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Welcome to Eastern Hutt Rotary's e-Bulletin.
Last Meeting's Speaker:
A fellow Rotarian with Port Nicholson, Jeff Lee, shared his knowledge of footwear and his remarkable journey with Bata Footwear. The beginning of footwear goes back 10,000 years ago and of course biblical days but incredibly, one-fifth of the world’s population never wear shoes.
Featured in this advertisement above, it’s been Jeff’s only job, having started in UK and worked all over the world before settling in NZ.
Founded in 1894, Bata’s very long history has undergone incredible change to keep up with consumer needs, fashion, and manufacturing competition. The advent of specialised sports and industrial footwear being recent revolutions.
Bata New Zealand has undergone a similar transformation – most of us will remember Bata Bullets! Locally, Wainuiomata no longer exists and only the original factory in Owhiro Bay exists today, manufacturing industrial footwear, especially gumboots.