Gumboots

        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".
                                                Dianne Dalla SAnta
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