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Story: Industrial design

Wooden dental chair

This 1963 working drawing of a portable wooden dental chair was probably prepared for the Government Stores Board to call for tenders for supply. The design had been around for some time; its lightweight collapsibility made it possible to implement the world-leading School Dental Service, established in 1921. Nurses transported the folding chair, and a treadle-powered drill, from school to school. The elegant simplicity of the chair design, which could be adjusted to meet the ergonomic needs of both the nurse and her patient, were probably not appreciated by young visitors to ‘the murder house’ at the time.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

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How to cite this page

Michael Smythe, Industrial design – Protectionism, 1938 to 1988, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/41850/wooden-dental-chair (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Michael Smythe, published 12 June 2013.