by emad » Sat Aug 27, 2005 12:10 pm
Clothes line offer for Queen's dirty washing hung out to dry by Australian governor <br><br>Bernard O'Riordan in Sydney<br>Saturday August 27, 2005<br>The Guardian <br><br><br>They are an indispensable part of every great Australian back yard, situated between the barbecue and vegetable patch.<br>And if history had been kinder, the rotating Hills hoist clothes line could also have earned itself the royal seal of approval with regal underwear fluttering in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.<br><br>An offer to install Australia's favourite washing line at the Palace and Clarence House was rejected as "utter nonsense" by the Queen's representative in Australia more than four decades ago.<br><br>In documents released this week after a chance find by Australia's National Archives, the South Australian company that made the Hills Rotary Clothes Hoist offered to donate its product in appreciation of the Queen Mother's three-week Australian tour in 1958.<br><br>Struck by the public support for the royal family, the managing director, Brian O'Leary, wrote to Australia's then governor-general, Field Marshall Sir William Joseph Slim, offering to supply the clothesline to the Queen and Queen Mother.<br><br>The gift would "serve as a pleasant reminder to the regal ladies of the many happy times it was our pleasure to enjoy with them," Mr O'Leary wrote.<br><br>The letter finished up on the desk of the governor-general's aide, who wrote: "Rather an unusual offering! I believe these hoists are not available in other countries. It is possible one would be useful to the Palace and Clarence House."<br><br>However, the British-born Sir William was less than impressed by the common gesture. He penned a brief but blunt comment (in green ink on the bottom right-hand corner) that put the kibosh on any prospect of a royal warrant finding its way on to the humble Hills hoist.<br><br>"I think this is rather nonsense," he wrote on the corner of the letter. This did not become the official response.<br><br>Instead, Sir William wrote to South Australia's state governor, Sir Robert George: "In view of the rules governing the acceptance of presents of value from commercial houses, I regret that I find myself precluded from recommending acceptance of these gifts."<br><br>The Hills hoist - which sold for about £11 in 1958, twice the average weekly wage in Australia at that time - is still a favourite in backyards around the world. Hills Industries, now listed on the Australian stock exchange, produces more than 400,000 rotary clothes lines each year for sale across Europe.<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1557336,00.html">www.guardian.co.uk/intern...36,00.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>
