Historical information

This model of a Hills Hoist was used for marketing purposes in the 1950s. The Hills Hoist is an Australian cultural icon.

The original rotary clothes hoist that became the iconic Hills Hoist was invented and patented in Geelong by blacksmith Gilbert Toyne in 1911, Toyne, along with his friend Lambert Downey, launched the Aeroplane Clothes Hoist at Melbourne's 1911 Royal Agricultural Show.

His business plan was interrupted when he served in World War I, but he returned and refined the idea to include a wind-up mechanism.

In 1945, when Toyne's patent had collapsed, Adelaide's Lance Hill adapted the design and with his brother-in-law Harold Ling, began mass producing the iconic Hills Hoist.

Physical description

Model of a rotary clothesline, featuring a central steel pole with radiating arms that hold multiple lines.

Inscriptions & markings

Hills / Hills Hoist