"We must all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately."
Benjamin Franklin
The invention of the unassuming rotary clothes line—also known as the "Hills Hoist"—has a controversial and confusing history. It is named after Lance Hill, an Australian who developed the device in 1946.The Hills Hoist is considered an Australian icon and a symbol of Australian culture. With a winding mechanism that allowed the frame to be raised and lowered, it was extremely useful in the days of the baby boom when cloth diapers were abundant.
Many believe that this was the first rotary clothes line, but the invention was built upon earlier, less efficient, and more expensive models. Prior renditions of the clothes line include the James Hardie Company's 1925 clothes line called the "Drywell." In 1914 both a U.S. and an Australian company had come up with different versions of a rotary clothes line. Gilbert Toyne's 1912 rotary clothes line, built in his backyard in Geelong, Australia, is still in use today. A U.S. patent was issued in 1890 for a rotary clothes line developed in the United States. In circa 1870,. Cassells Household Guide described a "drying machine" developed by a "Mr. Kent" of High Holborn.
However, the earliest version of the rotary clothes line, invented by James R. Higgins, appeared in an 1855 edition of Scientific American. Many are surprised at the early date of the invention, especially considering that many still credit Lance Hill with the creation.
