Jandals

These mustard and white jandals were made by the Para Rubber Company, probably in the 1970s, and are an archetypal example of this iconic kiwi footwear.

Para Rubber

The Para Rubber Company was established in Christchurch in 1910 by George Skjellerup (later spelt Skellerup). He named his company after Pará, Brazil, which was then a key source of rubber. Skjellerup had been working for Dunlop tyres and saw that there was a market for a more varied range of rubber ware. The business grew steadily through the 1910s and 1920s, and although it was hard hit during the Great Depression, the introduction of import restrictions in 1938 offered opportunities for expansion.

Skellerup established several new companies, including the Marathon Rubber Footwear company which made gumboots and tennis shoes. In 1948 a holding group named Skellerup Industries was established, and at the time of Skellerup’s death in 1955 the business was employing over 1000 employees and had annual sales of approximately £4 million. In 1987 Skellerup Industries became a subsidiary of Brierley Investments Limited, and in 1993 it became part of a new company, Skellerup Group Limited. The company was delisted from the stock exchange in 1996 and Para Rubber was purchased by Clark Rubber of Australia. They converted it to a franchise, and managed it under that structure until 2009. Since then the company has been owned by Para Rubber NZ Ltd, and according to their website is ‘completely back in Kiwi hands.’

Jandals

There is some dispute about the origin of the jandal, as the family of Taranaki importer/exporter John Cowie claim that he began making a plastic version of the Japanese sandal in the 1940s. The trademark for jandals was registered by an Auckland businessman named Morris Yock in 1957, and most credit him with having innovated their manufacture in rubber. However, others claim that American servicemen were wearing rubber versions of Japanese sandals (which they called go-aheads because it was difficult to walk backwards when wearing them) as early as 1946, so it is likely that all New Zealand can lay claim to is the Jandal brand name.

Yock established Jandals Ltd, which initially operated out of his garage. Morris and his son Anthony made the footwear out of rubber sourced from Hong Kong, and distributed it through Morris’s grandfather’s company J. Yock & Co.. For the first two years jandals were only produced in brown and white, but thereafter they were produced in a variety of colours, both plain and striped.

Jandals Ltd met with importation difficulties so Skellerup Industies took over the supply of raw materials, and in 1987 bought the business. They still hold the trademark for official jandals, but a range of other versions are now available.

While New Zealand cannot claim to have invented the footwear, which in other places are known as thongs, pluggers or flip-flops, the jandal is a New Zealand product that has gained iconic status.

References

• Barnett, Stephen and Richard Wolfe. 1989. New Zealand! New Zealand! In Praise of Kiwiana. Auckland: Hodder and Soughton Ltd.
• Derby, Mark. 2015. 'Inventions, patents and trademarks - Trademarks'. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/inventions-patents-and-trademarks/page-5
• Para Rubber. About Us. https://pararubber.co.nz/about/
• Rice, Geoffrey W. 1998. 'Skellerup, George Waldemar'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4s28/skellerup-george-waldemar
• Smythe, Michael. 2011. New Zealand by Design: A History of New Zealand Product Design. Auckland: Godwit.