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Story: Household management

Tumble dryer, late 1950s

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Tumble dryer, late 1950s

Drying washing was no longer dependent on sun and wind once tumble dryers were available. Freeing household from the tyranny of the weather and time of day was one of the most significant results of new technology. Heating and lighting homes at the flick of a switch, ended routines around lighting candles, filling lamps, collecting wood, buying coal, and cleaning up after them.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: Eph-B-HOUSEHOLD-1955-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Megan Cook, Household management – Inside work, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/39694/tumble-dryer-late-1950s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Megan Cook, published 28 November 2012.