While there has been an ongoing dispute for decades over just who invented the humble Jandal, it is clear they are a firm piece of NZ's kiwiana.
What is more convenient at the beach while walking over hot sand? What is easier to throw on while we nip out to the letterbox to check for mail? Exactly!
The inventor of this convenient footwear might be John Cowie, or Morris Yock ... or a combined inventiveness. According to his daughter,
Mr Cowie sat down with Morris Yock, an importer of goods into New Zealand, and they agreed the sandals would be a hit in summer.1
and a full account of her story of events can be read here. Was Morris Yock merely the smarter businessman, as he got the trademark?
One thing that isn't in dispute is that the name Jandal was created from a combination of the words Japanese and sandal.
Apparently, since the 1980s there has been a flood of imported Jandal-wannabes for sale in NZ. They used to be made of rubber - Skellerup manufactured them for a time - but plastic is now used; and I would say not anywhere near as comfortable or durable as the originals.
One interesting ‘fact’ about jandals is that more left-footed ones seem to wash up on our beaches than right-footed ones – a 23-year study of Northland beaches found that 70% of washed-up jandals were left-footed. Why this might be is open to conjecture – one theory is that it is to do with the way (predominantly right-footed) New Zealand boaties launch their boats, leaving their left foot in the water while they push to get afloat.2
Around the world this flip-flop type of footwear has a variety of names, according to Wikipedia:
- thongs (Australia)
- slops (South Africa)
- tsinelas/smagul (Philippines)
- hawai chappal (India)
- zōri (Japan)
- dép tông or dép xỏ ngón (Vietnam)
- chinelos (Brazil)
- japonki (Poland)
- dacas (Somalia)
- sayonares (Greece)
- schlapfen (Austria)
- slippers (Hawaii, Trinidad & Tobago, Netherlands)
- infradito (Italy)
- djapanki (Bulgaria)
- charlie wote (Ghana)
- japanke (Croatia)
- vietnamki (Russia, Ukraine)
That is quite a list, and not taking into account the similarly-designed footwear such as discovered from ancient Egypt.
image source
As we roll through autumn it is sadly time to pack away our pairs of Jandals during the cold, wet seasons ... but at least we have something to look forward to again in spring.
References
1 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=10964369
2 http://redline.nzpost.co.nz/2011/
Bibliography
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/maurice-yock-trademarks-jandal
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=10964369
https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/25408/jandals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip-flops
http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2014/10/03/today-in-history-the-birth-of-the-jandal/
http://pararubber.co.nz/footwear/702-zig-zag-jandals.html