The gumboot man

If it weren’t for your gumboots where would you be?
Go on, admit it, you heard the song in your head.
What could be more kiwi than gumboots, the footwear that makes us all the same.
They aren’t New Zealand invented - gumboots - or Wellingtons - initially owed their name to Arthur Wellesley - the first Duke of Wellington who invented them in the 1800s.
And they were imported into New Zealand along with a variety of knockoffs - even being taxed.
For New Zealand, one of the big brands was Skellerup - which was started in Christchurch by George Waldemar Skellerup - or Skjellerup.
Skellerup had been born in the small town of Cobden in Victoria, Australia to Margaret and Peder Skjellerup on February 14, 1881.
His father had been a farmer but died when George was 2.
After leaving school at 12, he moved to Freemantle where he was apprenticed to a surveyor. At his mother’s request he took a night class in shorthand. He was taken under the wing of a businessman where he was a clerk and later a secretary then went to work for the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company.
In 1902, he sailed for New Zealand - landing in Dunedin after which he moved to Christchurch - working for Dunlop there.
He married Elizabeth Reid in Dunedin, on 25 February 1907. They first lived in Riccarton, in a house he had built himself. He worked long hours repairing punctured tyres.
Then in 1910, he founded the Para Rubber Company - selling all kinds of rubber products. The name Para came from Para in Brazil, which was a major source of high grade rubber. By 1918, he had four stores.
It was also when he opted to drop the j from his name.
His success began to grow but when he was hit hard from the Great Depression he diversified into other companies - one of which was the Marathon Rubber footwear company started in 1939 - the maker of gumboots. It was one of multiple companies manufacturing things like parts for milking machines and waterproof coats.
He wasn’t, however, allowed to make tyres - failing to get a licence from the government. Despite this, during the shortages in World War Two, he was asked by the government to see if he could reclaim rubber from old tyres.
But he was hampered by a lack of salt - there was not enough in the country so he set up Skellerup Solar Salt - to take it from Lake Grassmere. That company later became Dominion Salt when the government took over the company.
His greatest interest was gardening. He was an active member of the Canterbury Horticultural Society, and donated the Para Cup for garden competitions in Christchurch. The New Zealand Lily Society made him a life member, and he was a notable supporter of the New Zealand Rhododendron Association. He imported many specimen trees and shrubs for his Desmond Street property, which became a showplace for visitors to Christchurch.
George Skellerup suffered a massive heart attack while on holiday in England and died at Minehead, Somerset, on 5 June 1955. His body was flown to Christchurch and buried under a weeping elm in Ruru lawn cemetery.​