Old Girl: A Beloved Hills Hoist Gets the Send-Off She Deserves
A clothesline that has dried the washing of three generations is being celebrated for 56 years of service
The Hills Hoist reached iconic status in Australia within a few decades of its 1945 release. For a time, just about every backyard had one. And why not? The spinning contraption was just the thing to expose wet washing to the sun and breeze. The humble Hills Hoist is still available, more than 70 years since being introduced to Aussie households, and while we don’t all have one, their very existence evokes a sense of nostalgia.
This is true for mother-of-three Amy Beard, who lives on a rural property near the Queensland town of Wongawallan. So passionate is she about her Hills Hoist that she organised a ‘retirement’ party for the clothesline to celebrate 56 years of faithful service.
“I’m sure people must think I’m crazy for holding a retirement party for my Hills Hoist but, honestly, why not? It’s a bit of fun and she’s been in my family for three generations. When the gears stopped working and I couldn’t get spare parts, I had to start planning my send-off for our iconic backyard fixture.”
This is true for mother-of-three Amy Beard, who lives on a rural property near the Queensland town of Wongawallan. So passionate is she about her Hills Hoist that she organised a ‘retirement’ party for the clothesline to celebrate 56 years of faithful service.
“I’m sure people must think I’m crazy for holding a retirement party for my Hills Hoist but, honestly, why not? It’s a bit of fun and she’s been in my family for three generations. When the gears stopped working and I couldn’t get spare parts, I had to start planning my send-off for our iconic backyard fixture.”
This old Queenslander is where Beard lives with her husband and three children, aged 7, 4 and 2, but she actually grew up in another house on the same 150-acre property with her parents. The house she now lives in was built by her great grandfather, and her grandparents brought up 11 children here. Although Beard didn’t know Annie, her grandmother, she remains inspired by her resilience and courage, and that she created a happy home full of song for her large family. The youngest two children were twins, Beard says, but her grandmother didn’t know she was having twins. She gave birth to them on her own at home during the time it took one of her other children to go and get help.
When her great grandfather first built the house in 1932, it was located in a nearby valley. When he died in 1958, her grandfather dismantled the house, moved it to its current location, and rebuilt it. He bought and installed the clothesline in 1962, when Beard’s father was 17.
Beard’s parents continue to live in the house she grew up in, 500 metres down the road.
Beard’s parents continue to live in the house she grew up in, 500 metres down the road.
“I remember when I was a girl I desperately wanted to swing off the arms, but that wasn’t allowed in case I broke her,” Beard says. “Now, as an adult, hanging my washing gives me downtime to reflect and relax while looking after my three kids, which is a rare luxury.”
This is Beard’s four-year-old, Etta, wearing a dress Beard made out of vintage sheets. And, no, her daughter isn’t allowed to swing on the clothesline either. Etta’s middle name is Annie, in memory of her great grandmother.
This is Beard’s four-year-old, Etta, wearing a dress Beard made out of vintage sheets. And, no, her daughter isn’t allowed to swing on the clothesline either. Etta’s middle name is Annie, in memory of her great grandmother.
Beard runs her business, Jasper Creek, from home. Using vintage fabrics and fabrics she sources from here, there and everywhere, she custom-makes pyjamas and nighties for customers on commission. They choose the fabric from her library of material, and she makes the PJs to fit.
Jasper Creek started out as a hobby and slowly turned into a business. Initially, sewing provided Beard with some heaven-sent me-time – vital for anyone raising three young children.
“I find sewing is a bit like meditation, but I get something at the end of it so I don’t have to justify being in there,” she explains.
Beard says she’s always been an op-shopper, so repurposing vintage fabrics just made sense to her. “Living sustainably is very important to me and the ‘Old Girl’ has played an integral role in inspiring my business … the range speaks to the nostalgia I feel when I see my Hills Hoist.”
Jasper Creek started out as a hobby and slowly turned into a business. Initially, sewing provided Beard with some heaven-sent me-time – vital for anyone raising three young children.
“I find sewing is a bit like meditation, but I get something at the end of it so I don’t have to justify being in there,” she explains.
Beard says she’s always been an op-shopper, so repurposing vintage fabrics just made sense to her. “Living sustainably is very important to me and the ‘Old Girl’ has played an integral role in inspiring my business … the range speaks to the nostalgia I feel when I see my Hills Hoist.”
Having lived with the family for three generations, the clothesline has lived to see people land on the moon, the invention of the bionic ear, and the opening of the Sydney Opera House. She even appeared on the quintessential ‘90s television series The Adventures of Skippy, parts of which were filmed at Beard’s grandparents’ house when Amy was 10 years old and living next door. This photo of the crew features in the book Adventures of Skippy: Skippy Goes Bush, published by Scholastic.
Beard did her best to fix the Old Girl before finally admitting defeat. Although Hills has replacement parts for clotheslines from as early as the ‘70s, the Lawn Dry model was simply too old. She stalked Gumtree for Hills Hoists of a similar era, to no avail, and even contacted a clothesline restorer.
“I really love her; I exhausted all options,” she says.
“I really love her; I exhausted all options,” she says.
Beard has a direct view of the clothesline out of her kitchen window. She plans to hang a small plaque – the part that says ‘Lawn Dry’ – in her laundry when she updates it. And the Old Girl won’t be thrown away; she’ll be repurposed into something new and useful with the help of her husband, a fabricator who can weld. “It will be interesting to see where she goes from here,” Beard says.
As for how the family will hang out their washing in the future, Hills product manager James Parkinson said staff members at the company were so delighted to hear Beard’s story when she contacted them for spare parts that they decided to give her a new Hills Heritage Hoist 7-Line Clothesline one – a 2018 model designed to look just like the original.
“It’s fantastic to hear stories like Amy’s,” Parkinson says. “It’s amazing to see how the humble Hills Hoist has gone from a simple Australian invention to an iconic part of our way of life.”
Beard will ask her dad to inscribe his name at the base of the new clothesline, just for old time’s sake.
Tell us
Do you have a soft spot for, or a memory of, your Hills Hoist? We’d love to hear about it in the Comments below.
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As for how the family will hang out their washing in the future, Hills product manager James Parkinson said staff members at the company were so delighted to hear Beard’s story when she contacted them for spare parts that they decided to give her a new Hills Heritage Hoist 7-Line Clothesline one – a 2018 model designed to look just like the original.
“It’s fantastic to hear stories like Amy’s,” Parkinson says. “It’s amazing to see how the humble Hills Hoist has gone from a simple Australian invention to an iconic part of our way of life.”
Beard will ask her dad to inscribe his name at the base of the new clothesline, just for old time’s sake.
Tell us
Do you have a soft spot for, or a memory of, your Hills Hoist? We’d love to hear about it in the Comments below.
More
Read more lifestyle stories on Houzz
Amy Beard is expecting 30-40 people at the retirement tea party she’s holding.“The party will be a great time to celebrate how she made our life easier. She’s been an integral part of my daily life.”
These days, Beard laments the move to relocate clotheslines to the sides of houses near the wheelie bins. “Bring back the clothesline in the backyard,” she says.