Re: OT: Rubber Garden Boots
- To: iris-talk@onelist.com
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] OT: Rubber Garden Boots
- From: J* C*
- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 16:10:41 PST
From: "Jan Clark" <janclarx@hotmail.com>
>My personal favorite boots are Wellies. Authentic wellies (originated in
>England I think and called Wellingtons) are green, very soft, comfortable,
>flexible rubber, that just last and last and last. ...
>Cathy
The following is a quote from the archives, of an e-mail sent by Dianne
Dalla-Santa:
The mystery of the origin that essential item of footwear "the
gumboot" unfolds. I recently came across a wonderful article in the Garden
Club of Australia Inc quarterly magazine.
In my own words.......On New Zealand's North Island grew Kauri
trees. The Maori and Europeans found uses for the thick resinous gum that
exuded from these trees when damaged e.g. varnishes and even linoleum floor
covering. A rising sea level in primeval time swamped the land killing the
trees. Pits of this gum formed and was harvested in later years by migrants
from Yugoslavia keen to earn money.
Working in wet, muddy conditions in the "gum fields" the diggers
covered the legs and feet in a legging later to be developed into a type of
wellington boot. This effective footwear worn by the "gum diggers" became
known as "gum boots" and guess what........ we've been wearing them ever
since, but it seems that New Zealand can lay claim to the term "gumboot".
Here in Australia, we still call them Gum boots, or Gumbies.
I wonder did the name Wellington, come from the NZ town Wellington?
Cheers, Jan, who always gives her Gumbies a good shake to see that they
contain no spiders or (horror of horrors) snakes.
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