CLOTHES PEGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 194, 17 August 1932, Page 4

CLOTHES PEGS.

, MADE IN HAMILTON. A NEW INDUSTRY. A new industry which has developed in Hamilton during the last few months is the manufacture of clothes pegs which have, prior to this event, been only available from American sources. These ( clothes pegs are being made from a New Zealand timber named tawa, which has hitherto been considered of very little value. Tawa grows extensively in the Auckland province, and, after exhaustive tests, has been definitely proved to equal that of Canadian birch for the manufacture of clothes pegs. The Hamilton factory is now in full running order, and is capable of turning out sufficient supplies to meet the full requirements of the New Zealand market, and approximately 5000 boxes have already been distributed, and are giving every satisfaction. This industry, coming as it does at a time when the timber trade is almost at a standstill, is of particular interest to New Zealand, as it is providing work for bushmen, mill, and factory hands totalling 40 people. The entire machinery (excepting electric motors') lias been made and assembled by New Zealand engineers, and is considered more efficient than imported clothes peg machines. The process of manufacture is almost entirely automatic, and thousands of feet of tawa are required weekly to keep the factory operating at full pressure.