] https://www.amazon.com/s?field-keywords=hills%20hoist

The non aluminum ones will last 50 years, you might get a couple of years out of the aluminum one.

Re: Hills Hoist: The Iconic Rotary Clothesline that Shaped Suburban Australia

#20

Post by ShinTakuya »

Animats wrote: post #16

The price on that thing is insane. $349 for the small model, $1,198 for the big one.[1] A cheap aluminum one is only $49 on Amazon. [1] https://www.amazon.com/s?field-keywords=hills%20hoist

Classic example of durability vs cost. It may seem excessively priced but these things last forever. As in I've seen plenty in heavy use for 60+ years with very few operational problems (maybe the wind up mechanism for adjusting height might be a little stiff but still very usable). Big up front cost but it ends up being a decent investment if you can afford it.
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